Elon 71, Dartmouth 49
ELON, N.C. - A stifling defensive effort by the Elon University men's basketball team lifted the Phoenix to a 71-49 victory over the Dartmouth Big Green on Tuesday night, Dec. 4, inside a raucous Alumni Gym.
Elon (6-3) held Dartmouth (2-4) to a season-low 27.9 percent shooting from the field in the win, including a 1-of-19 mark from three-point land. The Phoenix turned 12 turnovers by the Big Green into 13 points, while protecting the ball with just eight turnovers - the second lowest in a game this season by Elon.
"We played well defensively tonight against a gritty and tough Dartmouth team. We found out firsthand last year how tough and physical they can be and they contested us and made it difficult to get clean looks all night," said Phoenix head coach Matt Matheny. "But overall, I'm encouraged by the way our guys are leading one another right now. Through our ups and downs, we've had a focus and a desire to improve this season and I'm excited by that. We battled and competed for all 40 minutes tonight and came out with a great win."
Ryley Beaumont's first double-double of the season (second career) paved the way for Elon tonight, as the Millersville, Md., native finished with 10 points and 12 boards in 29 minutes.
Jack Isenbarger and Lucas Troutman each poured in a game-high 15 points, while Austin Hamilton was the fourth Phoenix player in double figures with 10 points. Elon has had four players in double figures four times this season.
The Phoenix took an 11-point lead with 6:24 remaining in the first period after Egheosa Edomwonyi knocked down two from the charity stripe to make it a 23-12 game.
Seconds later, Isenbarger connected on his lone three of the game from the top of the key to give Elon a 14-point cushion, forcing a Big Green timeout.
Elon led 34-21 at the half after limiting Dartmouth to just 23 percent shooting in the first half on 7-of-30 shooting. Dartmouth's 21 points in the first half are the lowest in the opening frame by an opponent all season.
The maroon and gold kept its foot on the gas to open the second period, beginning the first five-plus minutes on an 10-0 run to take a 44-21 lead, forcing another Big Green timeout with 14:25 to play.
The Phoenix held the Big Green without a field goal in the second half until the 14:12 mark when a Malik Gill jumper near the free throw line with made it a 44-23 game. Gill scored 11 points for Dartmouth.
In all, Elon limited Dartmouth to 32 percent shooting the second frame, including a 1-of-11 clip (9.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
A three-game road swing for the Phoenix begins in 11 days on Dec. 15 when the team heads to Springfield, Mass., to face UMass. The game is the 2012 Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase game in conjunction with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be played inside the MassMutual Center.
Charleston Southern 101, The Citadel 73
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel's Mike Groselle scored a team-high 18 points and became the 30th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, but it was Charleston Southern's 61.7 percent shooting that stole the show in a 101-73 victory at CSU Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening.
Groselle was one of five Bulldogs to reach double figures, joined by Lawrence Miller (14), Ashton Moore (12), Matt Van Scyoc (11) and Marshall Harris III (10). They became the first quintet of Citadel teammates to reach double figures since a meeting with VMI on Nov. 11, 2011. Groselle capped off the evening by hitting 8-of-12 in the contest and combined with Ashton Moore (5-11) and Lawrence Miller (5-7) to highlight a Citadel unit that was 28-of-54 (51.9%) from the field.
The Bulldogs (3-4) managed 8-of-18 (.444) shooting from beyond the arc, led by the duo of Miller (4-6) and Moore (3-4). Meanwhile, teammate Stephen Elmore grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, pulling down 10 on the defensive glass, while four others finished with two boards apiece.
Charleston Southern (3-5) was led in scoring by the trio of Arlon Harper (30 points), Saah Nimley (20 points) and Jeremy Sexton (20 points). The Buccaneers capped off the game by hitting 37-of-60 (.617) as a team, including a 14-of-26 (.538) performance from beyond the arc. Harper knocked down 11-of-14 field goal attempts, including all five 3-pointers, while Nimley and Sexton finished with seven field goals apiece.
Facing a 14-point deficit at the half, following a Harris 3-pointer at the buzzer, The Citadel allowed eight of the first 10 points and quickly fell into a 55-35 hole. The Bulldogs responded with free throws from Harris and buckets by Moore and Groselle to pull within 63-43 at the 15:54 mark.
Charleston Southern ran off the next 11 consecutive points, including six from Cedric Bowen, stretching the lead to 74-43.
The Citadel responded with a 10-4 run of its own, taking advantage of five points by Lawrence Miller and three from Groselle, to make for a 78-53 contest at the 9:08 mark.
The two teams traded blows over the next three minutes, making for an 88-64 margin, as Moore led The Citadel charge with four points.
The margin would get no closer as Harper scored six of the final 13 CSU points to complete the 101-73 win. The Bucs have now won the last four straight in the series dating back to the 2009-10 season.
The Citadel closed the opening frame by hitting 13-of-25 (.520) from the field, led by Van Scyoc who finished with a team-high nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, all from long distance. Groselle added eight points, hitting 4-of-5 from the field, to go along with a pair of rebounds.
The Bulldogs also got a lift on the boards from Elmore, who in his first career start grabbed eight rebounds, including two on the offensive glass.
Meanwhile, Charleston Southern was led by the tandem of Harper and Sexton who combined for 25 points and six 3-pointers in the first half. The Bucs converted 18-of-32 (.563) from the field as the offense was sparked by a 9-of-16 (.563) outing from 3-point range.
The two teams went back-and-forth over the opening 3:55 of the contest with CSU holding a slim 8-7 edge after a jumper by Elmore.
A series of 3-pointers by Harper and Kennedy in a span of 1:12 pushed the lead to 14-8. Groselle answered for the Bulldogs with a layup on a pass from Harris, putting the Dogs into double figures. Van Scyoc added to the Dogs offensive production by connecting on his second trey, drawing the margin to 16-13.
Charleston Southern countered with a 13-0 run over the next 4:37 of the contest, collecting 3-pointers by Harper and Nimley along the way, to establish a 29-13 advantage.
Groselle halted the scoring drought with a bucket in the lane, quickly followed by a Lawrence Miller 3-pointer, as The Citadel narrowed the margin to 29-18 with 7:16 remaining.
Just over a minute later Miller drained his second 3-pointer, trimming the lead to 10, as he caught a pass from Harris on the left wing.
Points in the paint by Groselle and Elmore provided the next four Citadel points, but it was seven points by the Buccaneers that upped the margin to 38-25 with three minutes on the clock.
Van Scyoc and Harris each added a 3-pointer down the stretch for the Bulldogs, but it was nine points off the hand of Sexton that made for the 47-33 Buccaneer lead at the intermission.
The Citadel will enjoy an 11-day break for exams, returning to the court on Dec. 15 when they head to Gardner-Webb for a first time meeting with the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Kentucky 88, Samford 56
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Samford University basketball team squared off against the defending national champion Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday and dropped an 88-56 decision versus the Wildcats in front of 21,221 blue-clad fans at Rupp Arena.
"Kentucky is a very talented team and (Head) Coach (John) Calipari did a great job of getting them ready to play tonight," said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. "They beat us in all of the toughness stats. They were better on offensive rebounds, turnovers and fast-break points. We also struggled in our transition defense, so those are things that we definitely need to work on."
With Tuesday's loss, Samford (2-8) dropped to 0-2 all-time against Kentucky (5-3) and 0-6 away from home this season. Three of the Bulldogs' road defeats have come at nationally-ranked foes in No. 2 Louisville, No. 16 Memphis and No. 19 Kentucky.
The Wildcats' victory snapped their two-game slide after they lost to Notre Dame on Thursday and Baylor on Saturday. Kentucky's home setback against Baylor, 64-55, was its first in Rupp Arena under Head Coach John Calipari. The Wildcats' loss also put an end to a school-record 54-game home winning streak.
Samford got off to a slow start Tuesday and trailed Kentucky at the half, 45-14. The Bulldogs only shot 20 percent (4-of-20) in the opening period and committed 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.
"If you turn the ball over, especially in this environment, you're not going to win the game," Seltzer said. "This was a learning experience for our guys and we're just lucky that we don't have a team of Kentucky's caliber in our conference."
The Bulldogs played much better in the second half and battled the Wildcats, 43-42, down the stretch. Samford turned in a 51.5 shooting percentage in the final period and sophomore guard Raijon Kelly scored all of his team-high 14 points in the second half.
Including Kelly's performance, the Bulldogs finished with four players scoring in double figures Tuesday. Kelly went 6-of-14 from the field and turned in a 2-of-5 outing from 3-point range. Samford's Clide Geffrard, Jr., registered 12 points and eight rebounds, while Tim Williams and Connor Miller both scored 11 points apiece.
Williams, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-8 true freshman forward from Chicago, Ill., earned his 10th straight double-digit scoring performance and added seven rebounds and two blocks against Kentucky's Nerlens Noel and 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein.
The Wildcats finished with nine players seeing game action Tuesday and concluded the contest with six earning double digits in scoring.
Kentucky was paced by Archie Goodwin's 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Alex Poythress added a 7-of-9 performance from the field for 16 points. The Wildcats' active 6-foot-7 freshman forward also pulled down eight rebounds, but committed five turnovers.
Nerlens added 13 points and six boards for Kentucky on a 6-of-8 shooting performance from the floor. The Wildcats' Cauley-Stein came off the bench to register 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Kyle Wiltjer and Julius Mays chipped in with 10 points each.
As a team, Kentucky shot 55.7 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range. Samford concluded Tuesday's game shooting 39.6 percent from the floor, but a sizzling 7-of-14 from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs' Connor Miller drained a trio of 3-pointers against the Wildcats, while Kelly and Geffrard, Jr., knocked down two apiece.
Kentucky scored the first seven points of Tuesday's contest and jumped out to an early 21-3 lead at the 10:14 mark in the opening half. The Wildcats went on to lead by as many as 32 points, 42-10, before heading into the intermission with a 45-14 advantage.
Kentucky's Noel and Poythress combined to shoot 11-of-11 from the field in the first half for a total of 24 points. Poythress led all scorers with 13 points as the teams went into the locker rooms.
Samford opened the second half with a 9-0 run as Kelly scored the first six points of the final period and Geffrard, Jr., knocked down a deep 3-point basket from the left corner. With 16:40 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs trimmed Kentucky's lead to 45-23.
Samford's 22-point deficit was its lowest of the second half as the 19th-ranked Wildcats went on to post the 88-56 home victory.
"As a team, I felt like we didn't play that well," said Kelly. "We came out and started the game real uptight. In the second half, we loosened up and relaxed. We were able to be more consistent, but we started out pretty uptight. It was a bad start. We can be smarter against more athletic teams that we may face. We need to just learn from this and use it to make our season that much better."
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their two-game road stretch against the Bowling Green Falcons at the sparkling-new Stroh Center (4,387) in Bowling Green, Ohio.
#13 Illinois 72, Western Carolina 64
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Western Carolina erased a 12-point second half deficit, twice tying Tuesday's game at No. 13 Illinois after intermission. However, despite being able to pull even, the Catamounts could never pull ahead as the Fighting Illini remained unbeaten on the season, slipping past WCU, 72-64, in front of 14,191 fans in nonconference action at Assembly Hall.
WCU's James Sinclair knotted the game for a second time with 5:53 to play, converting an Illinois turnover into a fast-break lay-up to make it 54-54. However, spurred by two 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by D.J. Richardson, the Fighting Illini used a 14-to-4 run over the next two minutes to stretch the advantage back out to a 10-point margin. The closest WCU could get the remainder of the game was six on a Brandon Boggs' 3-pointer with just over 30 ticks remaining.
During Illinois' decisive run, WCU missed two open looks and turned the ball over twice. All told, 22 Catamount turnovers led to 29 Illinois points in the loss.
Preston Ross scored in double figures for the third time this season - and the eighth time in his career - to lead the Catamounts with 17 points. His junior classmate, Boggs, chipped in 16 off the bench including 10 of the team's first 12 points of the ballgame. Tawaski King, a third junior, stretched his double-digit scoring streak to a career-long, 10-straight games with 10 points while Sinclair recorded 13 points and eight rebounds.
Redshirt junior Trey Sumler was held to eight points, but reached the 1,000 career point milestone. The Rocky Mount, N.C., native added a game-high nine rebounds and four assists.
Neither team was able to fill the cup early as WCU (3-6) missed nine of its first 10 shot attempts, but trailed by just 10 - 17-7 - midway through the opening half as Illinois shot just 3-of-14 to start. Seven-straight Catamount points allowed WCU to claw back within three, 17-14, but Illinois pulled out to a 10-point, 32-22, edge at halftime.
A Tracy Abrams tip-in on an offensive rebound gave the Fighting Illini their largest lead of the night - 12 points, 34-22 - in the opening moments of the second half. Western Carolina put together a 9-0 run to trim the deficit back to three, 34-31, before big man Nnanna Egwu stepped beyond the arc on the ensuing possession and buried a 3-pointer.
Ross later completed a 3-point play the old-fashioned way to provide the game's first tie, 40-40, with 13:29 remaining in regulation. From that point, Illinois' lead hovered in single digits until Sinclair again tied the game at 54 before the aforementioned clinching run by the home squad sealed the win.
Brandon Paul - the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference at 18.3 points per game - led Illinois (9-0) with 14 points, his second-lowest point output of the season. D.J. Richardson added 13 points including 10 in the second half while Tracy Abrams finished with 10 points.
The Catamounts outrebounded Illinois, 41-to-34, with both squads tallying 18 offensive boards. WCU converted the extra possessions into 14 points while Illinois had 22 second-chance points.
Western Carolina returns home for the first time since its Nov. 11 home-opening win over Mars Hill as it hosts archrival Appalachian State in the back-end of a hoops double-header in the Ramsey Center. The Catamount women host Tennessee Tech beginning at 2:00 pm with the men's game scheduled for 4:30 pm.
#5 Louisville 80, College of Charleston 38
CHARLESTON, S.C. - No. 5-ranked Louisville used defensive intensity and balanced scoring to come away from College of Charleston's TD Arena with an 80-38 victory.
Louisville (7-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) forced 27 turnovers and converted those into 30 points off turnovers to hold the Cougars (5-3, 1-0 SoCon) at bay. College of Charleston was held to its lowest-point total since a 1997 game at Massachusetts when the Cougars scored 40 points.
Four different Louisville players scored in double figures led by Wayne Blackshear's game-high 18 points. Russ Smith scored 13 points with a game-high four assists, while Peyton Siva scored 12 points and led the team with five steals.
CofC was led by a strong double-double performance by Adjehi Baru, who tallied 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive glass. Anthony Stitt was second on the team with seven points, while Matt Sundberg grabbed seven rebounds.
The Cardinals outrebounded the Cougars, 38-31, and held an edge in field-goal shooting, as Louisville shot 45.3 percent (29-of-64) and CofC managed only 34.8 percent (16-of-46).
Louisville's full-court press kept CofC out of rhythm in the first half, forcing 16 first-half turnovers, as the Cardinals built a 23-7 lead at the 6:46 minute mark after a steal and free throws by Smith. The Cougars ended the half on a 5-4 run, punctuated by a jumper from Baru with 28 seconds remaining. However, Louisville took a 36-16 lead into the locker room.
CofC opened the second half with an offensive flurry, going on a 10-4 run bookended by three-pointers from Stitt, cutting the U of L lead to 40-26. However, the Cardinals quickly quieted the home crowd with two layups from Smith and a steal and dunk from Blackshear, pushing the margin back to 46-26 with 15:07 remaining in regulation.
Charleston never came closer than 20 points for the rest of the second half as the Cardinals shot 18-of-35 from the field.
The Cougars will welcome Anderson University to their home venue on Thursday, Dec. 13 for a 7 p.m. (ET) tipoff at TD Arena.