Austin Peay 72, Western Carolina 71
CANCUN, Mexico - Down by three points with possession of the ball in the closing seconds, Western Carolina was able to get an offensive rebound stick-back to pull within one, but ultimately fell a point shy against the Austin Peay Governors, falling 72-71 Tuesday afternoon in the 2012 Cancun Challenge, presented by Triple Crown Sports.
After leading by as many as 14 in the first half, Western Carolina (1-4) found itself down by 10 inside the final 10 minutes of regulation as Austin Peay scorched the nets at the Moon Palace Resort for 70-percent shooting after intermission. However, with a nine-second differential between the shot and game clock, the Catamounts kept clawing and forced a Governor turnover inside the final 20 seconds while trailing by three.
On the ensuing possession, WCU managed to work a would-be game-tying shot from the left wing by James Sinclair, but missed off the left side of the rim. Post Tawaski King corralled the miss and went up strong to the bucket in hopes of drawing a foul. He connected on the contested shot from short range, but could not draw the foul leaving the Catamounts one-point short on the scoreboard.
Western Carolina put four players in double figures as redshirt junior Trey Sumler scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Preston Ross tallied his second-straight double-digit scoring outing with 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds. The Fayetteville, N.C., native also dished out a career-high four assists and made two steals.
Rounding out WCU's double-figure scorers was King with 12 and sophomore James Sinclair with 10 points and a career-best six assists. Brandon Boggs poured in nine points for the Catamounts in the loss.
WCU raced out of the gates to a quick, 8-0, lead in the opening moments of the game. However, the Govs battled back to tie the game at 14 apiece midway through the opening stanza. The Catamounts then seized control with a 14-to-2 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 12-point, 28-16, edge with 7:40 remaining before halftime. The advantage was stretched to 14 following a breakaway, two-handed slam dunk by Ross - his second of the half - and was a dozen at halftime after APSU's Anthony Campbell drained a buzzer-beating two-point jumper before intermission.
In the second half, Austin Peay chipped away at the Catamount advantage, dropping the deficit below double-digits for the final time on a Campbell 3-pointer at the 14:46 mark. Switching to a zone defense, the Govs stymied the WCU offense while starting to find their rhythm on the other end of the court. Herdie Lawrence gave Austin Peay its first lead of the game on a pair of free throws at the nine minute remaining mark.
The Governors used an 11-0 spurt to take their largest lead of 10, 68-58, with 4:38 remaining in regulation before the Catamounts were able to swing the tide back the other direction. WCU was able to get within one-point in the closing seconds, but ran out of time on the offensive end in the loss.
Austin Peay (2-2) put three in double figures as point guard Travis Betran led all scorers with 22 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Campbell finished with 21 points and five boards while Chris Freeman tallied a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Thanks to its 70-percent (14-of-20) shooting in the second half, Austin Peay finished 50-percent (26-of-52) for the game. The Catamounts shot 53-percent (18-of-34) in the first half but cooled to just 34-percent (13-of-38) after intermission to shoot 43-percent for the contest.
WCU won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Governors 34-to-22 in the three-second area, while also converting 16 Govs turnovers into 17 points. The Catamounts held a 37-34 edge in rebounding, outscoring APSU 13-to-4 in second chance points.
Western Carolina concludes play in the 2012 Cancun Challenge on Wednesday afternoon, playing in the third-place game in the day's first game at 1:30 p.m.
Louisiana Tech 71, Chattanooga 63
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Gee McGhee had a season-high 19 points but it was not enough as the Chattanooga Mocs (1-4) lost 71-63 to Louisiana Tech (4-1) Tuesday night in McKenzie Arena. It was the final game of the CBE Classic Chattanooga Sub-Regional.
Raheem Appleby led all scorers with 30 points for the Bulldogs. Kenneth Smith added 12 points, five rebounds and six assists.
It was a nip-and-tuck battle in the second half after LA Tech built an eight-point cushion, 42-34, at the break. The Mocs cut it to a one possession game on several occasions, but the Bulldogs always had answer.
Down six, 54-48, with 12:22 remaining, UTC mounted another charge. Drazen Zlovaric and McGhee scored on back-to-back trips to cut it to two, 54-52. Brandon Gibson's steal and dunk at 8:34 made it a three-point game, 58-55, but the Mocs reserve posts closed the gap.
Jared Bryant made a free throw and Sam Watson a layup to tie the game at 58-all with 6:46 to go. It was a two-point game on a McGhee layup, 62-60, with 2:34 to go, but the Mocs could not garner a second half lead. The Bulldogs closed on a 13-5 run after the tie for the eight-point win.
Ronrico White had 10 points in support of McGhee's night. The Mocs shot a season-high 46.2 percent (24-52), out-scoring LA Tech 36-16 in the paint. Chattanooga dominated on the glass, 39-25, with Zlovaric and Z. Mason each grabbing nine.
UTC's undoing was 24 turnovers. The Bulldogs scored 21 points on those miscues which were in many ways unforced errors.
The Mocs return to action Saturday, November 24, on the road at Kennesaw State. Game time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., in the north Atlanta suburb.
Richmond 64, Wofford 58
RICHMOND, Va. - The Wofford men's basketball team was defeated 64-58 by the University of Richmond at the Robins Center in the Nations of Coaches Classic. The Spiders opened the second half with a 10-0 run, but the Terriers battled to within two points in the final seconds of the contest.
Wofford begins the season 1-4, while Richmond improves to 4-1. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 17 points, while Spencer Collins added 13 and Lee Skinner had 10 points and six rebounds. The Spiders were led by Kendall Anthony with 24 points and Derrick Williams had a double-double with eleven rebounds and ten points.
"We talk about the first five minutes of games and halves with concern with a young team," said head coach Mike Young. "The concern is that they hang their head and pout, but they stuck it back in there and found a way to scratch and claw and we did some nice things in both halves. It was a two point game at the half against a good Richmond team. I am disappointed that we lost, but we need to turn our attention to Hampton on Friday and find a way to win."
The Spiders scored first and after five minutes of play they led 5-4. Carl Cochran hit a three pointer to give the Terriers a lead and after a three by Jarell Byrd at the 14:07 mark Wofford had a 10-8 advantage. Richmond added a three pointer and with 7:28 left in the first half they held a 14-12 lead. The first career three pointer by Bryan Harris gave Wofford a 15-14 lead.
Karl Cochran hit a long three at the shot clock for an 18-16 advantage with six minutes remaining. The game was tied at 18 before Karl Cochran had a lay-up for a 20-18 lead with 3:14 left in the first half. With the score tied at 24, the Spiders hit a shot as time expired in the half to take a 26-24 lead at the break.
To begin the second half, Richmond scored the first seven points and had a 33-24 lead after four minutes. After a Wofford turnover, the Spiders added a bucket and free throw for a 10-0 run. The Terriers finally got on the board with a three pointer from Jarell Byrd with 13:24 on the clock down 36-27. Two minutes later, the lead was 38-30 for the Spiders.
Wofford had a bucket by Spencer Collins with 7:37 remaining to cut the advantage to 45-38. After John Swinton made it a 47-40 game, Kendall Anthony scored four straight points for the Spiders to increase the lead to 51-40 with six minutes on the clock. Wofford cut the lead to 52-45 with 2:10 left after a shot by Lee Skinner. Karl Cochran hit a three to make it 56-50 with one minute remaining. A three by Lee Skinner cut the lead to 58-55 with 33.6 seconds left and a three by Karl Cochran with twelve seconds made it a 60-58 game. The Spiders hit two free throws with 11.1 on the clock to make it a four point game. After a missed three by Wofford, Richmond hit two free throws for the 64-58 final score.
Wofford shot 36 percent from the floor while Richmond shot 40 percent overall. The Terriers were 8-of-22 from three, while the Spiders were 4-of-18 from behind the arc. Wofford was 10-of-16 from the free throw line, while Richmond was 22-of-28 from the line. The Spiders had a 38 to 33 lead on the glass. The game was the first career start for freshman C.J. Neumann, but he left the game with a jaw injury. Karl Cochran fouled out in the final second of the game.
Wofford will continue the five-game road trip on Friday and Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina for the Nation of Coaches Classic. The Terriers will face Hampton on Friday and UNC Wilmington on Saturday, with both games starting at 2:00 p.m.
East Carolina 82, Appalachian State 72
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball dropped its third-straight contest with an 82-72 loss at East Carolina on Tuesday night at Minges Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (1-3) jumped out to a quick four-point lead (6-2), but the Pirates (4-0) reeled off a 14-4 run to jump out to a 16-10 lead and never trailed after that.
Appalachian State, which struggled defensively in its previous two outings, was able to keep the contest close throughout the first half thanks in large part to the play of Jay Canty who scored 12 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
After trailing by six points following ECU's early run, the Mountaineers were able to chip away at the lead and draw within two (20-18) after back-to-back buckets by Tevin Baskin and Jamaal Trice with 9:10 left in the first half.
The Pirates responded with three-straight points to extend the lead to five (23-18), but Nathan Healy and Canty would score the next four points to pull the Apps within one.
ECU would lead by as many as seven points on two occasions in the closing moments of the half, but a three-pointer from Healy and back-to-back buckets by Trice and Canty cut the deficit to three (36-33) before the Pirates scored again to go into the break with a 38-33 lead.
After East Carolina opened the second half with a layup, the Mountaineers would notch the next five points to cut the deficit to two (40-38) as the teams began a back-and-forth battle that would ensue for the final half of play.
The Pirates built an eight point lead (48-40) with just over 15 minutes left to play and kept a lead that hovered between three and five points until Trice brought the Apps within two (55-53) with 9:36 remaining in the contest.
ECU would go on to mount a 10-3 run and jump out to a 65-56 lead with just over seven minutes left to play. Appalachian would make things interesting in the closing moments as another three from Healy and a jumper by Canty would make it 72-69 with 3:02 remaining, but the Pirates were able to make key stops and convert at the free-throw line down the stretch to keep their perfect record intact.
Canty led all scorers with a career-high 25 points while Healy notched his first career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Baskin scored seven points, dished out five assists and grabbed 10 boards while Trice scored 10 points off the bench.
The Pirates were paced by Maurice Kemp's team-high 21 points and four blocks while Robert Sampson poured in 17 and ripped down 18 board. Miguel Paul added 14 points and six assists.
Appalachian shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the floor and converted 17-of-20 free throws. East Carolina shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62) on the night and connected on 22-of-30 shots at the foul line. The Pirates won the rebounding battle by a 40-37 margin and ripped down 13 offensive boards.
Appalachian State returns to action when it travels to Virginia Tech for a 2 p.m. contest on Friday.