Samford 75, Tennessee-Martin 62
MARTIN, Tenn. -- The Samford University basketball team tallied a key 75-62 triumph on the road against the UT Martin Skyhawks on Wednesday as the Bulldogs finished with five players scoring in double figures at the Elam Center.
"I thought our guys played extremely well tonight," said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. "I told them today that I hoped their bags weren't already packed for the Holidays and apparently they weren't, because they seemed very focused on the game tonight. Our guys played hard, they executed and did some very good things out there."
With the victory, Samford (3-10) earned its first road win of the season and snapped a three-game losing streak against former Ohio Valley Conference-rival UT Martin (3-9). The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 56.5 percent from the field and knocked down seven 3-point baskets.
Junior Will Cook paced Samford Wednesday with a career-high 18 points as the Bulldogs' high-flying native of Dallas, Texas, turned in a 7-of-9 shooting performance from the field.
"I'm really happy for Will and how he played tonight, because he's worked very hard the last week or so on improving his game," Seltzer said. "We try to tell our guys that in order to achieve any form of success, you have to put the work in. Now that finals are over, and we're in Jan-term, we'll be able to get the guys in the gym and continue to help them get better."
Cook led five Samford players in double-figure scoring as the Bulldogs were able to achieve that feat for the first time this season.
Along with Cook's 18 points and seven rebounds, Samford also received double-figure performances from Raijon Kelly, Tim Williams, Clide Geffrard, Jr., and Connor Miller. Kelly and Williams both tallied 16 points apiece, while Geffrard, Jr., added 11 and Miller dropped in 10.
"Tonight, we saw Connor Miller knock down some 3s and that's because he's been working really hard in the gym lately," said Seltzer. "I'm just happy for all of our guys, because they worked so hard this last week and this victory was the result of their hard work."
The Bulldogs' 56.5 shooting percentage Wednesday was their best performance of the season since shooting 51.4 percent in Samford's 57-48 Southern Conference-opening victory against Georgia Southern on Dec. 1.
UT Martin was limited to 32.3 percent shooting in the second half as the Bulldogs' defense held the Skyhawks to a 10-of-31 outing in the final period. Samford also forced UT Martin into 17 turnovers Wednesday. The Bulldogs capitalized on the Skyhawks' miscues and outscored UT Martin, 21-17, in points off turnovers.
"I thought we did a good job of keeping UT Martin out of its comfort zone," Seltzer said. "The thing that we need to work on is that we need to do a better job of closing the game out. They hit a few 3s late and that was the result of us not getting up on them quick enough defensively."
Along with Samford's five double-digit scoring performers, the Bulldogs also received key minutes from Brandon Hayman and Russell Wilson.
Hayman started for the Bulldogs on Wednesday and played a multitude of positions en route to 18 minutes of key game action. Wilson came off the bench for Samford and finished with two points, two assists and a rebound in 14 minutes of playing time. The Bulldogs' Hamilton Bailey came off the bench to play a career-high four minutes.
Early in the second half, Samford used a momentous 8-0 run to take a 46-34 lead with 14:51 remaining in the game. During the Bulldogs' run, Miller drained a deep 3-point basket, Williams tipped in a rebound for a bucket and Cook converted on a 3-point play.
From that point on, Samford would lead by as many as 17 points and UT Martin wouldn't be able to trim the Bulldogs' advantage to anything less than double figures.
Samford improved its all-time record against UT Martin to 8-4. The Bulldogs also moved to 1-7 when playing away from Birmingham, Ala., this season.
Samford took a 36-30 lead into the half and were buoyed by a 52.2 shooting percentage in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs' Cook paced his squad with nine points in the first half, while Geffrard, Jr., and Kelly both chipped in with eight. Miller also added five first-half points and Williams came off the bench to score four.
In an opening half filled with impressive runs by both teams, Samford led by as many as seven points, 32-25, with 2:46 to play in the period. UT Martin also led by as many as seven points in the first half. At the 10:30 mark in the opening period, the Skyhawks held an 18-11 advantage before Seltzer called a timeout to stem the tide.
UT Martin's leading scorer at the intermission was Childs with nine points on a 4-of-6 shooting performance from the field.
South Carolina 74, Appalachian State 69
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball was able to erase an early first-half deficit, but could not complete the comeback in a 74-69 loss to South Carolina on Wednesday at Colonial Life Arena.
The Mountaineers (2-8) trailed the Gamecocks (7-3) by as many as 11 points (29-18) with 6:02 to play in the first period before reeling off a 17-5 run over the next five minutes to take a 35-34 lead on Jay Canty's layup with 28 seconds to go.
South Carolina would nail a three-pointer with just seven ticks on the clock to take a 37-35 lead into the locker room at the half. Appalachian's late first-half run was fueled by Tevin Baskin, who scored seven of his 16 points during that stretch.
Despite going 0-for-6 from long range in the first half, the Mountaineers were able to keep pace thanks to strong free-throw shooting as they connected on all seven first-half attempts from the charity stripe. App State was also able to keep it close as it forced the Gamecocks into nine turnovers through the first 20 minutes, which it converted in 14 points.
The Mountaineers would carry their momentum into the second half as Mike Neal nailed a layup and a three-pointer to give the Apps a 40-37 lead with 18:25 left to play.
After clinging to a slim lead for the next minute and a half, App State woauld again fall behind when South Carolina connected on back-to-back buckets to grab a 43-42 lead and extended its lead to 50-45 and force a Mountaineer timeout with 13:24 remaining in the contest.
The Apps were able to chip away at the deficit to tie the score at 58-58 with just 4:54 left to play, but the Gamecocks used a late 9-0 run to jump back in front.
Canty would make it interesting in the closing seconds after his tip-in made it a two-point game (71-69) with 19 seconds to play, but South Carolina connected on three of their final four foul shots to seal the win.
Baskin, Canty and Neal each scored 16 points on the night while Canty and Nathan Healy tied for the team-lead with eight rebounds. Neal grabbed seven boards and dished out seven assists and Baskin tallied four blocks.
South Carolina was paced by Lakeem Jackson's team-best 16 points while Mindaugas Kacinas (12) and Brenton Williams (11) also scored in double figures. The Mountaineers outrebounded the Gamecocks by a 40-37 tally but shot just 36.5 percent (23-of-63) while South Carolina connected on 45.9 percent (28-of-61) of its shots.'
The Apps put together another strong performance at the free throw line, nailing 19-of-22 shots (86.4 percent) while South Carolina hit just 13-of-19. Appalachian State committed 17 turnovers and dished out 12 assists while the Gamecocks also had 17 turnovers and 18 assists.
UNC Wilmington 87, UNCG 73
WILMINGTON, N.C. - The UNCG men's basketball team fell behind by 21 points at halftime and couldn't overcome the deficit as the Spartans dropped an 87-73 decision to non-conference foe UNCW Wednesday night at Trask Coliseum. The loss snaps the Spartans' three-game winning streak against the Seahawks in the all-time series.
"Obviously, I am not really pleased with our performance tonight," head coach Wes Miller said. "We had two really good days of practice after our sub-par performance at James Madison Sunday, and I expected us to come out and play with more sustained effort. I thought we had good effort in the first 10 minutes and then when it didn't go our way for us - which it didn't with shots not falling and balls not bouncing our way - I thought we really gave in and were down big at the half."
The Spartans (2-7) shot just 36.8 percent (25-of-68) from the field and only hit 20 percent (4-of-20) from three-point land in the loss. UNCG also shot just 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the free throw line while being out-rebounded by a 48-37 margin. UNCW connected on 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from long range in the victory.
Junior Trevis Simpson led the Spartans with 19 points, 16 of which came in the second half, as he was 7-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Senior guard Derrell Armstrong returned from a one-game suspension and posted his first career double-double in the loss. Armstrong scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds off the bench as he was 8-of-15 from the field.
UNCW (5-6) was led by Keith Rendleman who also posted a double-double, scoring a game-high 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Craig Ponder added 19 points while Freddie Jackson notched 14 points in the balanced attack for the Seahawks.
After Simpson opened the game with a three-pointer, UNCW scored the next 12 points to take an early 12-3 lead. Craig Ponder started things with two early three-pointers as he was hitting from the outside from the start of the game.
The Spartans pulled within four points at 16-12 at the 12:46 mark as freshman Kayel Locke scored five straight points. The Seahawks responded with a 13-2 run to break the game open at 29-14 as they continued to hit from beyond the arc as Ponder and Tyree Graham nailed long range shots. UNCW kept its offense going as it took a 49-28 lead into the locker room.
The Seahawks connected on 54.3 percent (19-of-35) from the field and hit 7-of-11 (63.6%) from three-point land in the first half. Ponder, who entered the game with five made three-pointers on the year, hit 5-of-6 from long range in the first half to lead the way with 15 points.
UNCG conversely hit just 29.4 percent (10-of-34) from the field and 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from long range. Locke led the Spartans with seven points while senior guard Korey Van Dussen added six points.
The Spartans came out of the halftime break and posted a quick 10-4 run to force UNCW into an early timeout less than four minutes into the second session. Simpson scored all 10 points for the Spartans in the run as he was 4-of-5 from the field and hit 2-of-3 from the charity stripe during the spurt.
The Seahawks weathered the storm and slowed the pace as they were able to keep the Spartans at bay. Each time UNCG trimmed the lead down to 14 points, the Seahawks answered back with a small burst to extend the lead back to 20 points throughout the second half.
The Spartans out-scored UNCW 45-38 in the second half but were unable to overcome the 21-point halftime deficit. Locke added 12 points off the bench as he was 10-of-12 from the free throw line as the two teams combined to shoot 63 free throws. Van Dussen finished with eight points while sophomore Nicholas Paulos also chipped in eight points.
St. Bonaventure 97, The Citadel 57
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Demetrius Conger and Chris Johnson scored 16 points apiece and lead five players in double figures as St. Bonaventure downed The Citadel, 97-57, on Wednesday evening at the Reilly Center. Joining their teammates in double figures for the Bonnies were Marquise Simmons (15 points), Eric Mosley (15 points) and Youssau Ndoye (10 points).
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (3-6) offensive production came from the trio of Mike Groselle (14 points), Matt Van Scyoc (13 points) and Ashton Moore (10 points).
The Citadel was plagued by an 18-of-48 (.375) performance from the floor, managing just 5-of-12 (.417) from beyond the arc. Groselle topped all Bulldog scorers in field goals, knocking down 6-of-9 in the contest, while Van Scyoc followed with a 3-for-8 performance, hitting all three from beyond the perimeter. Van Scyoc also pulled down a season-high seven rebounds, including a pair on the offensive glass.
The St. Bonaventure lineup featured five players with four or more field goals, including Simmons who capped off the game by hitting 7-of-9 from the floor. Joining Simmons were Conger (6-12), Johnson (5-8) and Ndoye (4-6), who made up a Bonnies unit that finished 35-of-62 (.565) from the floor and 10-of-18 (.556) from 3-point range.
St. Bona drew 22 Citadel fouls to mark the third time this season the Dogs have committed 20 or more violations. This allowed the Bonnies to convert 17-of-21 (81%) at the line, highlighted by four players who were a perfect 2-for-2.
Leading 43-28 at the intermission, St. Bonaventure opened the second half with a 15-2 run that included seven points from Eric Mosley, to move in front 58-30 at the 15:02 mark.
The Citadel scored seven of the game's next nine points, including four off a series layups by Groselle, to make for a 60-37 Bonnies advantage.
Mosley again came through for St. Bonaventure, contributing five of the team's nine points, as the lead held steady at 69-41 with just under 11 minutes remaining.
Marshall Harris III drilled his only bucket of the game, a 3-pointer at the 10:10 mark and following a jumper from the foul line by Quinton Marshall the Bulldogs trailed 69-46.
The Bonnies turned up their defensive efforts as they held The Citadel scoreless over the next 3:17 of the contest, during a 15-0 run, assuming an 84-46 lead with 6:20 remaining in the contest.
Van Scyoc scored five of the Bulldogs' final 11 points down the stretch as St. Bonaventure handed The Citadel its first defeat inside the New York state lines by a margin of 97-57.
Moore scored eight points, hitting 2-of-3 from the floor, to lead well-balanced Citadel scoring attack in the opening frame. He was joined offensively by the tandem of Elmore and Groselle, who contributed four points apiece and combined for five rebounds.
The Citadel closed the first half hitting 9-of-23 from the floor and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the process. The Bulldogs found success from the free throw line, converting 8-of-10, behind Moore's 3-for-4 performance.
St. Bonaventure countered with a 17-of-33 performance from the floor, knocking down 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Simmons' scored 11 points the lead the way for the Bonnies, converting 5-of-7 field goals, and tied the team-high in rebounds (five) with Conger. Teammate Chris Johnson added nine points for St. Bona, after finishing 4-of-6 from the field, including one from long distance.
Behind six Johnson points in the first 4:31 of the contest the Bonnies established a 15-2 lead. The Citadel broke through with its first field goals on a series of Groselle buckets in the paint, slicing the deficit to 15-6, only to see St. Bonaventure retaliate with scores by Simmons and Eric Mosley over the next 1:21 to push the margin back to double figures.
A Quinton Marshall jumper in the lane, preceded by a 3-pointer from Van Scyoc, drew the Dogs within seven, 20-13, at the 11:30 mark.
St. Bonaventure responded with a 7-0 run over the next 3:55 of the contest behind four points from Youssor Ndoye and a long range 3-pointer by Michael Davenport, moving the lead to 27-13.
The back-and-forth battle continued as the Dogs scored seven straight points, including three from Michael Hundley, slicing the margin to 29-21.
Moore accounted for the final five points of the half for The Citadel, while St. Bonaventure headed into the intermission with a 43-28 advantage behind a 15-point run that included five points each by Simmons and Conger.