Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Saturday's Men's Basketball Roundup

Western Carolina 83, Appalachian State 75

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Despite shooting 52.9 percent from the field and owning a 39-30 advantage on the glass, Appalachian State University men's basketball was unable to hold onto an early lead in an 83-75 setback at Western Carolina's Ramsey Center on Saturday's regular season finale.

Andre Williamson led Appalachian (12-17, 7-11 SoCon) with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting with five free throws. The senior forward added three rebounds and a block in 25 minutes off the bench. ASU converted 27-of-51 attempts on the afternoon with six players shooting 50 percent or better individually. 

The Mountaineers turned the ball over a fatal 20 times, including 13 Catamount (14-17, 8-10 SoCon) steals, and the miscues accounted for 24 Western Carolina points. Eight of ASU's 39 rebounds came on the offensive glass for seven second-chance points. 

Three other ASU players scored in double figures, led by 11 each from Nathan Healy and Mike Neal. Healy added six rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocks, while Neal added six rebounds of his own and dished out six of ASU's 11 assists. The freshman was plagued by the WCU defense throughout the afternoon and committed a season-worst nine turnovers.

G.J. Vilarino added 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting with a three-pointer and three free throws. The sophomore guard added five rebounds. Isaac Butts scored nine points and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds. The boards gave the senior center sole possession of ninth place on ASU's career rebounds list at 781. He passed former teammate Jeremy Clayton (774) and is just two shy of Dave Abertnathy's eighth-place mark. 

ASU raced out to a 14-4 lead and extended it to as many as 12 points in the first half before Trey Sumler rallied the home team back for a 34-34 tie at the intermission. In the second half, ASU took three different leads before the Catamounts took control and climbed out to a 15-point advantage with under four minutes to play. 

Down the stretch, The Apps pulled back within five points in the final minute but a pair of WCU free throws and a fast break layup sealed Appalachian's fate. 

WCU's Sumler led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He added eight rebounds, six assists and three steals to lead the home team. Harouna Mutombo added 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting on Senior Day.

WCU shot 48.4 percent in the game after an 18-of-31 mark in the second half. The Cats sank 6-of-15 three-pointers and just 15-of-29 free throws. 


College of Charleston 55, The CItadel 47

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Despite seven lead changes and five ties in a heated-rivalry rematch, College of Charleston was able to hold on to a 55-47 victory over crosstown rival The Citadel in both team's final regular-season finale held Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House.

The Cougars (19-11, 10-8) and Bulldogs (6-23, 3-15) rebounded from a low-scoring first half in which CofC struggled offensively and The Citadel started off on a 10-5 run.

Freshman Anthony Stitt came off the bench and provided an offensive spark and ended the drought with a layup and two made free throws to give CofC its first lead, 11-10, at the 11:34 minute mark. Stitt and senior Antwaine Wiggins each led the Cougars with a team-high 12 points in the contest.

CofC turned up its defensive pressure in the second half, forcing the Bulldogs into eight turnovers in which the Cougars converted into 12 key points. A steal by junior point guard Andrew Lawrence led to a Wiggins' dish to sophomore Trent Wiedeman for the alley-oop dunk which shifted the momentum the Cougars' way, 34-28, with 12:27 on the clock.

CofC built its lead into double figures as Stitt was sent to the charity stripe and made both free throws, 45-35, with 3:47 left in regulation and never looked back.

Mike Groselle turned in a school-record 22nd double-double on the season with 14 points and 16 rebounds for The Citadel.

Both teams struggled from downtown as CofC went a season-low tying 3-of-19 from three-point range (15.8 percent) and The Citadel 2-of-13 (15.4 percent).


Wofford 67, Furman 52

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Freshman Karl Cochran poured in a career-high 22 points and Wofford buried 11-of-22 three-point attempts en route to a 67-52 victory over Furman in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday evening before a crowd of 3,500 at the Benjamin Johnson Arena.

The victory improved the Terriers to 19-12 overall and 12-6 in Southern Conference play.  Wofford, with its victory and Georgia Southern's loss to Davidson, captured the No. 2 seed from the SoCon South Division and a bye in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament.  Furman concluded the regular season at 14-15 overall and 8-10 in league play.  The Paladins, the fifth seed in the SoCon South Division, open tournament play at 6 p.m. on Friday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C., against the Samford Bulldogs.

Furman jumped out to an early 10-4 lead before Wofford grabbed control of the game with an 11-1 run that gave the Terriers a 15-11 advantage with 7:29 left in the half.  The spurt turned into a 26-10 run and Wofford opened up a 30-20 lead on Cochran's triple from the corner with 1:26 to play in the first half.

After leading 30-25 at the break, Wofford shot 56.5 percent from the field in the second half and made 6-of-9 three-point attempts to pull away from the Paladins, who connected on only 4-of-18 shots from beyond the arc.  

Cochran made 7-of-10 field goal attempts, including 4-of-6 from long range, and converted on all four of his trips to the foul line.  In their final home game, seniors Kevin Giltner and Brad Loesing added 17 and 15 points, respectively, to join Cochran in double figures.  Giltner, who hit 6-of-11 shots, drained 4-of-8 three-point attempts.

Wofford shot 48 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc while forcing the Paladins into 15 turnovers.

Senior Bryson Barnes led Furman with 14 points and six rebounds while Brandon Sebirumbi and Jordan Loyd tallied 13 and 10 points, respectively.  Furman shot just 43.2 percent from the floor to suffer its seventh defeat in its last eight meeting with the Terriers.  The Paladins managed a 30-25 rebounding edge and outscored Wofford 24-18 in the paint.


Davidson 71, Georgia Southern 54

STATESBORO, Ga. - Jake Cohen led four Davidson players in double figures with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots as the Wildcats capped their regular season with a 71-54 Southern Conference men's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

De'Mon Brooks posted 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks for Davidson (22-7, 16-2 SoCon), and JP Kuhlman collected 15 points and matched a career high with nine boards. NikCochran scored 12 points, all in the second half.

Jelani Hewitt led Georgia Southern (14-14, 12-6 SoCon) with 17 points, and Eric Ferguson registered 13 points and five rebounds.

Defense was the story again for Davidson, which held the Eagles to 31 percent shooting from the floor, and Cohen and Brooks combined for Davidson's six blocked shots. The 'Cats also held a 48-33 edge on the glass.

The Wildcats held the Eagles without a point for a 5:24 stretch in the first half to build a double-digit lead and held Georgia Southern without a field goal for a 5:04period in the second frame to push the margin to 19.

With the score tied at 12-12, Cohen scored six points in an 8-0 Davidson run to open a 20-12 lead with 8:19 left in the first frame, and the 'Cats went on to hold a 33-24 advantage at halftime.

A 13-4 Wildcat run midway through the second pushed the margin to 19 with 7:01 left in the contest. Kuhlman scored four points during the stretch, and Georgia Southern was unable to cut the margin to single digits the rest of the way.


Elon 93, UNCG 79

ELON, N.C. - Behind a record crowd of 1,804, the Elon men's basketball team closed out the regular season in impressive fashion on Saturday night, topping Triad rival and Southern Conference North Division champion UNCG, 93-79, on Senior Night inside Alumni Gym. The Phoenix (14-15, 9-9) snapped a five-game losing skid and matched its most SoCon wins since the 2006-07 season to send lone senior Drew Spradlin out on a winning note.
 
With the victory and a Samford loss tonight, Elon earns the SoCon North Division second seed and a bye in the first round of conference tournament next week in Asheville.
 
Elon never trailed after jumping out to a 21-2 lead to start the game, draining 10-of-20 from long range and getting to the line 39 times. 
 
Elon's sophomore trio of Jack Isenbarger, Ryley Beaumont and Lucas Troutman combined for 62 points. Isenbarger scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting in the win, including a 6-of-9 clip from beyond the arc.
 
Beaumont registered a career-high 20 points for the maroon and gold, knocking down 9-of-13 shots from the field. Beaumont also pulled down eight boards in 33 minutes.
 
Troutman and Austin Hamilton scored in double figures for Elon, ending the night with 18 and 11, respectively. Troutman knocked down a career-high 10 shots from the free throw line in the victory.
 
Elon and UNCG finished tied on the glass at 45 rebounds apiece, as Sebastian Koch led all players with a game- and career-high 12 boards.
 
SoCon leading scorer Trevis Simpson led the visitors with 22 points.
 
Spradlin knocked down the first jumper of the game to set the Phoenix offense in motion. Elon scored the first 13 points of the game and did the job on the defensive end as UNCG opened 0-of-8 from the field. Isenbarger hit consecutive triples and Koch dumped in another bucket to put the Phoenix on top, 21-2, at the 14:35 mark.
 
A Hamilton three ball gave Elon its biggest lead of the game at 36-14 and forced a UNCG timeout with just over eight minutes to play before the break. A quick 10-0 Spartan run ensued and UNCG would close the half on a 25-12 stretch that made it a nine-point game, 48-39, after 20 minutes.
 
UNCG scored five of the first seven points in the second stanza to trim the gap to six, but back-to-back Beaumont buckets extended the lead back to double figures.
 
The Spartans would never get closer than nine for the remainder of the contest with Elon pushing its advantage to 19 on multiple occasions.
 
Elon scored 48 points in the first half after mustering only 45 against Davidson on Thursday night. The Phoenix connected on 28-of-61 (45.9 percent) and had 14 assists on 28 field goals. UNCG shot just over 41 percent for the game, but a dismal 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc.


Chattanooga 86, Samford 78

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (11-20, 5-13) four seniors willed their team to an 86-78 comeback win over Samford (11-18, 8-10) in McKenzie Arena Saturday night in Southern Conference North Division action. Keegan Bell, Jahmal Burroughs, Omar Wattad and Ricky Taylor combined for 61 of UTC's 86 points including 42 of 57 in the second half.

The Bulldogs led by as many as 11 early in the second half. They were up four, 55-51, when the Mocs went on a 12-1 run. Z. Mason started it with a layup followed by eight straight from Bell. Dontay Hampton capped the run with two free throws to put UTC up 63-56 with 8:34 to play.

Raijon Kelly got Samford within four again, 66-62, with a pull-up jumper at 4:04. The Mocs responded scoring on three straight possessions. A Mason free throw was followed by Taylor's three-pointer and two Bell free throws to make it 72-62 just inside two minutes.

Kelly banked in a triple at 1:22 to make it a seven-point margin, but the Mocs were up to the task. They tallied eight unanswered points to take their largest advantage of 15, 82-67, on two Burroughs free throws with 50.9 to play. The Bulldogs would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Bell tied for game-high honors with Kelly scoring a season-high 21 points, all in the second half. Burroughs added a career-high 19 points with seven rebounds and three steals, also a new career best. Mason led the Mocs on the boards with 12.

Tyler Hood had 16 points for the Bulldogs, while Will Cook added 15 points and 11 boards. Drew Windler chipped in 13 points and two blocks.

The Mocs came out firing on all cylinders on Senior Night. They jumped out to a 13-2 behind the hot right hand of Wattad. He hit three three-pointers in the first three-plus minutes to fuel the early lead.

Samford chipped away at the UTC lead. It took its first lead, 30-27, on a Cook trey at 4:17. The Bulldogs out-scored the Mocs 21-5 over the final eight minutes of the first half to take a nine-point margin, 38-29, into intermission.

Wattad and Taylor played key roles in their final home games. Wattad had 11 points, while Taylor posted 10 with five rebounds and two steals.

It was truly a tale of two halves. The Bulldogs shot 48.4 percent to the Mocs struggled at a 38.5 percent clip. After the break, UTC nailed 54.8 percent while limiting Samford to 40.0 percent. Chattanooga's 57 second-half points is its most in a SoCon half since 58 in a 109-79 romp over Western Carolina on Jan. 24, 2004.