Western Carolina 74, UNC Asheville 67
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – James Sinclair led the Western Carolina offense with 17 points and five assists as the Catamounts took down mountain rival UNC Asheville 74-67 Monday night in the Ramsey Center in a nonconference game.
Sinclair came up two points shy of his career-high and one assists shy of his career-high. He was 5-of-14 from the floor including 3-of-6 from three. The junior guard also went 4-of-5 from the free throw line. The Savannah, Ga. native not only filled out the stat sheet on the offensive end, but on the defensive end as he added five steals -- a new career mark -- and a block.
Just under halfway through the first half with WCU leading 13-12, the Catamounts launched a 16-5 run that was capped off by a Brandon Boggs steal and 360 degree dunk and a Sinclair three to give the Purple and Gold a 29-17 lead with 4:34 remaining in the half. Tawaski King accounted for six of the 16 points during the stretch. WCU took its largest lead of the game, 15 points, 38-23, with a minute and half remaining on a Justin Browning steal and transition dunk that brought the crowd of 1,957 to their feet. The Bulldogs scored the final four points of the half as the Catamounts took a 38-27 lead into the break.
WCU shot 44 percent from the floor, while limiting UNCA to just 32 percent overall after the first 20 minutes of play.
UNCA carried the momentum in the early part of the second half as they dwindled the lead down to five points, 43-38, with just over 14 minutes remaining on the clock on the heels of an 11-5 run. However, a minute and a half later, the Catamounts had extended the lead back to double-digits, 50-40, following a Sinclair three. The Catamounts stayed just out of reach and even pushed the margin out to 14 points, 67-53 with three and half minutes left en route to the 74-67 win.
WCU finished 42 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three and 63 percent from the line, while UNCA heated up in the second half raising its shooting percentage to 40 percent overall, 37 percent from long range and 74 percent from the free throw line. The Catamounts for the second straight game won the turnover battle creating 18 Bulldog turnovers, while only handing the ball over 11 times. WCU had double-digit steals in back-to-back games as they picked UNCA’s pocket 13 times.
Overall, WCU had three players in double figures as King and Tankelewicz each notched 14 points. Twelve of King’s 14 points came in the first half, while nine of Tankelewicz’s 14 points came from behind the 3-point line.
The win avenges the loss suffered by the Catamounts last season at UNCA, and improves WCU to 2-0 on the season. The Bulldogs slip to 0-2 and to 25-20 in the overall series between the to programs.
Wofford 83, Emory & Henry 58
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Monday night, the Wofford men’s basketball team defeated Emory and Henry 83-58 at Benjamin Johnson Arena. Wofford used a 14-0 run to open the second half to build a lead that would grow to as many 29 points late in the game.
Wofford is 1-1 and the contest was an exhibition game for Emory and Henry. The Terriers were led by Spencer Collins with 16 points, while Jaylen Allen had 13 points and Karl Cochran scored 12 with a team-high six rebounds. The Wasps were led by Stephen Brown with 15 points and five rebounds.
“We came in at halftime and had to put some things together,” said head coach Mike Young. “We had a great response in the second half and defended better. They helped us out by kicking it around a little bit, but I thought we distributed the ball well. We had some guys step up and make shots. Jaylen Allen grew up a little bit tonight as a freshman. We still have so many things to improve upon. We will continue to shore up things as we move ahead.”
The Terriers scored first on a basket by Justin Gordon. Wofford pushed the lead to 9-4 on a lay-up and free throw by Lee Skinner three minutes into the game. Emory and Henry hit a three pointer to cut the score to 10-9, but a lay-up by Karl Cochran and three by Jaylen Allen made it a 15-9 lead after five minutes. The Wasps scored the next six points to tie the game with 11:00 on the clock in the first half.
A lay-up by Indiana Faithfull gave the Terriers the lead again, but two free throws by the Wasps tied it at 17. Wofford used a three pointer by Eric Garcia to push the score to 24-19 with seven minutes left in the first half. A three pointer by the Wasps tied the game at 26 and they took the lead at 28-27 with just over four minutes on the clock. Wofford scored the next 13 points for a 40-28 advantage before the Wasps went on a quick 7-0 run to end the half. The Terriers had a 40-35 lead at the break.
Lee Skinner opened the scoring for Wofford in the second half as Terriers went on a 14-0 run to take a 54-35 lead with 16:38 on the clock. The lead extended to 62-42 before the Wasps hit a three a couple three pointers to make it 64-48 after eight minutes of action. A three pointer by John Swinton gave the Terriers a 69-51 advantage at the midpoint of the half.
Back-to-back three pointers by Zac Grossenbacher at the eight minute mark of the second half gave the Terriers a 75-51 lead. The Terriers run went to 11-0 before the Wasps hit a free throw at 6:20. A three by Karl Cochran made it 83-54 with four minutes remaining, the largest lead of the night for the Terriers. The Wasps scored the final four points of the game for the 83-58 final score.
Wofford shot 50.8 percent from the floor while Emory and Henry shot 38.8 percent overall. The Terriers were 7-of-17 from with three, while the Wasps were 6-of-18 from behind the arc. Emory and Henry was 14-of-29 from the line while Wofford was 16-of-25 on free throws. Wofford had a 43 to 35 lead on the glass. Wofford had 16 turnovers on the night, while Emory and Henry had 20. All 14 players on the Wofford roster played in the game, with 12 getting rebounds and ten scoring points.
Miami 81, Georgia Southern 80 (OT)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Georgia Southern erased a 10-point second half deficit and forced overtime against the Miami. The Eagles held a 80-79 lead with 32 seconds left, but a pair of free throws by freshman Manu Lecomte gave the Canes the 81-80 win.
“One of the things I told the guys before the game was to focus on each possession ” said Head Coach Mark Byington. “So when we got up we knew they would make a run and at the same point when they went up, I knew we weren't going to give up and make a run at them. You learn a lot of things from games like this and a game like this will help us out later in the year.”
Junior Jelani Hewitt, making a return to his hometown, scored a game-high 27 points and dished five assists on the night. He dropped three buckets from downtown and went 8-for-8 from the stripe. Hewitt had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but his three-point shot hit front iron and did not fall.
Tre Bussey scored 20 points while Brian Holmes added 17 for the Eagles. As a team, Georgia Southern matched the school record for best night at the free throw line, going 16-for-16 from the charity stripe. The mark matches the school record of 11-for-11 against Georgia Tech in 1960.
Georgia Southern falls to 1-1 on the season while Miami picks up their first victory of the season, improving to 1-1.
Miami was led by a double-double from Donnavan Kirk with 18 points and 10 rebounds. In total, five Hurricanes scored in double figures.
The Eagles led for most of the first half, extending the lead out to nine points with 10:59 left in the opening period. Miami, however, erased the Eagle advantage and took a three-point lead into halftime despite shooting 30 percent to the Eagles’ 50-percent mark from the field.
After making five of seven shots from the field between 16:47 and 12:49 in the second half, Miami responded with a 10-2 run to extend their advantage to 10 points with 8:52 left. GSU scored five-straight over the next minute to make the score 57-52 with eight minutes remaining.
After the third media timeout of the second half at 6:34, Georgia Southern posted an 8-1 run to tie the game 60-60 entering the final five minutes of the game. Three-pointers from Kyle Doyle and Hewitt did most of the damage. A fade-away by Curtis Diamond at 4:21 gave the Eagles their first lead of the second half.
Georgia Southern opened the lead to five points with 2:46 left, but Miami tied the game with 45 seconds on the clock. A Miami deuce, followed by a pair of Hewitt free throws forced overtime for the first time in 2013-14.
Miami scored a three-pointer in the first 20 seconds of overtime as the teams traded baskets for the first three minutes of overtime play. The Eagles got a defensive stop with 1:44 remaining, allowing Holmes to drain a three-pointer, and putting the Eagles up one inside the final 90 seconds.
On the next possession UM got an old fashioned three-point play from Garrius Adams. Bussey earned a trip to the line on the next trip down the floor with 32 seconds remaining, scoring both to earn a one-point lead.
Up one with Miami holding for the last shot, Holmes was called for a blocking foul as Lecomte drove the wing. He went to the line and made both shots, giving the ball back to GSU with nine seconds left. The Eagles worked the offense for Hewitt and the junior took a contested three pointer at the buzzer which clanged off the iron.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 81, Davidson 77
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Milwaukee finished 32-of-40 from the charity stripe and erased a double-digit deficit in the second half to knock off Davidson, 81-77, in non-conference men’s basketball action Monday evening at John M. Belk Arena.
The Wildcats, who had won 21 consecutive home openers coming into the contest, fall to 0-2, while the Panthers improve to 1-1.
Tom Droney and Brian Sullivan paced Davidson with 22 points each, while De’Mon Brooks recorded his seventh career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Droney, who posted a personal best for the second straight outing, finished7-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the line.
Matt Tiby led five Milwaukee players in double digits with 21 points, which included a 10-for-12 effort at the charity stripe. Steve McWhorter added 12 points, Austin Arians and Jordan Aaron finished with 11 each, while Kyle Kelm chipped in 10.
The opening half featured five ties and eight lead changes before Droney sparked a 17-5 run with a trey and layup in consecutive trips to put Davidson up, 36-27. The Panthers responded with a small spurt of their own, but the Wildcats pushed the lead to 10, 42-32, before taking a 42-35 lead into the half.
Sullivan, who had the hot-hand early in the contest, led all players at the break with 18 points. Davidson’s Brooks and Chris Czerapowicz sat a majority of the first half due to early foul trouble.
After Davidson pushed its advantage to as many as 11 on several occasions in the second half, Milwaukee slowly chipped away and went ahead 66-65 with under six minutes to play on a pair of Kelm free throws.
Trailing 70-67 with 4:11 left, the Wildcats reeled off four straight to go back in front, 71-70, but the Panthers responded with seven unanswered to go up for good. Davidson got to within two, 79-77, on a Droney layup with 15 seconds remaining, but that’s as close as it would get.
Davidson went to the line just 15 times, converting 11 of its attempts.
Both teams shot 43 percent from the floor, while Milwaukee held a 38-35 edge on the glass.
Radford 89, Chattanooga 78
RADFORD, Va. ---The Chattanooga Mocs (1-1) fell behind early and charged late falling 89-78 at Radford (1-1) Monday evening. The Highlanders led by as many as 25 in the second half before the Mocs cut it within 10 in the final minutes.
Greg Pryor and Gee McGhee each had 17 to pace the Mocs. Eric Robertson added 13 off the bench with five rebounds and three steals.
Radford was led by Jevonte Green’s 23-point, 12-rebound effort. Rashun Davis and Ya Ya Anderson chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.
We never got into rhythm in the first half,” Head Coach Will Wade stated. “We were able to get into the rhythm in the second half and played really well, but we didn’t attack enough to score. In the first half, we weren’t able to set our press, but when we did in the second half, it gave them fits, and we were able to come back and play really well.
“We just didn’t get off to a good start.”
It was a fast and furious start for the Highlanders in their home opener. Jalen Carruthers’ slam dunk with 14:26 to play seemed made it a 25-point contest, 61-36. Chattanooga continued to battle.
A slow shooting start, less than 30 percent at that point in the game, was pushed aside by the visitors. Down 71-50 at 7:01, Pryor and Martynas Bareika combined for a five-point trip to get the lead down to 16, 71-55.
The Mocs slowly chipped away at that margin getting inside of 10 points (82-73) on a Robertson free throw with 1:01 to go. Bareika’s three just 20 seconds later cut it back to nine, 85-76, with 41 ticks remaining.
Robertson fouled to send RU’s Allen Dickerson to the free throw line. He missed both and Pryor raced his squad up the court. He found McGhee open in the corner, but his three-ball rimmed out. Radford made its free throws down the stretch for the 89-78 win.
Chattanooga managed just 36.1 percent (22-61) shooting on the night, 35.7 percent (10-28) from 3pt range. Radford shot 51.8 percent (29-56) including 50 percent (6-12) from beyond the arc.
The two telling stats beyond the shooting numbers came in the paint. The Highlanders held a 42-16 points in the paint advantage and out-rebounded the Mocs by 11, 45-34.
Despite the loss, the silver lining was clear for the scrappy group from the Scenic City.
“You’re always playing uphill on the road,” senior forward Z. Mason said. “But we fought back because Coach Wade just kept telling us to keep fighting. We cut the lead down to nine at one point, and he kept preaching to keep fighting.
“It’s tough playing on the road anywhere, but we have to fight through that adversity and play hard.”