The Citadel 109, Montreat 64
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Sophomore Matt Van Scyoc scored 23 points, one short of his career-high, and led 11 Citadel players in double figures as the Bulldogs moved their home court winning streak to four following a 109-64 victory over Montreat on Monday evening. It marked the first time a Citadel unit topped the century mark since head coach Chuck Driesell's debut against VMI on Nov. 11, 2011.
The Citadel (3-4) also got a lift with the return of James Island native C.J. Bray who scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor in his first game since Dec. 4, 2012. Bray, along with teammate Warren Sledge, who made his collegiate debut, has spent the last year rehabilitating from an ankle injury.
Van Scyoc converted 7-of-14 from the floor, 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and kept his consecutive free throw streak (38) intact as he converted 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The sophomore swingman also pulled down six rebounds (five defensive) and tied a career-high by handing out four assists.
Brian White also came through with a solid effort for the Dogs, scoring 19 points and to go along with 10 boards, completing the second double-double of his Bulldog career. White finished 7-of-8 from the floor and was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Ashton Moore (13 points) and Marshall Harris III (11) also pumped in double-digit scoring efforts while combining for nine of the Citadel's 23 total assists. Moore reached double figures after knocking down 5-of-10 field goal attempts, including three from beyond the arc.
Dylen Setzekorn provided a spark off the bench for the Dogs with 13 points. He was one of four Cadets to hit five shots on the night and was a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown.
The Citadel hit 36-of-63 from the floor, 14-of-30 from 3-point range and were successful on 23-of-26 attempts from the free throw line. The Dogs held a 40-30 edge on the glass and limited themselves to 11 turnovers on the evening.
With an 11-point advantage to start the second half The Citadel put together a 20-4 run, highlighted by two Van Scyoc treys, to stretch the lead to 67-39 in just under five minutes of play.
The combination of pressure defense and five points off the hand of Harris allowed the Cadets to extend the lead to 81-46 with 11:25 left in the contest.
Just under four minutes later, leading 85-52, Setzekorn and Bray combined to score 14 of the next 17 points as The Citadel cracked the 100-point barrier at McAlister Field House for the first time since Nov. 9, 2007 against Daniel Webster.
The Dogs would tack on seven points in the final 3:09 of the game including a Bray 3-pointer to complete the 109-64 victory.
Eight points by Van Scyoc inside the first six minutes of play allowed the Cadets to jump out to a 15-9 lead. It was there, at the 13:42 mark, that The Citadel faithful was brought to its feet as they cheered on the return of Bray who entered the game for Tom Koopman.
Montreat answered by slicing the margin to three following a 3-pointer off the hand of Kerigan Farley, but a jumper by Bray and a layup from Raemond Robinson provided an eight-point cushion.
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the half the Cavaliers' Joshua Foster converted a 3-pointer to narrow the lead to four, 24-20.
The Bulldogs answered the challenge with a Quinton Marshall layup and following back-to-back 3-pointers by Moore and Setzekorn the lead was back to double figures, 32-20.
Freshman guard Warren Sledge drove home the first two points of his career to push the margin to 14 at the 7:34 mark. From there The Citadel capitalized on seven points by White and three each from Moore and Van Scyoc to close out the half with a 47-36 lead.
The trio of Farley (17 points), La'Bris Adams (15) and Melvin Irvin (12) were the offensive leaders for Montreat (6-3) on the night. The Cavaliers were anchored in the paint by Myles Marshall (seven rebounds).
Montreat finished 19-of-55 from the field and struggled to find their shot from 3-point range (4-15). The high point for the Cavaliers on the evening came from the free throw line as they finished 22-of-34.
Louisiana Tech 99, UNCG 62
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team opened the inaugural Gulf Coast Showcase Monday afternoon with a 99-62 loss to defending Western Athletic Conference Champion Louisiana Tech at the Germain Arena. The Spartans continue play with their second of three straight games Tuesday afternoon as UNCG will meet San Diego at noon in the consolation bracket. The Toreros (5-1) dropped their first game of the season 74-70 to Illinois-Chicago in the second game Monday.
“Louisiana Tech is a really experienced team that has everyone back from a 27-win team last year,” head coach Wes Miller said. “They approached it like a veteran team today. They kept coming and kept coming with their pressure, even when we had the early lead. In the end, turnovers and easy buckets for them is what did us in today. We have to regroup, because we have less than 24 hours to get back out on the floor in this tournament format.”
The Spartans (3-2) were held to just 38.9 percent (21-of-54) shooting from the field and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from long range in the loss. Conversely, Louisiana Tech was blistering on offense hitting 63.2 percent (36-of-57) from the field and 56 percent (14-of-25) from long range. The Spartans also committed 19 turnovers on the day and were out-rebounded by a 36-23 margin, marking the first time this year that UNCG has been out-rebounded.
Sophomore guard Jordan Potts led UNCG and was one of just three in double figures scoring with 13 points off the bench. Potts was 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-5 from distance. He opened the game with three straight makes from long range, running his season-opening stretch to eight three-pointers made in a row.
Redshirt freshman center R.J. White added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench as he was 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Sophomore forward Kayel Locke rounded out the Spartans in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
Louisiana Tech (3-2) had five players score in double figures with Alex Hamilton leading the way with a career-high 26 points. Hamilton was 10-of-12 from the field and hit three three-pointers. Chris Anderson added 18 points off the bench while Kenyon McNeail chipped in 15 points as a reserve.
UNCG came out of the gate quickly against the Bulldogs as it handled the early pressure to open to an 8-2 lead. Junior Kyle Cain started the scoring with a pair of free throws off an offensive rebound while freshman Tevon Saddler added a layup in transition. Junior Nicholas Paulos nailed a three-pointer to give the Spartans an 11-5 lead and force Louisiana Tech into a timeout.
The Bulldogs settled in and the game tightened up as both teams traded the lead until another Paulos three-pointer made it 28-26 with 7:04 left in the half. Louisiana Tech took control from that point on as it closed on a 20-7 run to take a 48-33 lead into the locker room. The Bulldogs’ full court pressure was the catalyst, forcing UNCG into six turnovers in the final seven minutes while also nailing a pair of three-pointers.
The Spartans connected on 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the field and hit 4-of-8 three-pointers in the first half. Paulos led the team with nine points in the first 20 minutes but UNCG committed 11 turnovers. Louisiana Tech connected on 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from long range.
After the Spartans trimmed the deficit to 50-37 on back-to-back baskets from Locke, the Bulldogs put the game away with a 26-10 run to take a 76-47 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining in regulation. UNCG committed six more miscues in the run while Louisiana Tech added four more three-pointers in the story of the game.
Louisiana Tech finished the game scoring 27 points off the Spartans’ 19 turnovers and also scored 44 points in the paint. The Bulldogs advance in the winners bracket and will face Illinois-Chicago Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
Metro State 75, Elon 74
ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team cut a 15-point second-half deficit down to one in the final moments but could not get over the hump, as the Phoenix dropped a 75-74 decision to the Metro State Roadrunners on Monday night, Nov. 25, in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
With the ball and trailing by one with 14.1 seconds left, the Phoenix had a chance to snatch the game from the Roadrunners in the final moments. But a Sebastian Koch drive to the basket came up short and Lucas Troutman’s put-back after an offensive board just missed as the buzzer sounded, as Metro State managed to escape Alumni Gym with the win.
Elon falls to 2-4 with the setback, while Metro State, the top-ranked team in Division II and last year’s national runner-up, remains at 2-0 with the win.
“I was very encouraged by the way we fought back into the game against a very good Metro State team,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “They really attacked us to start the game and executed their system very well. We fought through some unusual situations to get back in the game to have a chance to win it.”
Elon put five players in double figures, led by 15 points from Koch and Austin Hamilton. Jack Isenbarger scored 13 points in the setback, knocking down four shots from beyond the arc. Troutman and Tanner Samson finished with 11 and 10, respectively.
Metro State’s Mitch McCarron scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.
Elon knocked down 46 percent from the field, including 57 percent (12-of-21) from beyond the arc. Metro State shot 47 percent from the field, hitting 6-of-15 (40 percent) from three.
The Roadrunners sped out to a 12-point lead with 12:01 to play in the opening frame following a Brandon Jefferson triple in the corner that made it a 23-11 game.
Metro State led by 11 points, 40-29, at intermission after capitalizing on eight Phoenix turnovers in the first 20 minutes for 13 points. The maroon and gold shot 39 percent in the opening frame, while MSU knocked down 16-of-33 from the field, good for 49 percent.
The Phoenix got started quickly in the second half, pulling within eight with 17:11 to play after a Hamilton steal and drive to the basket made it a 44-36 game.
Isenbarger put the Elon faithful on their feet with 8:07 to play after answering an MSU three-pointer with his own triple from the wing to make it a 62-56 game.
After corralling a Ryley Beaumont missed jumper, Samson connected on a three-ball from the wing with 1:24 to play to give the Phoenix momentum and pull his squad within one, 73-72.
But the Phoenix could not convert the go-ahead basket down the stretch, as Metro State held on for the win after leading for the final 38 minutes of the game.