Wofford 66, Appalachian State 64
BOONE, N.C. - On a cold and snowy Saturday afternoon, the Wofford men's basketball team defeated Appalachian State 66-64 at the Holmes Center. The Terriers used a 9-1 run to open the second half as they built a 15-point lead, but had to hold on for a two-point win as the Mountaineers battled back.
Wofford is 16-11 overall and 9-6 in the SoCon. Appalachian State is 10-15 overall with a 6-9 mark in conference play. The Terriers had four players in double figures, led by Brad Loesing with 16 points. Kevin Giltner had 13 points and Lee Skinner added eleven points. Drew Crowell had ten points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Mountaineers were led by Mike Neal with 15 points.
The Terriers took an early 4-2 lead after two buckets by Aerris Smith. After four minutes of play, the score was 6-5 in favor of Wofford. At 14:18, the Mountaineers took a 9-8 lead after two free throws. With the score tied at ten, Wofford scored the next five points to take a 15-10 lead after a three by Karl Cochran with 11:42 on the clock. The Mountaineers tied the game at 15, but then Brad Loesing hit a three to give the Terriers an 18-15 advantage with eight minutes left in the half.
Appalachian State scored the seven of the next nine points for a 22-20 lead after a three by Mitch Woods with 3:45 remaining in the first half. Wofford tied the game at 22 with a lay-up by Brad Loesing. Lee Skinner drained a three for a 25-23 lead for the Terriers, but the Mountaineers tied it at 25 with a minute remaining. Drew Crowell hit a lay-up to give Wofford a 27-25 lead at the break.
To start the second half, Aerris Smith scored first to make it a 29-25 lead for the Terriers. Another lay-up by Drew Crowell and a wide open three by Kevin Giltner pushed the advantage to 34-36 at the 17:29 mark. Wofford made it a 41-29 game two minutes later after a put-back by Drew Crowell. The Terriers were able to take a 15-point lead at 46-31 six minutes into play.
The Mountaineers cut the lead to 49-40 with twelve minutes left, but Kevin Giltner answered with his third three of the second half for a 52-40 advantage. Appalachian State chipped away and cut the lead to 55-47 with 7:45 left in the game. The Mountaineers made it a one point game at 59-58 after a four-point play by Tab Hamilton with 4:48 on the clock.
With the lead at two points, Brad Loesing hit a three for the Terriers to take a 65-60 advantage with 1:05 left on the clock. After a made jumper by the Mountaineers, the Terriers missed a shot and Appalachian State grabbed the rebound and Andre Williamson made it a 65-64 game with 14.5 seconds remaining. Lee Skinner made one of two free throws with 13 seconds left for a two point game. On the final possession by the Mountaineers, Karl Cochran blocked the first shot attempt by Mike Neal and then Omar Carter's shot missed and Kevin Giltner grabbed the rebound to end the game with a 66-64 final score.
Wofford shot 45.5 percent from the floor while Appalachian State shot 40 percent overall. The Terriers were 7-of-16 from three, while the Mountaineers were 4-of-13 from behind the arc. Wofford was 9-of-17 from the free throw line, while Appalachian State was 20-of-29 from the line. The Terriers had a commanding 39 to 25 lead in rebounds.
College of Charleston 86, Davidson 78
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Antwaine Wiggins tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead four scorers in double figures as the College of Charleston topped Davidson 86-78 in Southern Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at TD Arena.
De'Mon Brooks led the Wildcats (19-6, 13-2 SoCon) with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Chris Czerapowicz scored 15. Jake Cohen posted 13 points and six rebounds, and Nik Cochran tallied 12 points and five assists.
Nori Johnson scored 17 for the Cougars (16-10, 8-7 SoCon), and Trent Wiedeman added 16 points and six rebounds. Andrew Lawrence collected 11 points and five assists.
The Wildcats found themselves trailing 54-37 early in the second half, and every time they got close, Charleston had the answer.
Davidson's best chances to get over the hump came in the last eight minutes of the contest. After Brooks trimmed the lead to 64-59, Davidson had a basket wiped off the scoreboard after being whistled for a moving screen. After a defensive stop, Brooks' triple try from the top of the key rimmed out.
Charleston pushed the margin back to nine points before Czerapowicz hit a triple from the wing, and a Clint Mann dunk made the score 68-64 with 5:10 remaining.
But Wiedeman answered with a turnaround jumper, and after JP Kuhlman went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line for Davidson, Johnson hit two free throws for Charleston, making the lead seven.
Davidson got to within five with 2:49 to play after Brooks went 1-for-2 from the line, but Wiggins hit a triple, and The Cougars made eight straight free throws to make the score84-73 with 30 seconds left.
Leading 17-15, the Cougars used a 16-5 run to open a 33-20 advantage late in the first half. Johnson hit a triple, and Wiggins capped the stretch with consecutive 3-pointers.
Davidson responded with a 13-3 run as Cohen scored four points and Brooks added five to close the gap to 36-33 inside the last 30 seconds. CofC held for the last shot, and Wiggins hit a baseline runner with 4.1 seconds left as the Cougars went into the locker room with a 38-33 lead.
Davidson managed just eight field goals in the frame, and Brooks got six of them. The 'Cats dropped into 15-of-17 from the free-throw line to keep the game close. The Cougars went 2-of-9 from the charity stripe.
CofC went on a 16-4 run to start the second half, which put the Cougars ahead 54-37. Johnson scored six points during the stretch, and Lawrence capped it with a triple. Davidson chipped away at the lead but couldn't overcome the deficit.
Furman 80, Western Carolina 66
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Sophomore Charlie Reddick poured in 16 points to lead three Paladins in double figures as Furman cruised past Western Carolina, 80-66, in Southern Conference men's basketball action before a crowd of 2,584 on Saturday afternoon on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena.
With the victory, Furman completed the season sweep of the Catamounts and improved to 13-13 overall and 7-8 in conference play. Western Carolina fell to 10-17 overall and 4-10 in the SoCon.
Furman shot 58.3 percent in the first half to build a 38-24 lead at intermission and increased its cushion to 27 points in the second half before the Catamounts put together a late run. Jordan Loyd, Charlie Reddick and Bryant Irwin each drained a triple to key a 13-0 Paladin run to open the second half and put Furman ahead 51-24 with 15:38 to play.
The Paladins maintained a 60-37 advantage with under 10 minutes remaining when Harouna Mutombo scored nine points in a 20-4 Catamount run to trim the Furman lead to 64-57 on the senior's driving layup with 4:42 left.
Senior Brandon Sebirumbi scored in the paint on an assist from Richard Brown on the next possession, grabbed a rebound off of a Western Carolina miss and converted on a pair of free throws on the other end with 3:36 to play to push the Paladin lead to 68-57. Brown then scored eight points over the final three minutes to increase the Furman lead to 80-62 before the Paladins settled for the 14-point victory.
Reddick netted his game-high 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Irwin drained four treys to finish with 14 points while Bobby Austin tallied 12 points and a team-high five rebounds.
Furman shot 54 percent (27-50) from the floor, buried 11-of-20 three-point attempts and converted on 15-of-21 trips to the foul line to claim their eighth home victory of the season. Western Carolina out-rebounded the Paladins 35-32, held a 38-28 edge in points in the paint and totaled 17 second chance points, but Furman's bench outscored the visitors 35-13.
Tawaski King made all six of his field goal attempts and both free throw attempts to post a team-high 14 points and six boards for Western Carolina. Mutombo scored 13 points and Brandon Boggs added 12 while Trey Sumler and Ishmael Hollis tallied 10 points apiece. The Catamounts shot just 41.3 percent and made only 2-of-18 three-pointers.
Samford 87, Elon 78
BIRGMINGHAM, Ala. - Elon shot 65 percent and hit 10 three-pointers in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome the other sharpshooters in the building as the Samford Bulldogs hung on for the 87-78 victory over the visiting Phoenix in Saturday afternoon Southern Conference basketball from the Pete Hanna Center.
The teams combined for 26 buckets from beyond the arc, but it was Samford's first-half shooting that propelled the Bulldogs to a 10-point halftime lead that proved the difference in the game.
Samford (10-15, 7-7) nailed 15-of-25 field goals in the first half, building a lead as great as 15 points before taking a 40-30 advantage into the locker room. Despite managing eight offensive boards in the opening 20 minutes, Elon (13-12, 8-6) scored only one second-chance point as it struggled to find an offensive rhythm.
Elon guard Jack Isenbarger knocked down a career-best seven treys for a game-high 21 points. He has hit 37 three-pointers over the last nine games and his seven triples were the most since Drew Spradlin knocked down eight against Chattanooga on January 23, 2010. Isenbarger also had six assists on the evening.
Brett Ervin was a bright spot for the Phoenix, coming off the bench for 19 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. Ervin dropped in 7-of-9 field goals, including three from long range. Spradlin (14) and Sebastian Koch (10) also scored in double figures for the visitors.
Elon had difficulty containing Tyler Hood once again as the forward dropped 5-of-10 three-pointers to lead five Bulldogs in double figures with 20 points. Jeffrey Merritt nearly posted a double-double with 11 points and nine assists.
The Phoenix opened the final period with four three-pointers as Isenbarger's fifth of the evening made it a six-point game, 48-42, with 15:50 to go. The Bulldogs answered with a 10-2 stretch that included three-pointers by Raijon Kelly and Tyler Hood to push the advantage back to 14, 61-47.
Elon nailed four more triples in a 19-8 run that spanned the next seven minutes as Bulldog head coach Jimmy Tillette called for a timeout after his team's lead dwindled to 69-66 at the 5:43 mark.
The teams traded a few baskets before Kelly connected from deep to put Samford up 78-71 with 2:52 left. With only one team foul at this point, the Phoenix began to foul to push the Bulldogs into the bonus and extend the game. Samford made good from the charity stripe in the final minutes to escape with the win.
The Phoenix shot 49.1 percent for the game, including a 14-of-27 performance (51.9 percent) from 20.5 feet. Samford connected on a blistering 56.6 percent and knocked down 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from downtown.
The high point of the first half may have been rookie Kevin Blake's baseline drive that resulted in a one-handed slam at the 9:13 mark. An Isenbarger three followed and put the Phoenix within one, 21-20. Samford used a 17-3 stretch to take its biggest lead of the game, 38-23, with 2:29 to play before the break.
Ervin converted a three-point play and forward Lucas Troutman provided back-to-back buckets as Elon scored seven of final 10 points to close gap to 40-30 after 20 minutes of action.
Georgia Southern 73, The Citadel 72 (OT)
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball extended its winning streak to five-straight games with a 73-72 overtime victory over The Citadel at McAlister Fieldhouse. The win takes the Eagles to 11-4 in conference play and 13-12 overall.
Eric Ferguson scored 14 points to lead the Eagles on the night from the field. Senior Willie Powers III scored 13 points with six assists and four steals. Ben Drayton III posted 13 points with five of the Eagles 12 steals on the night. The Eagles forced 19 Citadel turnovers including a pair of five-second inbound calls.
Cameron Baskerville had 10 points; finishing the night two shy of a career high scoring. Jelani Hewitt led the Eagles with nine rebounds and also with nine points, just one in each category shy of his first double-double. Freshman Tyrone Brown scored six points in 11 minutes of action.
The Citadel (4-11, 1-13 SoCon) was led by 24 points by Ashton Moore. Freshman Marshall Harris III scored 11 points with four assists.
The Eagles were plagued by early fouls in the first half, putting the Bulldogs in the bonus with less than nine minutes gone. The Citadel would lead by as many as 11 points at the 6:23 mark in the first half. The Eagles roared back and cut the lead to three points with just over four minutes remaining in the half. The Bulldogs ran the lead to six points at the intermission with a runner just before the horn, 37-31
Out of the break, Georgia Southern went on a 12-2 run to take a 43-41 lead at the 16:16 mark in the second half. The Bulldogs would go up by five with 11:53 remaining, but The Citadel's leading scorer this season, Mike Groselle, picked up his fourth foul on the play with 10 points on the board.
Powers got into the scoring in the middle of the half, scoring seven-straight points to bring the Eagles level again with The Citadel, 54-54, with 9:27 remaining. The teams stayed close until the Eagles mounted another run to post an eight point lead with 5:11 remaining off a clutch three-pointer by Hewitt.
The Eagles led 69-65 with three minutes left in the game, but a bucket for The Citadel with 2:10 remaining brought the lead to just two points. Both teams traded misses on consecutive possessions and a turnover by the Eagles allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game in the final 10 seconds and force overtime for the second time this season between the two teams.
The Bulldogs scored three-straight points to open the extra frame to take a 72-69 lead with 2:54 remaining, but Powers drove the lane to cut the lead back to one with two and a half minutes left. After a Citadel miss as the shot clock expired, Powers scored again to give the Eagles a one-point lead with a fade away shot. He made a steal at the other end of the floor to give GSU the ball with a minute left.
A foul on Ferguson with 32 seconds remaining gave the ball back to the Bulldogs. A runner for the The Citadel's Ashton Moore in the lane went in and out of the basket as the final horn sounded.
UNCG 77, Chattanooga 76
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (10-17/4-10) lost a heartbreaking 77-76 decision to visiting UNCG (11-15/9-5) in Southern Conference North Division play Saturday night. It's the third one-point loss in league play for UTC and third in the final possession tihs season.
Junior Drazen Zlovaric scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss. Senior Jahmal Burroughs had his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-best 12 rebounds.
Trevis Simpson led the Spartans with 28 points. Kyle Randall and Derrell Armstrong had 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.
UNCG led by as many as 10 in the game and was in control up nine, 61-52, on a Drew Parker three-pointer with 9:14 to play. The Mocs were down, but not out.
Junior Ricky Taylor and Zlovaric powered a 15-2 UTC run to take the lead. Taylor scored six of the first eight points in the spurt closing the margin to three, 63-60, with a layup at 6:19. Zlovaric scored on back-to-back possessions as a Keegan Bell free throw at the four-minute mark put the Mocs up four, 67-63.
The Spartans went without a field goal for nearly seven minutes when Simpson canned a three-pointer to cut the UTC lead to one, 69-68, with 2:29 remaining. Omar Wattad answered in the next possession to push it back to a three-point contest entering the final two minutes.
The two teams traded free throws on their next possessions. Aloysius Henry made two for the Spartans before Wattad hit three with 1:39 to go, giving the Mocs a four-point cushion, 74-70.
Simpson hit a deep three just 10 seconds later to make it a one-point game, 74-73. Zlovaric was up to the task on the UTC end with his final basket of the night, pushing the lead back to three, 76-73, at 1:01.
Henry went back to the line to make two more for UNCG. After Wattad's three-pointer was off the mark at the end of the shot clock, Armstrong got to the basket with a driving layup to put the Spartans up 77-76 with 16 seconds to play.
On the Mocs' final possession, Taylor pump faked for a contested look, but his shot was off the mark. The long rebound came out to Bell. His double-clutch three-pointer at the buzzer missed giving the Spartans sole possession of first place in the SoCon North.
Wattad had 15 points with three rebounds, three assists and a career-high two blocks. Taylor added 12 points.