Appalachian State 76, Winthrop 64
BOONE, N.C. - Led by 15 points each from seniors Isaac Butts and Omar Carter, five players scored in double figures to lead Appalachian State University men's basketball to a 76-64 win over Winthrop on Saturday at the Holmes Center. In the final home game for four ASU upperclassmen, the Mountaineers won a third-straight BracketBuster contest with a balanced effort.
In his home finale, Butts set the tone early on with 11 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists before the intermission. The fifth-year senior center finished with 15 rebounds, three steals, two assists and gave the crowd a treat early in the contest by making what was nearly a three-pointer. Carter hauled in six rebounds with an assist and a steal to accompany his game-high four three-pointers.
Thanks in part to the big man's solid shooting, ASU jumped out to a 26-10 lead before the Eagles rallied back to within two points late in the half. ASU finished strong before the intermission to take a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
The Eagles were not discouraged by the early deficit and clawed back to take a 58-57 lead with 7:47 remaining in regulation. From there, Mike Neal sparked a 13-4 Mountaineer run with six of his 10 points coming over the stretch. In addition to helping ASU regain an eight-point cushion late in the contest, the freshman dished out a team-high four assists and hauled in five rebounds.
After WU responded to cut ASU's lead back down to six points, the Mountaineers closed out the win with the game's last six points, including a Butts layup and Neal jumper.
Appalachian shot 47.3 percent in the game after a 13-of-26 outing in the second half. The Apps drained 7-of-17 shots from downtown compared to 4-of-16 from the visitors. Winthrop made 45.2 percent of its shots from the floor, but just 4-of-10 free throws on the afternoon.
The Apps were dominant on the glass early on and took a 37-33 advantage for the contest. ASU converted 14 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.
Nathan Healy recorded double-figure points with 13 on 4-of-4 shooting and 5-of-5 free throws. He was matched by Tab Hamilton's 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 5-of-6 mark at the charity strips. The pair of regular starters combined for five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
In limited action, Andre Williamson scored two points with a pair of assists and a rebound. The senior forward missed Wednesday's game due to a back injury. Classmate Petey Hausley made his second-straight start and scored one point with a rebound in 10 minutes on the floor.
Matt Morgan led the Eagles (11-18) with 2 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Reggie Middleton added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Wichita State 91, Davidson 74
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Joe Ragland tallied 30 points and seven rebounds, and Wichita State shot 80 percent in the second half in a 91-74 men's basketball victory over Davidson before a sellout crowd at Belk Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Shockers (24-4) were 20-for-25 from the floor in the second half and made 12 shots in a row over a decisive 8:22 of game time. Wichita State went on a 24-7 run during the stretch to open an 84-61 lead with 4:49 to play.
Davidson used a 13-1 run to trim the margin to 13 points on a Chris Czerapowicz dunk with 2:12 to play. The Shockers worked the clock on their possession, and Demetric Williams hit a pair of free throws.
Tyler Kalinoski missed a 3-pointer on Davidson's possession, and Garrett Stutz got a layup for the Shockers to make the margin 15 points with 1:03 to go.
Jake Cohen led Davidson (20-7) with 25 points, and Czerapowicz finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Nik Cochran collected 16 points and six assists, and De'Mon Brooks scored 10.
Ragland hit all seven of his field goal attempts in the second half to score 18 of his 30 points. Touré Murry finished the game with 16 points and six assists, and Carl Hall collected 13 points and five rebounds.
The Shockers shot 64percent for the game, compared to the Wildcats' 44 percent, and cashed in on 19 fast-break points.
Davidson returns to Southern Conference action Thursday for a contest against Elon in Belk Arena. It's the final home game of the regular season for the Wildcats, and Davidson will honor seniors AJ Atkinson, Frank Ben-Eze and Will Reigel prior to tipoff.
Western Carolina 78, Elon 76 (OT)
Elon, N.C. - Trey Sumler led four Catamounts in double figures with 22 points including four made free throws in overtime as Western Carolina snapped its road losing drought, outlasting Elon, 78-76, Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action at Alumni Gymnasium.
Tied at 62 at the end of regulation, Elon's Drew Spradlin missed a crucial bonus free throw, but sophomore Lucas Troutman gave the Phoenix new life with an offensive rebound and possession with 13 seconds showing on the clock. After a timeout, Elon got Spradlin one-last look that rimmed out with Harouna Mutombo pulling down the defensive board and starting a fast break the other way.
Sumler raced up the floor on the Mutombo feed and had one final look at the buzzer, but his high-arching 3-pointer rattled halfway home before popping out, forcing the extra session.
Out of the gates in overtime, Sumler answered Jack Isenbarger's 3-pointer and set-up a nip-and-tuck finish. Sumler broke the eighth tie of the game by making 1-of-2 free throws with 34 seconds remaining, adding three more down the stretch. With WCU leading by three in the closing seconds, Spradlin was fouled shooting a 3-pointer at the buzzer and was awarded three free throws with 0.5 seconds on the clock.
A native of Wheelersburg, Ohio, Spradlin was short on the front-end before sinking the second foul shot which set-up an intentional miss on the third, looking for an offensive tip-in. Mutombo sealed the win for the Catamounts, though, by pulling down the decisive defensive rebound.
All told, Sumler made 4-of-6 charity tosses in overtime. Conversely, Spradlin missed four free throws including one intentionally and a lane violation during that same stretch. The Catamounts combined to make 11-of-15 foul shots in the overtime session to pull out the road victory.
Sumler, who along with Keaton Cole played all 45 minutes of the game, added seven assists and three steals to his game-high tying 22 points. Cole chipped in 19 points including five made 3-pointers with three assists and a pair of steals.
Both Tawaski King and Mutombo just missed double-double outings on the day. King finished with 13 points and nine rebounds with four on the offensive end, while Mutombo scored 10 with eight boards. Ishmael Hollis scored six on two made 3-pointers while Brandon Boggs finished with five, three from the charity stripe.
Western Carolina (12-17, 6-10 SoCon) was not able to take its first lead until the 5:26 mark of the second half when King slammed a feed from Sumler to go in front, 54-52. Boggs capped an athletic 360-spin move down the lane with a lay-up and subsequent free throw to hand the Catamounts their largest lead of the game at five, 59-54, with four minutes remaining in the game.
However, Elon rallied back with five-straight points by Jack Isenbarger, who matched Sumler's game-best 22 points before fouling out inside the final minute of overtime.
Elon led at halftime, 35-31, after WCU chipped away at an 11-point first half deficit.
Isenbarger made four 3-pointers while Troutman posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ryley Beaumont scored 11 with a game-high 12 rebounds, with Spradlin finishing with 11 points, just 3-of-9 from the free throw line.
Samford 55, Furman 49
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford used a 7-0 run over the final 1:13 to erase a 49-48 Furman lead and down the Paladins, 55-49, in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Saturday evening at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala.
The loss dropped the Paladins to 13-14 overall and 7-9 in SoCon play. Samford, which snapped a four-game skid versus Furman, improved to 11-16 overall and 8-8 in league play.
Charlie Reddick capped a 12-2 Furman run by draining a three-pointer with 1:36 remaining to give the Paladins their first lead of the second half at 49-48. Samford's Jeffrey Merritt answered with a trey of his own to put the Bulldogs back in front 51-49 with 1:13 to play and Connor Miller made good on 1-of-2 trips to the foul line following a turnover by Bobby Austin to extend the margin to 52-49 with 37 seconds to play.
After a timeout, Reddick missed a three-point attempts, David Brown grabbed an offensive board and missed a trey of his own before Samford claimed the rebound and called timeout with 12 seconds remaining. Austin fouled on the inbounds and Drew Windler drained 3-of-4 free throw attempts in the final 12 seconds to close out the game.
Windler paced the Bulldogs with 18 points while Raijon Kelly added 11 points. Merritt contributed seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs who shot 46.8% from the floor and survived a 7-for-17 shooting night at the foul line.
Samford scored the final five points of the first half to carry a 24-21 lead into intermission and led 46-33 on Matthew Friday's free throw with 7:56 remaining in the game. Following a Brandon Sebirumbi free throw, Jordan Loyd scored eight straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers, to trim the lead to 46-42. Sebirumbi converted on a pair of free throws and Loyd answered a Samford basket with a layup to pull Furman back within two points before Reddick's three put the Paladins ahead for the first time since late in the first half.
Loyd finished with a career-high 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting, but was the only Paladin to reach double figures. Furman shot just 34.5% from the field and made only 6-of-29 three-point attempts.
Charleston Southern 77, Wofford 59
CHARLESTON, S.C. - In a Sears BracketBuster contest, the Wofford men's basketball team was defeated 77-59 by Charleston Southern at Buccaneer Field House on Saturday night. The Bucs were able to build a 16 point lead in the first half and the Terriers were not able to pull any closer than eight points in the second half.
Wofford is 17-12 overall and 10-6 in the SoCon. Charleston Southern is 17-10 overall with a 10-6 mark in Big South conference play. The Terriers were led by Kevin Giltner with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Brad Loesing added 13 points. The Bucs were led by Kelvin Martin, who on senior night had 27 points and 14 rebounds. Jeremy Sexton added 19 points for the Bucs.
The Terriers opened the scoring with a basket by Aerris Smith and took a 7-3 lead after a three pointer by Kevin Giltner at the 16:45 mark. With the score tied at seven, Karl Cochran stole a pass and took it in for a dunk. Charleston Southern would answer with the next five points, including a three by Jeremy Sexton, for a 12-9 lead with 13:04 on the clock in the first half. A three by Kevin Giltner ended a 7-0 run by the Bucs and cut the lead to 14-12 with eleven minutes remaining.
Charleston Southern hit back-to-back three pointers to push the lead to 22-12 with 8:35 remaining in the first half. The Bucs were able to control the next four minutes as they went up 33-15. Kevin Giltner hit his third three pointer of the night to cut the lead to 33-18 with 3:45 left in the first half. At the break, the Bucs held a 39-23 advantage as they made 14 free throws and held Wofford to 32.1% shooting.
In the second half, the Terriers were able to cut the lead to 43-30 after a long three by Kevin Giltner with 15:45 on the clock. Wofford made it a ten point game after a bucket by Drew Crowell for a 45-35 score with 13:08 remaining. A three by Kevin Giltner made it a 47-38 game a minute later. Mike Young picked up a technical foul with 11:38 remaining and the Bucs made both free throws.
A jumper by Kevin Giltner cut the lead to 51-43 at the eleven minute mark, but the Bucs scored the next seven points to push the score to 58-43 with nine minutes left. Wofford answered and scored the next five points, but Charleston Southern scored the next four for a 62-48 lead with 6:45 remaining. The Bucs were able to take a 69-50 lead after a three by Jeremy Sexton with 4:41 on the clock. Wofford was not able to pull any closer in the final minutes and the score was 77-59 in favor of Charleston Southern at the buzzer.
Brad Loesing scored 13 points and is at 996 for his career. Senior Joseph Tecklenburg missed the game with a broken finger.
Wofford shot 40 percent from the floor while Charleston Southern shot 41.1 percent overall. The Terriers were 6-of-23 from three, while the Bucs were 5-of-14 from behind the arc. Wofford was 13-of-23 from the free throw line, while Charleston Southern was 26-of-32 from the line. The Bucs had a 39 to 35 lead on the glass.
College of Charleston 80, Kent State 73
KENT, Ohio - Sophomore Nori Johnson scored a career-high 27 points including 16 in the first half of play as College of Charleston handed Kent State only its second home loss of the season, 80-73, in an ESPN Sears BracketBusters matchup held on Saturday night before a crowd of 3,682 at the M.A.C. Center.
The Cougars (17-11) held off a late rally by the Golden Flashes (19-7), who went cold from behind the three-point line for the majority of the ballgame (0-of-18) and then 6-of-11 as part of an 18-1 run which cut CofC's lead down to 68-66 with 3:53 remaining in regulation.
Senior Antwaine Wiggins scored seven crucial points in the last two minutes, including a 5-for-6 performance from the charity stripe, to seal the victory and snap the Golden Flashes' seven-game win streak.
Wiggins registered 17 points and eight rebounds and switched over to his normal spot on the wing to the point guard position after junior Andrew Lawrence (London, England) fouled out and Kent State only down by five, 68-63, with 4:15 to go.
The Cougars went into halftime with a 36-33 lead after chipping away at a 17-5 deficit beginning with the first of four three-pointers by Johnson, who got CofC within six, 17-11, at the 10:33 minute mark.
CofC started the second half strong on a 9-0 run and led by as many as 19 points twice on a pair of three-pointers off the bench from sophomore Jordan Scott at the 10:30 and 8:58 minute marks. The Cougars have now won four of their last five under CofC Interim Head Coach Mark Byington.
Sophomore Trent Wiedeman also contributed to the road win with his ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Kent State, who had previously only lost to Cleveland State with an 11-1 home-court mark going into the contest, played without the services of leading scorer Justin Greene, who missed the game with an ankle injury. The Golden Flashes were paced by Carlton Guyton and Chris Evans, who each had 16.
Georgia Southern 83, UNCG 69
STATESBORO, Ga. - Five players scored in double figures to lead Georgia Southern to an 83-69 Southern Conference win over UNCG, Saturday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Spartans, who earlier in the day clinched at least a share of the North Division title, missed out on an opportunity to clinch the division outright. The loss snaps UNCG's three-game winning streak and drops the Spartans to 12-16 overall and 10-6 in SoCon play.
Ben Drayton scored a game-high 19 points for Georgia Southern (14-12, 12-4) as the Eagles picked up their sixth straight victory.
UNCG led throughout much of the first half, though the lead did change hands four times in the first 20 minutes. With the game tied at 25-25, the Spartans went on a 12-4 and grabbed their biggest lead of the game when Korey Van Dussen drilled a three-pointer for a 37-29 advantage with 31 seconds left in the half.
Georgia Southern's Tre Bussey hit a three just before the halftime buzzer to cut UNCG's lead to 37-32 at the break.
The Spartans maintained their lead throughout the early stages of the second half, leading 46-39 on an Aloysius Henry layup with 15:19 to play. But Georgia Southern began to exert itself on both ends of the floor and quickly took control.
Six straight points by Jelani Hewitt pulled the Eagles to within 46-45, and consecutive layups by Marvin Baynham and Bussey gave the Eagles a 49-46 advantage.
A Trevis Simpson dunk temporarily stopped the bleeding and pulled the Spartans to within 49-48, but UNCG never regained the lead.
The Eagles led by double figures for the first time when a pair of free throw by Drayton made 66-55 with 5:31 left. UNCG twice got to within seven points, but the Eagles eventually pushed their lead to back to double figures and led by as many 16 before settling for the final score.
Simpson led UNCG with 16 points, but was just 5-of-18 from the field. He added six rebounds. Henry continued his recent surge with 14 points and four rebounds, while Kyle Randall also added 14 and David Williams chipped in with 11.
Hewitt scored 12 for Georgia Southern, and three players - Eric Ferguson, Willie Powers and Jessie Pernell - each scored 10.
The Spartans shot 41 percent from the field, including an 8-of-17 effort from three point range range. Georgia Southern shot 51 percent and was 19-of-24 from the free throw line.
The Citadel 48, Chattanooga 46
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (10-19, 4-12 SoCon) lost by two, 48-46, to The Citadel (5-22, 2-14 SoCon) Saturday evening. UTC had two three-point attempts just miss in the closing seconds.
Jahmal Burroughs forced a turnover by Mike Groselle with 13.9 seconds left to set up the final drama. Keegan Bell brought the ball up and as he approached the high ball screen, he was left wide open. He pulled the trigger on the trey which looked true, but it went in and out.
Dontay Hampton was quick to the rebound wrestling it away from the Bulldogs. He found Bell out front. With time ticking away, he gave a shot fake and dribbled right. His three-pointer was just off.
Hampton led the Mocs with 12 points off the bench. Drazen Zlovaric added 11 points and six rebounds. Groselle had a game-high 15 rebounds for the Bulldogs, while Lawrence Miller scored a game-high 15 points, also off the bench.
Chattanooga trailed 33-30 with 15:07 to go in the game. The Mocs defense limited the Bulldogs to just one field goal over the next 9:36 prompting a 13-3 run.
The Mocs took the lead 34-33 on a Zlovaric free throw at 10:14. The lead swelled to five when Miller hit a three-pointer with 6:54 remaining, to make it 38-36 Mocs. Burroughs' layup was followed by a Hampton three to give UTC its largest lead, 43-36, with 5:50 to play.
The Bulldogs came out of their 30-second timeout scoring on three straight possessions. Miller's three-pointer at 4:17 tied the game at 43.
Omar Wattad hit a free throw with 2:16 to give Chattanooga its final lead. Marshall Harris III nailed a three-pointer just 18 seconds later to put The Citadel up for good.
The Bulldogs led for a majority of the first half. A Miller three-ball made it a six-point cushion, 24-18, at 1:45. The Mocs scored five points on back-to-back possessions on layups by Jared Bryant and Bell, who completed an old-fashioned three-point play on his.
Groselle made one of two free throws with 14.1 seconds left in the half to put The Citadel back up two, 25-23. As the clock readied to strike 0.0, Hampton lofted a hotly-contested three-pointer which splashed good for a 26-25 halftime lead for UTC.