College of Charleston 75, Towson 58

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's basketball team opened the Doug Wojcik Era and the 2012-13 season with a 75-58 win over Colonial Athletic Association opponent Towson on Friday night at TD Arena.

The Cougars (1-0) used white-hot shooting and suffocating defense to put away the Tigers (0-1) early in the first half and cruise to victory in the season opener. The win helped CofC improve to 16-6 in season openers, including 11-1 at home since it became a Division I member in 1991-92.

CofC shot 56.3 percent from the floor (27-48) and held Towson to just 36.8 percent (21-57) shooting. The defense forced 15 turnovers, including 12 in the first half, leading to 19 points. Last season, CofC opponents shot 42.0 percent and the Cougar defense averaged 14.4 takeaways.

The Cougars led 40-14 at halftime as Towson managed just six buckets against a manic CofC defense in the first 20 minutes. However, Charleston could not maintain the defensive intensity in the second half, allowing the Tigers to shoot 48.4 percent in the second frame and outscore CofC, 44-35.

Four different players tallied double figures in points, led by a 17-point performance by junior big man Trent Wiedeman, who shot an impressive 8-of-13 from the floor and gathered six boards. Senior Andrew Lawrence poured in 16 points, going 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Lawrence also dished out five assists and tied a career-high with seven rebounds.

Junior transfer Anthony Thomas scored 12 points in his debut in a Charleston uniform, while sophomore Anthony Stitt also notched 12 points with three trifectas.

Sophomore Adjehi Baru nearly amassed a double-double as he scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end.

Towson was led by Jerrelle Benimon's game-high 23 points. Bilal Dixon tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass.

The Cougars were dominant in the first half, opening up a 9-2 lead after Lawrence converted a fouled jumper in the lane followed by a free throw. The lead reached double digits at the 10:03 minute mark after a tip-in from Wiedeman gave CofC an 18-7 lead.

After a layup from Benimon, the Cougars excited the crowd of 4,215 with a 13-0 run that stretched an 18-9 lead to 31-9 after a steal and three-pointer from Stitt. Nearly half of CofC's 40 first-half points came as a result of 12 forced turnovers. A dunk from Wiedeman on a dish from Lawrence sealed a 40-14 halftime lead with the crowd on its feet.

The Cougars continued to keep their collective feet on the gas pedal in the opening minutes of the second half as another dunk from Wiedeman capped a 9-2 run that included threes from Thomas and Stitt, putting the Cougars up 49-16.

However, Towson began to creep back with increased shooting accuracy, trading baskets with the Cougars to keep the margin around 25 for much of the second half. The Tigers shot 48.8 percent in the second half and outrebounded CofC, 19-14, in the final 20 minutes.

Free throws from Towson's Kris Walden, followed by a jumper from Benimon, brought the Cougar lead to 19, 71-52, with just over three minutes left in regulation. However, CofC's defense stiffened and Towson never got closer than 15 points, before the Charleston reserves entered the court in the final minute.

Up next, the Cougars will take part in the ESPN Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant on Nov. 15, 16 & 18 at TD Arena. They will open the eight-team tournament with St. John's out of the BIG EAST Conference on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. (ET) and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Davidson 93, Emory 67

DAVIDSON, N.C. - De'Mon Brooks led four Davidson players in double figures with 24 points as the Wildcats defeated Emory, 93-67, in their 2012-13 season opener Friday evening at John M. Belk Arena.

In addition to Brooks finishing 8-of-12 from the floor and making all six of his attempts at the line, frontcourt mate Jake Cohen recorded 13 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.

ChrisCzerapowicz added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting with three 3-pointers for the Wildcats, while JP Kuhlman scored 12 of his 14 points after intermission.

Davidson (1-0) shot 56.7 percent in the second half, including 6-of-8 from long range to finish the game at 48.5 percent (32-66) overall and 45.5 percent (10-22) from behind the arc. The Wildcats also drilled 19 of their 24 tries at the charity stripe for a 79.2 percent clip.

After Emory went on a 17-6 run to cut a 12-point deficit to one, 31-30, with 6:15 to go in the first half, Davidson closed on an 11-4 spurt capped off by a Clint Mannjumper to take a 42-34 lead into the break.

The Wildcats got eight straight points from Brooks early in the second half to push the margin back to double digits where it would stay the remainder of the contest.

Nik Cochran led both teams with seven assists as the Wildcats tallied 21 on 32 field goals, while committing just eight turnovers.

Emory's Alex Greven led all players with 27 points, including five treys, while Jake Davis also finished in double figures with 14 for the Eagles.

The 'Cats, who led by as many as 27 with just over a minute to play, held a 45-34 advantage on the glass.

On Monday, Davidson will begin a stretch of six straight away from home with an 11:59 p.m. (local) tip at New Mexico, as part of ESPN's 24 hours of College Hoops Marathon.

Appalachian State 86, Montreat 54

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball jumped out to a 23-point lead less than nine minutes into the game and cruised to an 86-54 season-opening win over Montreat on Friday night at the Holmes Center.

Appalachian (1-0) outscored Montreat (1-2), 26-3, over a 4:55 span early in the ballgame to take a commanding 28-5 lead with 11:21 still to go in the first half. The Mountaineers expanded the advantage to as many as 28 points in the opening period and led by as much as 40 in the second half.

After struggling to pull ahead of Carson-Newman in an exhibition on Monday night, the Mountaineers left no doubt as to who was the superior team on Friday. App State took the early lead thanks to a barrage of three pointers from sophomore Tab Hamilton, who knocked down all six of his in the first half.

The Mountaineers limited Montreat to just 37.0 percent (10-for-27) from the floor through the first 20 minutes while converting 42.1 percent (16-of-38) of their own shots in the first half, including 7-of-15 from long range.

In the second half, Appalachian saw its lead cut to 21 points (48-27) in the opening minutes, but found its footing again and eventually pushed the lead to 40 points (82-42) with less than four minutes to play.

Hamilton led the way with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range while freshman Frank Eaves came off the bench to score 16 in his collegiate debut. Senior Nathan Healy made 5-of-6 shots from the field to round out three Mountaineers in double-figures with 12 points.

Sophomore transfer Jay Canty led all players with 12 rebounds and freshman point guard Chris Burgess dished out a game-high six assists to help pace Appalachian State's fourth-straight season-opening victory.

As a team, Appalachian shot 43.7 percent (31-for-71) from the floor and converted 15-of-19 free throws while holding Montreat to just 38.2 percent (21-for-55) shooting on the night. The Apps grabbed 48 rebounds, 20 on the offensive end, to the Cavaliers' 31.

The Mountaineers forced 26 turnovers and notched 18 steals, including a game-high five from junior Tevin Baskin, while committing 18 turnovers of its own.

Appalachian returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts High Point. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Holmes Center.

Austin Peay 75, Samford 64

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- The Samford University basketball team clawed to within five points, 51-46, in the second half of play Friday before the Austin Peay Governors fought off the Bulldogs' rally to hold on for a 75-64 season-opening victory held at the Dunn Center.

"There's no doubt about the fact that if we would have knocked down a few more 3-point shots, then it would have been a whole new game," said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. "It's hard to win when you go 2-for-24 from 3-point range, but the thing that jumped out for me was not our offense, but our defense. Their three big guys went 13-for-16 from the field. If we allow that kind of shooting percentage, then it's going to be hard to win."

Friday's contest marked the first Samford (0-1) game of The Seltzer Era. The Bulldogs battled hard under their first-year head coach and nearly pulled out the victory despite only shooting 8.3 percent (2-of-24) from beyond the arc.

Samford's offensive attack was buoyed by true freshman Tim Williams who scored a game-high 23 points in his college debut. The Bulldogs' highly-touted native of Chicago, Ill., also posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and knocked down 10-of-18 of his attempts from the field.

Sophomore point guard Raijon Kelly registered 11 points on a 5-of-15 performance from the field, while Tyler Hood chipped in with nine points, all of which were scored in the second half of play.

Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Samford mounted a furious rally in the second period to trim Austin Peay's lead to 51-46 with 11:24 remaining in the game. During the Bulldogs' 12-6 run, Hood scored on back-to-back fast-break layups, while Kelly, Williams and Connor Miller all knocked down mid-range jumpers.

"We got off to a rough start early," Seltzer said. "Raijon got two early fouls and that was tough for us, because we had to sit him down early in the first half. Our shots weren't falling in the first half, and when you're in that situation, you need to get stops. We didn't get stops then and when the game was in the balance late in the second half, we didn't get any stops either."

Austin Peay (1-0) held firm midway through the second half and slowly built its lead back up to 11 points at 66-55 with 5:11 remaining in the game. Following a late 3-pointer from Anthony Campbell and a pair of free throws from Will Triggs, the Governors tied their biggest lead of the game at 75-57 with less than a minute to play.

Austin Peay earned its sixth-consecutive home victory against Samford and finished Friday's contest with four players scoring in double figures. The Governors' were paced offensively by Triggs' 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, while Travis Betran and Campbell both finished with 13.

A key performer for Austin Peay on Friday was Chris Freeman who posted a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He also finished 4-of-5 from the field.

Austin Peay took a 38-28 lead into the locker room by using a balanced offensive attack in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Governors had eight players score in the first half and were paced by both Triggs and Herdie Lawrence with seven points apiece.

Samford's Williams tallied 12 of the Bulldogs' 28 first-half points and turned in a 6-of-11 performance from the field. As a team, Samford shot 37.5 percent from the floor and only 8.3 percent (1-for-12) from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs' Kelly knocked down the team's lone 3-point basket of the first half in the final minutes of play.

Samford's Brandon Hayman provided an offensive spark off the bench in the first half and finished the opening period with six points on a 3-for-3 performance from the field. Kelly, who picked up two early fouls Friday, only played 10 minutes in the first half, but scored five points on a 2-of-4 shooting performance.

Austin Peay knocked down six 3-point field goals in the opening period and led by as many as 16 points in the first half. Samford did a valiant job of fighting through its shooting woes to trim the Governors' lead down to 38-28 at the intermission.

"We didn't shoot the ball well at all tonight, and I can tell you that we won't shoot that bad again this season," said Seltzer. "Defensively, we need to get tougher, and when we need to get a stop, we have to be able to step up and get some stops. We just have to be a lot tougher on defense."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs open their 2012-13 home schedule against the Martin Methodist Redhawks at the Pete Hanna Center.

Valparaiso 85, Georgia Southern 54

VALPARAISO, Ind. - Georgia Southern ran into a very good Valparaiso squad in the 2012-13 season opener, falling 85-54 to the Crusaders. The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday night with a trip to Charlotte. That game can be seen at 9 p.m. live, nationwide, on the NBC Sports Network

"Last year Valparaiso reached the Horizon League Championship Game and they proved tonight that they are going to be a tournament caliber club this year," said Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "I was worried about our injuries coming in with some of our guys not getting as many reps. We knew it was going to be tough tonight, now we've got to get ourselves ready for Tuesday's game at Charlotte."

The Eagles were led in scoring by freshman Cleon Roberts who scored 18 points on the night. It was the best career-opener since Eric Ferguson dropped 26 points in his career opener, just up the road at Notre Dame.

"Cleon is a long, athletic player and he showed he could play tonight," said Young. "We've got to get everyone playing at that level and healthy so we can have more consistency this year."

Eric Ferguson opened his junior season with his fifth-straight double-figure scoring night. He dropped 16 points with seven rebounds in his 62nd career game for the Eagles. Valparaiso, however, was led by Kevin Van Wijk with 16 points. All nine players for Valpo scored five or more points.

Southern was hampered in the contest by 21 turnovers which paved the way to 36 Crusader points. Junior Tre Bussey was GSU's third player in double-figures with 10 points, reaching double-figures for the first time since the 2010-11  

Georgia Southern fell behind early in the contest, getting off to a nervy start in the early minutes of the game. GSU trailed by as many as 13 at 11:15 in the first half, before cutting the margin to six points with nine minutes remaining. GSU's start included a Ferguson dunk to start the scoring for the fifth-consecutive game.

Valparaiso, however got hot from downtown in the opening period, going 6-for-13 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The Crusaders shot 46 percent from the field in the first half to GSU's 33 percent mark. A three-pointer by Jordan Coleman at the horn gave Valpo a 40-21 advantage at the intermission.

In the second half, Valparaiso improved its shooting from the field, finishing the game with a 53 percent mark overall and 54 percent from three-point range. The Crusaders made 7-of-11 from downtown in the second half to take the victory.

Next up for Georgia Southern is a trip to Charlotte on Tuesday evening. The game can be seen live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 9 p.m.

High Point 81, UNCG 73

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The UNCG men's basketball team rallied from 19-points down and cut the lead to two late in the second half, but the Spartans dropped an 81-73 decision to hosting High Point Friday night in the 2012-13 season opener at the Millis Center.

"Obviously, this is not the result we wanted but I am proud the guys never quit fighting and made the run we did in the second half," head coach Wes Miller said. "We still need to learn what it takes to win games and the effort we showed in that 12-minute span in the second half is the type of effort we need on both ends of the floor the entire game."

Freshman forward Kayel Locke ignited the Spartans second-half rally as he scored 17 points off the bench, including 15 in the second half in his regular season debut. Locke connected on 7-of-12 from the field while hitting his first career three-pointer during a stretch scoring nine of 11 points for UNCG. Junior Trevis Simpson added a team-high 18 points as he shook off a slow start to score 14 points in the final 4:04 of the game.

High Point was led by redshirt freshman John Brown who scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his debut. Brown hit 12-of-22 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line while teaming with fellow post Allan Chaney to score 43 points. Chaney, a transfer from Virginia Tech, scored 15 points before fouling out in his first game since 2009 due to a health issue.

High Point used the energy of its home crowd at the start as it opened to a 16-9 lead with eight straight points. John Brown led the Panthers with eight of the Panthers' first 10 points. The Spartans weathered the early storm as senior Korey Van Dussen scored on back-to-back possessions to make it a four-point game.

After the Panthers extended the lead back to 26-15, the Spartans started to settle in on both ends of the floor as they posted a 13-4 run to make it a one-point game at 29-28. Sophomore Nicholas Paulos and junior Drew Parker hit back-to-back three-pointers to ignite the spurt before senior Derrell Armstrong scored five straight, including an old-fashioned three-point play.

The Spartans tightened up the defense after the strong HPU start as they limited the Panthers to just 2-of-14 shooting during an eight-minute stretch. High Point slowed the Spartans' momentum heading into the break with a modest 8-3 run that included five-points off the bench from Lorenzo Cugini giving the Panthers a 39-33 lead at the half.

UNCG connected on 12-of-28 from the field and 3-of-8 from long range in the opening frame. Eight different Spartans scored in the half with Van Dussen, Parker and Armstrong leading the charge with six points apiece. High Point ended the half shooting 39.5 percent (15-of-38) from the field after starting on a 10-of-18 pace. Brown led all scorers in the first half with 13 points as he was 6-of-12 from the field while Cugini chipped in nine points.

High Point came out of the halftime break and posted a 17-4 run to extend the lead to 56-37 with 13:42 left in the game. Chaney scored the first four points of the second half before Brown added six straight in the early going to give the momentum back to the Panthers.

UNCG weathered the storm and righted the ship posting a 16-5 run to pull the game back into single digits at 63-57. Armstrong gave the Spartans life early in the run with a three-pointer before Locke took over scoring nine of 11 points for UNCG, including a jumper with 4:31 left to narrow the gap to six points.

After a High Point three-pointer, the Spartans posted an 11-2 run to trim the deficit to just two points at 70-68 with two minutes remaining. Simpson took over during the run, scoring nine of the 11 points including a big three-pointer which answer HPU's three-pointer at the start of the spurt.

The two-point threshold was as close as UNCG would get in the final two minutes as High Point hit 7-of-8 free throws in the closing minutes to seal the victory.

UNCG finished the game shooting 43.3 percent (26-of-60) from the field and 40 percent (8-of-20) from three-point land. The Spartans were off from the free throw line, connecting on just 56.5 percent (13-of-23) while also committing 17 turnovers.

Armstrong added 10 points off the bench to round out the Spartans in double figures but the usually reliable free throw shot was off for him as he hit just 3-of-8 after shooting 80.2 percent from the charity stripe last season. Junior David Williams added six points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes before fouling out.

High Point ended the game shooting 44.1 percent (30-of-68) from the field and 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from long range. The Panthers converted 18 second chance points in the victory as they grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and notched nine steals.

The Spartans open the home portion of the 2012-13 schedule Monday night as they host Winston-Salem State at the Greensboro Coliseum. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Colorado 74, Wofford 59

BOULDER, Colo. - In the season opener, the Wofford men's basketball team was defeated 74-59 by the University of Colorado at the Coors Events Center. The Buffs had a 7-0 run early in the first half and a 13-5 run to open the second half in securing the victory.

Wofford begins the season 0-1, while Colorado is 1-0. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 22 points, which included six three-pointers. Spencer Collins added 16 points in his first career game and Lee Skinner had eight rebounds. The Buffs were led by Josh Scott with 14 points, while Askia Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie each had 13 points.

"That was an electric environment to have three freshmen in the line-up at different points," said head coach Mike Young. "We have a long way to go. Colorado is very good. We have a laundry list of things we need to shore up, such as shot selection. At the end of the day I was really impressed with how hard they competed and their willingness to do what we ask. There were too many threes tonight and that is not what we do. We only shot two foul shots. I am excited about where we are going to get to with this team. It will take a little time, but we will get there. We look forward to opening at home on Monday and getting better."

The Buffs scored first, but the score was tied at five each after a shot by Lee Skinner. Colorado then went on a 7-0 run to push the lead to 12-5 at 13:37 in the first half. Jarell Byrd hit a three, but the Buffs hit back-to-back threes to push the lead to 18-8 with 11:57 on the clock.

Colorado had a 22-10 lead before Karl Cochran and Spencer Collins hit three pointers to cut the advantage to 22-16 with 9:10 remaining in the first half. The Buffs would extend the lead to ten points on three occasions before a three by Spencer Collins made it a 30-23 score with three minutes left in the half. Colorado scored the next four points and at the half, the Buffs led 34-23.

Wofford opened the second half with a three by Karl Cochran to cut the lead to 34-26. The Buffs would respond with a 13-2 run for a 47-28 lead after five minutes of play. After building a twenty point advantage, Karl Cochran added two more three pointers to cut the lead to 52-37 with 12:15 on the clock. 

At the ten minute mark of the second half, Colorado's lead was back to twenty points. The Buffs took their largest advantage of the game with 3:21 at 23 points. In the final two minutes of play, Karl Cochran hit two three pointers and Spencer Collins added a three to make the final score 74-59.

Wofford shot 36.1 percent from the floor while Colorado shot 44.7 percent overall. The Terriers were 13-of-35 from three, while the Buffs were 4-of-12 from behind the arc. Wofford was 2-of-2 from the free throw line, while Colorado was 28-of-36 from the line. The Buffs had a 38 to 34 lead on the glass. Indiana Faithfull fouled out for the Terriers.

Wofford will host Webber International on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at Benjamin Johnson Arena before a five-game road trip.

UNC Asheville 71, Western Carolina 61

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville's Jeremy Atkinson posted a double-double of a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Bulldogs handed Western Carolina a 71-61 setback Friday night in nonconference action at the Kimmel Arena in both squad's season openers.

The loss was the third-straight for WCU against their mountain-rival in games played in Asheville, and the first-ever meeting in UNCA's Kimmel Arena.

Atkinson's performance overshadowed a career-night for WCU redshirt junior Tom Tankelewicz. Making his first start for the Purple & Gold, the Apex, N.C., native buried a career-best five 3-pointers en route to a career-high 15 points to lead three Catamounts in double figures.

Junior post Tawaski King recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds including six on the offensive end, while Trey Sumler finished with a solid stat line, scoring 11 points with five assists and three steals. Junior Brandon Boggs struggled from the field, shooting 3-for-13, but managed nine points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Western Carolina (0-1) led early, taking control of the see-saw affair with seven-straight points to break a 9-9 tie in the first 10 minutes of the game. The seven-point spurt put WCU ahead by its game-high margin of six points, 16-10. The Bulldogs rallied, though, quickly erasing the deficit and taking the lead three times throughout the remainder of the opening stanza.

Tied at 30 in the closing second of the first half, Sumler made an up-and-under circus shot at the buzzer to give the Catamounts a two-point, 32-30, advantage at intermission. Tankelewicz and Sumler both scored nine first half points. WCU led despite UNCA shooting 52-percent against 32-percent for the Catamounts.

UNC Asheville (1-0) used a 12-to-3 run to start the second half to erase the two-point deficit and pull ahead, 42-35 - a lead it would never relinquish down the stretch. The Bulldogs pulled out by as many as 10 points midway through the half, but were unable to put WCU away.

The Catamounts clawed back to within six points on three separate occasions inside the final seven minutes, but were unable to find the defensive stop and subsequent score to cut further into the Bulldog advantage.

Down six at the 6:37 mark, Atkinson found room on the low block for a lay-up to again push UNCA ahead by eight. Two minutes later, a slam dunk by King again pulled the game to within two possessions at 63-57. However, an offensive rebound after a missed 3-pointer gave the ball back the Bulldogs and Trent Meyer converted a lay-up to again stretch the margin.

All told, WCU was outscored 41-29 in the second half. The Bulldogs managed to shoot 46.2-percent for the game against 31.8-percent for the Catamounts. UNCA outscored WCU in the paint, 46-to-28 and converted a 47-to-40 edge on the glass into a 20-to-14 advantage in second-chance points.

In addition to Atkinson's play, post D.J. Cunningham added 12 and nine boards to go along with three blocks for the Bulldogs while Will Weeks scored 13 points with six rebounds off the bench for UNCA.

Western Carolina returns to Cullowhee to open the home portion of its 2012-13 schedule on Sunday night against the Mars Hill Lions. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.