College of Charleston 63, #24 Baylor 59
WACO, Texas - Four players scored in double figures to lead College of Charleston to a 63-59 upset of No. 24-ranked Baylor on Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
The Cougars (3-2) claimed only their sixth all-time win over a top 25 opponent in program history and the second-ever on the road next to a win at No. 8 Georgia Tech on Jan. 16, 1993. They held the Bears (4-2), who have reached the NCAA Elite Eight in two of the last three seasons, to just 39.3 percent shooting from the field (24-of-61) in the victory.
Redshirt junior forward Willis Hall led CofC with a game-high 12 points including key baskets and free throws in the final minutes of regulation. Junior transfer Anthony Thomas added 11, while senior guard Andrew Lawrence and sophomore guard Anthony Stitt had 10 each.
It was the first big win in the Doug Wojcik era and first over a top 25 opponent since upsetting No. 9-ranked North Carolina on their own home court on Jan. 4, 2010 in Charleston, S.C. Both teams played without a starter in Charleston's Trent Wiedeman, who is out indefinitely with an ankle sprain, and Baylor's Brady Heslip, who is recovering from an appendectomy.
The Cougars will remain on the road for the month of November with an intercity rivalry matchup with Charleston Southern (1-4) scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. (ET) at the Buc Dome in North Charleston, S.C. The game will be televised locally on MyTV Charleston and carried on ESPN3 via the Charleston Sports Network on WatchESPN.com.
Chattanooga 65, Kennesaw State 51
KENNESAW, Ga. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (2-4) went on the road for a 65-51 win at Kennesaw State (1-6) Saturday afternoon. UTC used a strong first half offensively and a lockdown defensive second frame for the win.
Z. Mason led four double-digit scorers for the Mocs with 14 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Gee McGhee added 12 points for the day. Markeith Cummings had a game-high 16 points for KSU. Aaron Anderson chipped in 10 points and seven boards.
It was a four-point game, 21-17 UTC, with 8:20 left in the first half when the Mocs took control. It out-scored the Owls 17-4 the rest of the way with McGhee's 16-footer as time ticked away to end the half sent a jubilant group of Mocs into the locker room up 38-21.
Drazen Zlovaric's layup with 12:11 remaining put UTC up by 20, 44-24. Casey Jones and Farad Cobb matched that lead almost four minutes later.
Jones hit the first of two free throws, but Mason hustled for the offensive board on the miss keeping possession on the Mocs' end. He found Cobb just to the right of the top of the key who nailed a three-pointer for the four-point trip and a 51-31 lead.
It wasn't easy, however. Chattanooga had 18 of its 23 turnovers in the second half. Its defense was well, its defense. The Mocs limited Kennesaw State to just 29.4 percent shooting after intermission including a 0-13 effort from three-point range.
The Owls closed to a single-digit deficit, 59-51, with 1:37 left on two Jordan Montgomery free throws. But the Mocs stayed tough down the stretch. Ronrico White made five-of-six free throws to cement the win.
White and Zlovaric scored 10 points apiece for the Mocs. Zlovaric grabbed seven rebounds as UTC dominated the glass. It out-rebounded the Owls 43-22 matching its season-best plus-21 margin (Tennessee Temple).
That was pronounced on the offensive end of the floor. The Mocs grabbed 14 of its own misses while KSU managed just 12 defensive rebounds. That amounted to an 18-4 advantage in second chance points.
Chattanooga returns home Saturday, December 1, opening Southern Conference play. Defending champion Davidson visits for a 7:30 p.m., tip.
UNC Wilmington 49, Wofford 37
WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team was defeated 49-37 by UNC Wilmington at Trask Coliseum in the Nations of Coaches Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers were held to 29 percent shooting from the floor as they completed a five-game road trip.
Wofford begins the season 2-5, while UNCW is 2-3. The Terriers were led by Spencer Collins with 13 points, while Lee Skinner had nine rebounds. The Seahawks were led by Keith Randleman with 16 points. Cedrick Williams had ten points and 15 rebounds for the double-double.
"Needless to say the Terriers had a hard time finding the bottom of the bucket today and the Seahawks had something to do with that," said head coach Mike Young. "I have had young teams before and there will be days like this one, hopefully few and far between though. We are on the fifth game of a nine day road trip and we are ready to get home and get back to the practice floor."
The Seahawks scored first, but the Terriers had a 5-4 lead after a three pointer by Indiana Faithfull. UNCW scored the next four points and led 8-5 at the 15:36 mark. Wofford tied the contest at eight with a three pointer by Spencer Collins. The Seahawks had an 11-8 advantage after eight minutes of play.
UNCW pushed the lead to 16-10 at the mid-point of the first half. The Terriers had a three by Karl Cochran to cut the advantage to 20-17 at the seven minute mark. Wofford made it a one-point game after a jumper by Jarell Byrd, but the Seahawks scored the next four points for a 24-19 lead with 3:43 remaining in the half. After a three-minute scoring drought by both teams, the Seahawks added one free throw to make it a 25-19 score at the break.
To open the second half, the Seahawks scored four straight points to take a 29-19 lead. Spencer Collins ended the 9-0 run by UNCW with a three pointer, but it was matched at the other end by Freddie Jackson for a 32-22 lead four minutes into the half. The Seahawks built a 37-26 lead with 11:22 remaining.
The Seahawks then used a 6-0 run to push the advantage to 43-26 with 7:41 on the clock. Wofford scored seven straight points to cut the lead to 43-33 after a lay-up by Aerris Smith with 4:34 left in the game. The 9-0 run by the Terriers was ended with 3:30 remaining in the half with the score 45-35. The Seahawks added four free throws for a 49-35 lead and Taylor Wagener hit two free throws in the final minute for the 49-37 final score.
Wofford shot 29 percent from the floor while UNCW shot 37 percent overall. The Terriers were 5-of-22 from three, while the Seahawks were 2-of-8 from behind the arc. Wofford was 2-of-7 from the free throw line, while UNCW was 11-of-19 from the line. The Seahawks had a 44 to 30 lead on the glass.
Wofford will return home next Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. against Winthrop.
Radford 74, The Citadel 61
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sophomore Ashton Moore finished with 12 points, leading four Citadel players in double figures, but it Radford's ability to control the glass that made the difference in the Highlanders 74-61 victory at McAlister Field House on Saturday afternoon.
Moore came off the bench and connected on 4-of-9 field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers, coupled with four assists to lead The Citadel offense. He was joined in double-digit scoring by Mike Groselle (10 points), Marshall Harris III (10) and Matt Van Scyoc (10). Another key reserve for the Cadets was Dylen Setzekorn, whose eight-point output was highlighted by a 6-for-6 outing from the free throw line in the second half. The Bulldogs finished 18-of-47 (.383) from the floor, converting five 3-pointers and knocked down 20-of-24 (.833) from the free throw line.
Groselle posted a team-high nine rebounds, snagging four on the offensive glass, as The Citadel finished with 33 team rebounds. Joining Groselle among the rebounding leaders were Harris (five) and Van Scyoc (four). The Dogs slipped to 3-2 on the season as they head into their first Southern Conference contest on Dec. 1.
Radford earned the victory in the first-ever meeting between two schools behind the 13-point outing of Ya Ya Anderson. Anderson finished 5-for-9 from the floor, hitting two 3-pointers, while teammate Blake Smith added 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. Also reaching double figures for the Highlanders (4-3) were R.J. Price and Kyle Noreen, who finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Anderson and Smith shared a team-high five field goals as Radford closed the contest by hitting 26-of-63 (.413) from the floor. The key for the Highlanders' offense was 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 13 second chance points. As a team, Radford pulled down 42 rebounds, allowing for a 36-18 edge in points in the paint.
Facing an 18-point deficit at the intermission, The Citadel opened with seven of the first 12 points of the second half, including three from Harris, to make for a 47-31 lead.
The Bulldogs and Radford battle through a scoreless 3:04 stretch of the second half, before Anderson scored on a layup to push the margin back to 18, 49-31.
Just over two minutes later, Moore's jumper from just outside the lane sparked a 12-0 Citadel run that trimmed the Highlander lead to six, 49-43. In that span, Setzekorn drew Radford three fouls and finished a perfect 6-of-6 to energize the Bulldogs offense.
Radford answered with back-to-back layups by Noreen and Price, moving the lead back to double figures, 53-43. However, at the 6:46 mark of the game Harris found Setzekorn on the fast break for a layup, drawing the margin eight.
The Highlanders did not succumb to the Bulldogs defensive pressure, outscoring
The Citadel 12-4 over the next 4:49 of the game to stretch the lead to 65-49.
Eight points by Moore in the final 1:19 of the half was not enough to deny Radford, who came away with the 74-61 win.
The Citadel offense was plagued by 8-of-24 (.333) shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers, in the opening frame. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Van Scyoc (8 points), Groselle (6 points) and Miller (5 points). Van Scyoc connected on 2-of-5 field goal attempts, both coming from beyond the arc, to go along with a pair of free throws. Meanwhile, Groselle hauled in seven rebounds, including three on the offensive glass, to lead the way for a Citadel unit that finished with 20 by the intermission.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders capitalized on 15 offensive rebounds in the first half to open up a 42-24 lead at the intermission. Anderson led the way for Radford with 11 points, hitting 4-of-7 from the floor, including two 3-pointers.
After a 2:29 scoreless stretch by both teams to open the game, Radford ran off 12 of the next 16 points over a 3:54 stretch to assume the 12-4 lead on a Brandon Holcomb old fashioned three-point play.
Van Scyoc singlehandedly scored the next six points for The Citadel, draining a pair of 3-pointers to make for a 15-10 lead at the 12:42 mark.
Following a bucket by Anderson, Moore and Groselle combined for the next four Citadel points, which cut the margin to 17-14.
That lead quickly turned to nine, 23-14, following a layup by Radford's Javonte Green with 9:16 remaining in the half. Just over a minute later, with the Dogs trailing 29-18 following a Groselle layup, the Highlanders put together an 11-0 run highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers by Anderson and Noreen to stretch the lead to 40-18.
The Citadel snapped its drought with a Miller 3-pointer and following points by Bray and Groselle closed the half on a 6-2 run, sending both teams to the intermission with a 42-24 Radford lead.
The Bulldogs return to action next Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum when they face UNCG at 7 p.m.
VMI 90, Elon 81
LEXINGTON, Va. - Stan Okoye led a second-half surge by Virginia Military Institute that proved to be too much for the Elon men's basketball team to overcome on Saturday night, Nov. 24, as the Phoenix fell to the Keydets, 90-81, inside Cameron Hall.
Okoye led all players with 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field to go along with a game-high 16 rebounds.
Elon moves to 4-2 on the young season with the setback, while VMI improves to 3-3 with the win, its 27th-straight non-conference home victory.
"The margin for error is ever so slight when you go against a team like VMI that has a player like Okoye," said Phoenix head coach Matt Matheny. "I thought we really battled and competed in the first half and overcame some adversity, but there were two or three segments in the second half that VMI went on runs and we failed to stop them with our toughness."
Jack Isenbarger led four Phoenix players in double figures with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a 6-of-10 clip from beyond the arc.
Lucas Troutman finished the night with 16 points and eight boards, while Ryley Beaumont pitched in 12 points, six boards and six assists. Austin Hamilton was the fourth Elon player in double digits with 10 points.
After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, including 8-of-12 from long distance, the Phoenix went cold in the final 20 minutes from three-point land, going just 2-of-17.
The Keydets got to the free throw line often in the second period, converting 16-of-19 from the charity stripe. In all, VMI knocked down 81 percent (25-of-31) from the free throw line in the win. The Phoenix finished the game 11-of-13 (85 percent) at the line.
Trailing by four with less than six minutes to play in the first period, the Phoenix made it a one-basket game after Tanner Samson found a wide open Troutman underneath the hoop for a dunk to make it a 34-32 game.
Elon closed the half on a 12-2 run over the final 4:06 to take a 46-43 lead at intermission.
The Phoenix shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field in the opening stanza, including an 8-of-12 mark from beyond the arc. Isenbarger led the Phoenix with 17 points in the first 20 minutes after connecting on five shots from long distance.
Okoye gave the Keydets a five-point lead with 11:41 remaining in the second half after hitting a jumper in the paint to make it a 66-61 game.
Trailing by nine with 7:49 to play, the Phoenix rallied to pull within four points after a Hamilton three and Samson layup made it a 74-70 game with 5:06 left. But the Keydets answered to reclaim a nine-point lead after hitting back-to-back shots to take a 79-70 advantage with 4:06 remaining in the second period.
VMI outscored Elon by 12 points, 47-35, in the second half and held on to the lead for the game's final 15:10.
Elon wraps up a three-game road swing on Wednesday, Nov. 28, when the Phoenix opens Southern Conference play at Georgia Southern. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
Maryland 70, Georgia Southern 53
COLLEGE PARK, MD. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball gave Maryland a fright on Saturday night at the Comcast Center, trailing by just three points at halftime before the Terps took the 70-53 result. C.J. Reed led the team with 15 points on the night with a pair of three-pointers and some solid drives to the basket. The Eagles out-played the Terps on Saturday night as Georgia Southern gets primed for the SoCon opener at home against Elon on Wednesday.
"Our players out-played the Terrapins and our game plan gave Maryland trouble," said Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "We gave these guys a game, but our shots didn't fall as well as we would have liked tonight. Our guys did a lot of things we wanted to do, but we made some mental errors that really cost us tonight."
Reed led all scorers with 15 points in his best performance in Eagle colors. He also tallied a pair of assists while sharing team-high rebounding honors with Eric Ferguson at five boards. Ferguson scored 13 points in the contest with three steals and a pair of assists. As a unit, GSU was out-rebounded 49-25 by a long Maryland squad.
The Terrapins put four scorers in double-figures paced by 13 points from Charles Mitchell. He also had 11 rebounds. Logan Aronhalt went 4-for-4 from downtown with 12 points.
Tre Bussey added three three-pointers to finish the game with 11 points. Brian Holmes went scoreless, but contributed with three of the Eagles' 10 steals. GSU forced the Terps into 17 turnovers which the Eagles converted into 23 points. The Terrapins, however, scored 37 of their 70 points off the bench.
The Eagles raced out to an early 9-1 lead with a trio of three-pointers in the first three minutes of the game. The Eagles forced 10 first half turnovers off six steals to keep the margin down to three points at the interval.
Out of the halftime break the Eagles slowed from the field as Maryland started the second half with a 22-9 run. That set the table for the Terps to outscore the Eagles 41-27 in the final 20 minutes. GSU shot just 32 percent from the field in the second half while the Terps shot 59 percent in the final stanza.
With the loss, GSU falls to 2-3 on the year while Maryland improves to 5-1 overall.
GSU returns home to open SoCon play against Elon on Wednesday night. The game against the Phoenix starts at 7 p.m. inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
UT-Arlington 65, Samford 58
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite trailing by 10 points at the half Saturday, the Samford basketball team rallied to within 49-48 with 7:58 to play against the UT Arlington Mavericks in a hotly-contested non-conference matchup held at the Pete Hanna Center. UT Arlington shot 67 percent in the final period and held off the Bulldogs' come-from-behind attempt in a 65-58 win.
"Once again, we're still struggling in the toughness department," said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. "We need to stop turning the ball over as much and we need to do a better job of rebounding. Tonight, we gave up 13 offensive rebounds and the first half hurt us. We played better in the second half, but the first half really hurt us. They shot very well in the second half, but that just means that we need to do a better job of defending."
Midway through the second half, Samford (1-6) used a deep 3-point basket from Clide Geffrard, Jr., and a running jumper from Raijon Kelly to trim UT Arlington's (2-1) lead to 49-48 with just under eight minutes remaining in the game.
Kelly, the Bulldogs' dynamic sophomore point guard from St. Paul, Minn., turned in one of his best outings of the young 2012-13 season Saturday and scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Kelly also went a near-perfect 4-of-5 from 3-point range and handed out four assists in 36 minutes of playing time.
Immediately after Kelly's jumper trimmed the Mavericks' advantage to 49-48, UT Arlington's Brandon Edwards was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws. Junior guard Shaq White-Miller was also fouled and connected on two free throws of his own before Edwards capitalized on a steal and laid it in following a Samford turnover.
"I thought we were right where we wanted to be, but then they go right down and get an easy score," Seltzer said. "UT Arlington only missed four shots in the second half and that's really hard to overcome. That again goes back to our problem the entire year and that's the fact that we need to get tougher. Our toughness stats did not show up again tonight."
Edwards' bucket gave UT Arlington a 55-48 advantage with 4:33 remaining in the game. The Mavericks' junior forward from Fort Worth, Texas, finished Saturday's contest with seven points and eight rebounds.
Samford's Kelly quickly answered UT Arlington's run with a 3-point basket to make the score, 55-51, but the Mavericks bounced back with back-to-back buckets from Kevin Butler and Jordan Reves.
The Bulldogs continued to battle down the stretch and used another 3-pointer from Geffrard, Jr., to trim UT Arlington's advantage to 59-54 with 1:52 left in the game. That would be the closest as Samford came in the final minutes as the Mavericks continued their hot shooting down the stretch and hung on for the 65-58 win.
UT Arlington finished with four players scoring in double figures Saturday and was paced offensively by Butler's 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Reves, the Mavericks' big 6-foot-10 senior, played a team-high 34 minutes and recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He also turned in a 7-of-12 shooting performance from the field.
Jamel Outler and White-Miller rounded out UT Arlington's double-digit scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Williams, the Bulldogs' explosive 6-foot-8 true freshman forward, registered his seventh straight double-digit scoring performance Saturday and nearly recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and nine rebounds. Samford's native of Chicago, Ill., finished 4-of-8 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line in 29 minutes of game action.
The Bulldogs' Connor Miller scored 11 points in nearly 40 minutes of playing time, while Geffrard, Jr., came off the bench to add nine.
As a team, Samford shot 40.9 percent from 3-point range, but only 37.3 percent from the field. The Bulldogs forced UT Arlington into 18 turnovers, while committing 14 of their own. Samford was out-rebounded by the Mavericks, 35-27.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their key three-game homestand against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in a pivotal matchup to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.