Charlotte 83, Elon 69
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Friday, Nov. 15, at Halton Arena, dropping an 83-69 road decision to the Charlotte 49ers.
Elon (2-1) led for most of the way until Charlotte (2-1) took a one-point lead with 6:53 remaining in the second half and went on a 19-5 over the next four minutes to take a 14-point lead and put the game out of reach.
Charlotte shot 62 percent in the second period and outscored the Phoenix in the paint, 42-28, for the game.
“I thought it was a very hard-fought game for the better part of 33 or 34 minutes,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We held tough, even though they were out rebounding us and getting to the foul line, but you can’t hold on forever in that regard and that came back to haunt us during a stretch at the end.”
The 49ers controlled the glass in the win, 47-26, grabbing 12 boards on offense to secure a total of 16 second-chance points against the maroon and gold.
Elon put four players in double figures for the third straight game, led by 19 points from Austin Hamilton on 8-of-13 shooting. Hamilton also tied for a game-high with five assists.
Sebastian Koch and Tanner Samson each scored 12 in the setback, while Ryley Beaumont finished with 11 points.
The 49ers had two players record double-doubles, as Shawn Lester ended the night with 24 points and 11 boards off the bench and Willie Clayton scored 12 to go along with 11 rebounds.
Samson pushed the Phoenix out to a 12-point lead with 10:36 to play in the first half and forced a Charlotte timeout after knocking down a triple from the wing to give Elon an 18-6 lead. But the 49ers stormed back, making it a one-point game, 18-17, less than two minutes later.
The 49ers took their first lead of the game with 2:18 to play after a Mike Thorne Jr. old-fashioned three-point play put Elon down, 28-27. Thorne Jr. finished with 14 points.
The two teams went into the locker room at intermission deadlocked at 32-all. Elon shot 36 percent from the field in the opening frame, but managed to knock down just 4-of-15 (27 percent) from three-point land. The Phoenix turned 11 turnovers by the 49ers into 14 points, while Charlotte scored only six points off Elon’s five first-half miscues.
Hamilton gave the Phoenix a five-point edge with less than 14 minutes to play in the second period after knocking down a corner three to make it a 48-43 game. Minutes later, the junior from Herndon, Va., completed an old-fashioned three-point play that gave Elon a 51-47 lead.
Troutman accomplished a career-first with 8:34 to play in the second half, as the senior knocked down his first career three-pointer to give Elon a 56-50 edge.
But Charlotte regained the lead with 6:53 to play after Thorne Jr. knocked down a layup and free throw to complete a 7-0 run and put the Phoenix behind by one, 57-56.
The 49ers caught fire from that point forward, going on a 14-6 run to take a nine-point lead, 71-62, with 2:34 remaining in the game. Charlotte closed the final 6:53 of the game on a 25-13 run.
Florida Gulf Coast 70, Furman 69
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Brett Comer drained two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining and Florida Gulf Coast survived a last second game winning shot attempt to claim a 70-69 win over Furman in men's college basketball action Friday evening at Timmons Arena.
Kenrec Ferrara's layup with 34 seconds to go gave Furman (2-1) a 69-68 lead, but on the ensuing possession Florida Gulf Coast (2-1) worked the ball around until Comer penetrated from the right wing and was fouled by Croone on the shot, setting up the game tying and game winning free throws.
After a timeout, Croone took a pass in the backcourt, crossed midcourt under pressure, and let fly with a 30 footer from the right wing that bounced off the left side of the rim as time expired.
Comer converted 6-of-14 field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer, and 8-of-9 free throws for a team high 21 points for the Eagles, who got 20 points from Bernard Thompson, 13 points from Jamail Jones, and 10 points and a game high nine rebounds from Chase Fieler.
Croone, a sophomore guard who tallied 30 points in Furman's 73-64 win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, tallied game high scoring honors with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Keith Belfield added 14 points and Kendrec Ferrara registered 12 points and seven boards. William Gates rounded out the double figure scorers for Furman with 11 points.
The Paladins used a 12-5 run over the final four minutes of the first half to take a 38-31 lead into intermission.
That advantage didn't last long, however, as the Eagles opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt to go up, 39-38, following a Bernard Thompson's three-point play at the 17:35 mark.
Croone's personal 9-0 run featuring a 3-pointer and two three-point plays helped the Paladins go from a point down to a 56-48 lead with 12:21 to go.
The Paladins twice pushed the advantage to nine points — first on a Larry Wideman 3-pointer with 8:30 remaining and later following a steal and layup by Croone with just over six minutes left.
A Thompson layup and Comer's lone 3-pointer of the game, at the 4:12 mark, allowed Florida Gulf Coast to slice the Paladin margin to 63-59.
Furman led 67-63 with 2:35 to go before a Fieler layup and free throw and Jones layup with a minute showing on the clock put Florida Gulf Coast ahead 68-67 — its first advantage since the 13:41 mark.
Ferrara's layup gave the Paladins their final lead of the contest before Comer drained the game deciding free throws.
Furman shot 46.3 percent from the field (25-of-54) to Florida Gulf Coast's 39.4 percent (26-of-66), but the Eagles fashioned a 41-31 rebounding advantage, including a 19-8 margin on the offensive glass. The Paladins committed 14 turnovers to eight for the Eagles.
Indiana 105, Samford 59
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer returned to Indiana University on Friday where he was a key assistant coach under the Hoosiers’ Tom Crean for four seasons. In the Bulldogs’ first game against a ranked opponent in 2013-14, Samford dropped a 105-59 decision to the No. 23-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in an early-season matchup held at Assembly Hall.
“We were just out-matched tonight,” said Seltzer, who’s beginning his second season at Samford. “Indiana is just so athletic and they are so big. The matchups were tough for us in terms of their size and their athleticism, so they were extremely difficult to deal with tonight.”
Samford (1-2) finished with four players scoring in double-figures Friday, but couldn’t overcome a 54-25 halftime deficit. The Bulldogs’ Tyler Hood paced the team with 15 points on a 5-of-11 shooting from the field and knocked down a trio of 3-point baskets.
Raijon Kelly, Samford’s Preseason All-Southern Conference selection, also connected on three 3-point baskets and finished with 10 points, three assists and a pair of rebounds.
The Bulldogs’ Tim Williams nearly tallied the eighth double-double of his young career as he posted 10 points and nine rebounds. On Tuesday, Williams finished just one point short of a double-double in a nine-point, 12-rebound performance at UT Arlington.
Samford true freshman Isaiah Williams turned in another solid outing Friday as the Bulldogs’ native of Buford, Ga., tallied 10 points, two assists and a pair of steals in 24 minutes of playing time.
Indiana (3-0) registered its third 100-point performance of the 2013-14 season Friday. On Nov. 8, in their season-opener, the Hoosiers downed Chicago State, 100-72. In three games this season, Indiana is averaging 93 points per contest.
Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting and knocked down five 3-point baskets. He also handed out a team-high six assists and pulled down three rebounds.
Indiana also finished with four players scoring in double figures Friday. Ferrell easily led the way for the Hoosiers, while Noah Vonley added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and the duo of Troy Williams and Evan Gordon both finished with 10 points apiece.
Indiana shot a sizzling 57.1 percent from the field and outscored the Bulldogs, 56-22, in the paint. Samford only shot 29.9 percent from the floor, but did receive 24 points from its bench players.
The Bulldogs’ Russell Wilson started at point guard Friday and handed out a game-high seven assists. Samford’s speedy native of Lake Wales, Fla., didn’t score against Indiana, but added a rebound and a blocked shot.
True freshman Brandon Roberts came off the bench for the Bulldogs and scored six points, while Hamilton Bailey, Jordan Capps, Eric Adams and Michael Bradley all finished with two points apiece.
Indiana led wire-to-wire and held a 51-point advantage with 3:33 remaining in the game. The Hoosiers used a key 14-0 run midway through the first half to build a momentum-sealing 26-6 lead.
Samford only shot 25.7 percent from the field in the first half and trailed Indiana, 54-25, at the intermission. The Hoosiers led by as many of 31 points in the opening period and had 11 players score at least two points in the first half. Indiana’s Ferrell paced his squad with nine points and five assists.
The Bulldogs were led in the first 20 minutes of action by sophomore Tim Williams. Williams, a 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds in the opening period. He finished 3-of-6 from the field and connected on 3-of-4 free-throw attempts.
Samford’s Hood scored five points in the first half Friday, while Isaiah Williams came off the bench to add four and Kelly knocked down a deep 3-point basket.
The Bulldogs turned in a 2-of-12 performance from 3-point range in the first half. Indiana also knocked down a pair of deep baskets and went 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Samford only committed eight turnovers in the first half, but was out-rebounded by the Hoosiers, 30-18. Indiana turned in 14 second-half points in the opening period and outscored the Bulldogs, 54-25, in the paint.
Virginia Tech 79, Western Carolina 61
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech shot 52 percent from the floor while outscoring Western Carolina 38-18 in the first half en route to a 79-61 win over the Catamounts Friday night in the Cassell Coliseum in a nonconference game.
WCU was a dismal 6-of-27 from the floor, while VaTech was 16-of-31, 52 percent, overall. The Catamounts made one of 12 attempts from behind the three-point line, and five of their 12 free throws during the first 20 minutes.
WCU improved in the second half and raised their shooting percentage to 33 percent, 20-of-61, and 12 percent from three, while Virginia Tech finished at 48 percent overall and 46 percent from behind the arc. The Catamounts even outscored VaTech 43-41 in the second half.
James Sinclair paced the Catamounts with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting including one 3-point field goal. Trey Sumler added 11 points. Sinclair also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
The game got off to a sloppy start as WCU missed its first ten field goal attempts, but trailed by only six points, 9-3, with 12:24 on the clock following a free throw by Tawaski King. WCU’s only points in the first 7:36 of play came on free throws by King, Kenneth Hall and Sumler. The Hokies however answered with two transition dunks by Trevor Thompson as VaTech extended the lead to ten points, 13-3. WCU’s first field goal of the half came on the ensuing possession – a lay-in by Justin Browning – with 10:31 left before the half.
The Hokies continued to stretch their lead, 20-6, before Sinclair converted the Catamounts first three pointer of the game with 8:12 showing on the clock to cut the gap to 11 points, 20-9; WCU had started 0-for-7 through almost 12 minutes of basketball.
Two minutes later, VaTech had pushed the lead back to 16 points, 25-9, following a Ben Emelogu dunk and three from the wing by Jarell Eddie. Eddie’s three sparked a 16-9 run for the Hokies over the final seven minutes of play as VaTech took a 38-18 lead into the break. Three of WCU’s nine points during the stretch came on a Torrin Brummitt three-point play following a nice post move and free throw.
Still trailing by 20 points, 51-31, with just under 12 minutes on the clock in the second half the Catamounts strung together an 8-0 run with six of the points coming from Brandon Boggs including a three from the wing to trim the lead down to 12 points, 51-39. VaTech ended an almost five minute stretch without a point with a Devin Wilson free throw to end the run. Two Browning free throws at the eight-minute mark cut the Hokie lead down to ten points, 53-43. Following four VaTech free throws and a pair of free throws by WCU’s Mike Brown, the Hokies made their first field goal on an Eddie elbow jumper with 6:45 to play to push the lead out to 14 points, 59-45. The made basket ended a 6:43 stretch for the Hokies without a field goal for the Hokies.
Eddie’s jumper was enough to hold off the Catamounts as the Hokies maintained the and ran out the clock to earn the 79-61 win.