Furman 77, Limestone 68
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Twin brothers Charlie and Colin Reddick combined for 33 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals to guide the Furman men's basketball team to a 77-68 victory over NCAA Division II Limestone College in exhibition action on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Junior Charlie Reddick poured in a team-high 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field to go with four rebounds, four assists and four steals in 30 minutes of action. Senior Colin Reddick, a 6-foot-9 forward, added 16 points, seven boards and three blocked shots. Senior Bobby Austin and redshirt freshman Keith Belfield also reached double figures for the Paladins with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Limestone jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening 2:30 as the Paladins missed their first five shots, but Charlie Reddick and Austin tallied eight points apiece in the first period to pull Furman within 36-35 at the break. Reddick netted the first six points of the second half as Furman gained a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
The Paladins, who shot 53.8% from the field in the second half, used an 11-0 run midway through the period to open up a 58-43 lead. The Saints trimmed the margin down to 69-64 on Joe Raga's three-point bucket with 2:28 to play before a Charlie Reddick free throw, Austin three-pointer and pair of Belfield free throws put the game out of reach at 75-64 with 1:30 remaining.
"We started off a little bit slow," said Austin. "I think everybody was just so excited to get out their and finally play the first game. We had the jitters a little bit and got going to fast. Once we slowed it down in the second half we got things going a little bit better."
Furman shot 46.4 percent from the floor while connected on 6-of-14 three-point attempts and 19-of-22 trips to the charity stripe in its only preseason tune-up. On the strength of nine boards from senior Bryant Irwin, Furman out-rebounded the Saints 41-38.
Senior's Charles Blue and Michael Barrett tallied 19 points apiece for Limestone while Pedro Foster added 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting beyond the arc. The Saints shot just 38.2 percent from the field and connected on 10-of-36 three-point attempts.
Furman opens its 2012-13 regular season next Saturday, November 10, when it hosts Ivy League member Columbia at Timmons Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
UNCG 102, Bluefield State 74
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Five Spartans scored in double figures as the UNCG men's basketball team posted a 102-74 victory over NCAA Division II member Bluefield State in an exhibition game culminating the 2012 Homecoming festivities held in front of a capacity crowd of 1,842 fans at Fleming Gymnasium on campus.
Junior Trevis Simpson led all scorers in double figures with 21 points, while fifth-year senior Kelvin McNeil and junior David Williams posted double-doubles. Williams chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds while McNeil contributed 15 points and 11 boards. Simpson was 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line in just 26 minutes of action.
UNCG out-shot the Blues .515 to .323, while also holding the upper hand in rebounding 50-37. The Spartans did a solid job of sharing the ball, recording 21 assists - seven of which came from junior Drew Parker, while senior Derrell Armstrong added six assists off the bench.
The Spartans weathered a couple of early 3-pointers from Bluefield State and took their first lead of the night on back-to-back highlight reel plays. Armstrong drove the basket quickly down the court where he found Simpson for an alley-oop dunk to make a 12-11 game. Simpson made a steal on the ensuing possession and Armstrong found Williams for another fast break dunk to extend the lead to 14-11.
The Blues hung around in the first half as they were strong from long range, hitting 6-of-13 three-pointers to limit the UNCG halftime lead to 45-40. The Spartans connected on 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from the field but hit just 3-of-10 (30 percent) from three-point land. UNCG committed 11 turnovers which led to 12 points against.
Simpson led all scorers with 13 points in the opening frame, one of three Spartans in double figures. McNeil added 11 points and seven rebounds while Williams chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. Bluefield State connected on 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from the field in the first half and committed 13 miscues. Daven Morris led the Blues with nine points while Johnny Uhegwu chipped in seven points off the bench.
The Spartans came out of the halftime break and opened the second half on a 12-4 run to take a 57-44 lead, forcing a Bluefield State timeout. Senior Kory Van Dussen ignited the spurt with five points, including a three-pointer in transition. Simpson capped the spurt by scoring with a baseline jumper while closely guarded.
UNCG broke the game open after Bluefield State narrowed the gap to 57-47 with a 24-6 run over a 7:28 stretch to extend the lead to 81-53. Seven different Spartans scored during the stretch, including eight points from Armstrong who 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Simpson added five points while sophomore Nicholas Paulos drained a three-pointer in transition to end the threat from Bluefield State.
The Spartans connected on 35-of-68 (51.15 percent) from the field and 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from long range. UNCG tallied 14 steals in the victory as it forced the Blues into 22 turnovers, scoring 23 points off those miscues. Armstrong scored 14 points off the bench as he was 4-of-9 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Van Dussen added 11 points and three assists to round out the Spartans in double figures as he was 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe. Freshman Kayel Locke added nine points and four rebounds off the bench while classmate RJ White chipped in five points, all from the free throw line.
Bluefield State was held to 32.3 percent (20-of-62) shooting from the field and finished the night shooting 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from long range. Morris led the Blues with 16 points as he was 9-of-13 from the field while Uhegwu and Treon Claiborne added nine points apiece.
The Spartans open the 2012-13 regular season Nov. 9 as they travel across the Triad to face High Point at 7 p.m. UNCG opens the home portion of the schedule Nov. 12, hosting Winston-Salem State at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Elon 101, Ferrum 49
ELON, N.C. - Austin Hamilton scored a game-high 19 points to help the Elon University men's basketball team to a 101-49 victory over the Ferrum Panthers on Saturday night, Nov. 3, in an exhibition tilt inside Alumni Gym.
Hamilton, playing against his brother, Marshall, a senior for Ferrum, was one of four Phoenix players in double figures, as the Herndon, Va., native connected on 8-of-10 shots from the field to go along with a game-high four assists. Marshall led the Panthers with a team-high nine points.
Ryley Beaumont and Tanner Samson both ended the night with 14 points, while Tony Sabato finished with 10 points in the win.
The maroon and gold shot a blistering 64 percent from the field in the victory, including 12-of-19 from beyond the arc. Samson connected on a game-high four three-pointers for the Phoenix.
The Elon defense held Ferrum to 37 percent shooting in the win and scored 33 points off 24 turnovers by the Panthers. Elon totaled 16 steals against Ferrum, led by a game-high four from Hamilton.
The Phoenix ended the night with a 34-29 advantage on the glass, as Beaumont, the team's leading rebounder from year ago, finished the evening with a game-high seven boards. Elon dominated the game in the paint as well, outscoring Ferrum, 50-16.
After a basket by Egheosa Edomwonyi put Elon up eight points, 20-12, just outside of 10 minutes, the Phoenix went on a 12-2 run to extend its lead to 32-14. The surge was capped off by a Lucas Troutman layup with 7:04 remaining.
Troutman ended the half with a layup as time expired, giving Elon its largest lead of the game at that point, 45-23. The Phoenix shot 55 percent (17-of-31) from the field in the opening stanza, led by 10 points each from Hamilton and Beaumont.
Elon began the second half on an 18-4 run, as a Samson three-ball with 14:32 to play put the Phoenix ahead, 63-27. Elon kept its foot on the gas in the second period, going ahead by 50 points with 5:03 to play on a Sabato jumper.
The 2012-13 regular season officially begins in one week, as Elon heads to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Nov. 10 to face the Butler Bulldogs in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Opening Games. Tip is set for 2 p.m.
College of Charleston 68, USC Aiken 52
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's basketball team defeated NCAA Division II USC Aiken, 68-52, in a rugged exhibition game Saturday night at TD Arena.
The game was marred by choppy play, with both teams combining for 25 fouls and 18 turnovers in the first half alone.
Senior guard Andrew Lawrence led the way for the Cougars with 14 points and three assists on 4-of-7 shooting including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Nine other players scored for CofC with junior big man Trent Wiedeman bringing down a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Cougars leapt out to an 18-8 lead six minutes into the game, before the Pacers went on an 8-3 run to cut the score to 21-16.
Charleston immediately responded with a pair of free-throws from sophomore Anthony Stitt, a three-pointer by redshirt junior Willis Hall and a free throw by freshman Theo Johnson on three-straight possessions to push the lead to 26-16 at the 4:44 minute mark.
The Cougars ended the half with a three-pointer by freshman Canyon Barry from the side with four seconds left to lead 33-24 at halftime.
Both squads began the second half with their starters, before each coach began mixing lineups. A runner in the lane and a dunk by junior Anthony Thomas off a fast-break pushed the Cougars' lead to 15 with 18:16 remaining in regulation, 39-24.
A block by sophomore Adjehi Baru at one end, and a slicing drive by Stitt on the other, pushed the lead to 17 points before the first media timeout.
While the game was never in doubt, CofC struggled from the foul line, hitting only 19-of-35. Ronald Zimmerman led the Pacers with 14 points.