Rutgers 87, UNCG 80
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Despite another double-double from fifth-year senior Kelvin McNeil, the UNCG men's basketball team could not hold off Rutgers Sunday afternoon, falling to the Scarlet Knights 87-80 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
You have to give a ton of credit to Rutgers," head coach Wes Miller said. "I thought we played well in the first half and stayed in the game in the second half, but they did a better job of getting to loose balls and making plays down the stretch than we did. I feel bad for the guys in the locker room. I have to do a better job coaching, as I am not preparing them to play in games right now and I have to better prepare our guys to close out games."
McNeil posted 10 points and 11 rebounds as one of four Spartans who recorded double-digit points. Senior Derrell Armstrong tied his season high with 25 points on the strength of five three-point field goals while junior Trevis Simpson and senior Korey Van Dussen contributed 16 and 10 respectively.
The Scarlet Knights filled up the basket, shooting 57.4 percent on a 31-for-54 effort from the field, while limiting UNCG to 42 percent (29-for-69). The Spartans owned the glass, corralling 40 rebounds to Rutgers' 30, but the Scarlet Knights hit a good majority of their free throw attempts, knocking down 21-of-25 (84 percent).
Eli Carter led the Scarlet Knights with 25 points as he was 9-of-15 from the field and hit all six of his free throws. Myles Mack added 24 points in the victory for Rutgers as he was 9-of-11 from the field, 3-of-4 from long distance and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.
Rutgers (4-1) came out of the gate and scored the first eight points of the game on its way to a 10-2 early lead forcing the Spartans into a timeout. UNCG regrouped and answered back with a 13-4 run to take a 15-14 lead on the Scarlet Knights. Simpson started the run with five straight points, while Armstrong hit a three-pointer to put UNCG in front for the first time in the game.
The teams traded baskets until Rutgers posted a 29-28 lead with 5:48 left in the half. The Spartans took the lead back with six straight points as Armstrong hit another three-pointer before feeding freshman forward Kayel Locke for an old-fashioned three-point play in Rutgers' first possession of zone defense to take a 34-29 lead.
The Spartans (1-4) continued to push the pace as they extended their lead to 41-31 as they made it a 13-2 run. Armstrong hit another three-point in the spurt and then found Simpson on the fast break to make it a double-digit lead. Rutgers weathered the storm and scored six straight points to close the half on a 9-2 run, trimming the UNCG lead to 43-40 as Carter hit a deep three-pointer at the buzzer.
UNCG connected on 44.7 percent (17-of-38) from the field and 40 percent (6-of-15) from three-point land in the first half. Armstrong led all scorers with 16 points as he was 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from long range. Simpson added nine points while Locke chipped in seven points.
Rutgers connected on 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field and 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from long range. Mack led the Scarlet Knights with 15 points as he was 6-of-7 from the field while Carter added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The second half saw the Spartans open with two straight baskets as junior David Williams and Simpson scored to give UNCG a 47-40 lead. The Scarlet Knights responded with an 11-3 run to take a 51-50 lead as Dane Miller ignited Rutgers with an old-fashioned three-point play.
The teams continued to trade baskets back and forth until Rutgers posted a 7-2 run to take a 70-65 lead. The Scarlet Knights started to go the free throw line where they were strong as Carter nailed two giving RU a five-point lead. The Spartans kept battling and stayed within four points until Mack nailed a deep three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to extend the lead to 80-73. Rutgers clinched the victory from the charity stripe as it hit 18-of-22 free throws in the second half, including 10 in the final four minutes of the game.
The Spartans finished the game shooting just 28.0 percent (7-of-25) from three-point land while also hitting just 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the charity tripe. UNCG also committed 16 turnovers in the loss, which led to 23 points for the Scarlet Knights. Williams and Locke each chipped in eight points as seven Spartans scored in the matinee.
UNCG returns to action Wednesday night as it hosts crosstown rival North Carolina A&T. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Mercer 73, Furman 46
MACON, Ga. - Mercer outscored Furman 38-19 in the second half and forced 25 turnovers on the night en route to a 73-46 victory over the Paladins before a crowd of 2,272 on Sunday at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga.
The loss dropped the Paladins to 2-3 on the season while Mercer snapped a three-game skid to improve to 3-3. The Bears forced Furman into 25 miscues, including 14 in the first half, and outscored the Paladins 28-5 on points off turnovers to score their third straight victory in the series.
After finishing the first half on a 6-2 spurt to lead 35-27 at the break, Mercer opened the second half on a 32-6 run to build a 67-33 lead on Chris Smith's breakaway slam off of a Furman turnover with 7:54 remaining. The Bears connected on 13 of their first 22 shots in the second half while limiting the Paladins to only six points in the opening 13 minutes of the period.
Monty Brown came off the bench to score 14 points and lead four Bears in double figures. Jakob Gollon scored 11 points while Travis Smith and Daniel Coursey tallied 10 apiece.
Mercer converted on 44 percent of its field goal attempts, including 53 percent in the second half. The Bears, who outscored Furman 30-10 in the paint, drained 7-of-20 shots beyond the arc and 16-of-21 attempts at the foul line while committing just eight turnovers.
Freshman Larry Wideman buried three treys to pace the Paladins with 13 points and seven rebounds. Fellow freshman Stephen Croone added nine points and four assists.
Furman shot just 38.5% from the floor, made only 11-of-23 free throw attempts and struggled with foul trouble as senior Colin Reddick fouled out after just 21 minutes of work. The Paladins managed a 36-25 margin on the glass, but Furman was outscored 14-10 on second chance points.
The loss marked Furman's largest margin of defeat since losing 82-53 at Clemson on December 13, 2009. Furman's 46 points were the fewest for a Paladin squad since a 66-43 loss to College of Charleston on January 7, 2012.
The Paladins return home to open Southern Conference play on Wednesday when they host the Western Carolina Catamounts. Tip-off on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena is set for 7 p.m.
#17 Gonzaga 81, Davidson 67
ORLANDO, Fla. - Elias Harris (24) and Kevin Pangos (23) combined for 47 points to lift No. 17 Gonzaga over Davidson, 81-67, Sunday evening in the 2012 Old Spice Classic Championship at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Harris missed just two of his 11 shot attempts, went 6-of-7 at the free throw line and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for his 23rd career double-double. Pangos finished 8-of-14 from the floor including five of his club's seven 3-pointers.
Despite the setback, Nik Cochran led three Wildcats in double figures with a season-high 17 points, while Jake Cohen and De'Mon Brooks contributed 13 and 12, respectively.
The Zags, who entered shooting 51.8 percent through their first five games, shot 69.6 percent (16-23) in the second half to finish the contest at 55.1 percent (27-49) overall and 7-of-14 from 3-point range.
Trailing by nine at the break, Davidson (3-3) scored the first six points of the second half and eventually tied the score, 51-51, on a layup by Brooks at the 9:23 mark. Pangos answered the Wildcats' runs with four consecutive long 3-pointers to put Gonzaga (6-0) up the rest of the way.
The Wildcats shot just 36.2 percent and made 19-of-21 (.905) at charity stripe, including a 9-of-10 showing by Cohen.
After Davidson jumped out to a 13-4 lead, the Zags responded with a 26-5 run to go up by as many as 12, before going to the half with a 33-24 advantage.
The Wildcats opened 5-of-8 from the floor, but made just four out of their last 22 attempts to close the half, while battling serious foul trouble. In addition to shooting just 29 percent in the opening 20 minutes, Davidson had five players commit at least two fouls prior to intermission.
Kelly Olynyk also hit the 10-point plateau for Gonzaga with 14 points off the bench.
Davidson will enjoy a six-day break before heading to Chattanooga for its Southern Conference opener Saturday, Dec. 1.