Elon 90, Georgia State 85
ELON, N.C. – Behind a barrage of three-pointers, the Elon University men’s basketball team closed the NIT Season Tip-Off with a 90-85 victory over the Georgia State Panthers on Tuesday night, Nov. 26, in Alumni Gym.
Elon (3-4) shot a sizzling 63 percent from beyond the arc on 15-of-24 shooting, as six Phoenix players scored in double figures.
“We fought and fought and fought tonight,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “Our players have been through some adversity against some really good opponents and we were fortunate to receive the reward of victory tonight.”
The Phoenix held on to a two-point lead with 1:34 remaining after a late Panthers surge, as Jack Isenbarger iced the game with four free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Lucas Troutman paced the Phoenix with 19 points and seven boards, while Sebastian Koch and Austin Hamilton added 15 points. Koch also registered a game-high seven assists.
Isenbarger added 12 points off the bench on 2-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc and a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line. As a team, Elon knocked down 21-of-26 (81 percent) from the charity stripe. Ryley Beaumont was the sixth Elon player in double figures after finishing with 11 points.
Elon won the battle on the boards tonight, 28-26, despite being outscored in the paint, 42-18.
Ryan Harrow, who began his collegiate career locally at NC State before transferring to Kentucky and then Georgia State, scored a game-high 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting.
After an Isenbarger three-ball gave the Phoenix a 20-14 lead with 10:52 remaining in the first half, the Panthers responded with a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 26-20 advantage.
The Panthers held on at the half for a three-point lead, 44-41, shooting 57 percent from the field on 16-of-28 field goals. Both squads had the hot hand from downtown in the opening frame, as GSU connected for 6-of-7 from three, while Elon hit 7-of-13.
After falling behind by six midway through the second period, the Panthers went on an 8-1 run to take a 64-63 lead with 8:24 to play following a Harrow old-fashioned three-point play.
Trailing by three points with 26.7 seconds left, the Panthers’ Rashaad Richardson missed a three from the corner near the GSU bench that would have tied the game, as Isenbarger snared the rebound and was immediately fouled. The senior from Zionsville, Ind., went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to secure the win for Elon.
Western Carolina 78, Limestone 69
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Trey Sumler scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the second half including 14 of the final 16 points in the final three minutes for the Catamounts as Western Carolina rallied to survive an upset bid from Limestone, 78-69, Tuesday night in a nonconference game in the Ramsey Center.
After trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half, 53-41, and down by seven points, 66-59, with 5:35 left to play, Western Carolina strung together a 9-2 run to tie the game at 68 two minutes later. Threes by Sumler and Tom Tankelewicz and a three-point play by Sumler accounted for all nine of WCU’s points during the stretch.
Limestone momentarily retook the lead with a free throw -- a point that would later prove to be the Saints’ final point of the game -- by Josh Oden, but a Sumler fast-break dunk following a James Sinclair steal gave the Catamounts a 70-69 lead with 1:12 left. It was the Catamounts’ first lead since the 2:57 mark in the first half and the last time they would trail in the contest.
Following a Limestone timeout, WCU got a defensive stop and Sumler was sent to the line where he made both his free throws to give the Catamounts a 72-69 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
The Catamounts forced a turnover from Limestone’s PJ Foster, who fouled Tankelewicz on the loose ball scrum with 1.3 seconds to play. Before the ensuing Tankelewicz free throws, Limestone’s Odem and Jamal NcNeill were assessed technical fouls. Sumler went to the line and made all four of the technical foul free throws, and Tankelewicz converted both of his free throws from the original foul to give WCU the 78-69 win.
Sumler’s 28 points came on an efficient 9-of-17 shooting from the floor. The senior guard, who earlier in the day was named Southern Conference Player of the Week, made three of his five 3-point attempts and seven of his nine shots from the charity stripe. Tankelewicz, who finished with 18 points – 12 of which came in the second half – on 5-of-10 shooting from long range and all three of his free throw attempts. The duo combined for 32 of the Catamounts’ 47 second half points, including the final 19 points over the last 5:29.
Play in the first half started off sloppy as WCU led by only four points, 16-12, midway through the period. Limestone fought back and pulled even at 18 with 7:36 left in half on fast break layup by Odem. The basket came following one of 11 WCU first half turnovers that resulted in eight Limestone points.
Three and a half minutes later, the Catamounts had regained a narrow lead, 27-22, following back-to-back Trey Sumler 3-point field goals. However, the Saints closed out the final 4:17 of the half with a 13-4 run to take a 35-31 lead into the break.
The Catamounts ended the game with 15 turnovers -- handing the ball over to the Saints only four times in the second half. However, Limestone ended the game with 14 turnovers after just six in the first half. The Saints eight second half turnovers resulted in 17 points for the Catamounts.
Limestone outshot WCU from the floor, 40 percent compared to 36 percent. The Catamounts made 12 of their 33 attempts from behind, while the Saints hit nine of their 26 attempts. WCU held a significant advantage on the boards, 51-37, including a 23-11 margin on the offensive glass.
WCU’s bench held a 28-5 scoring advantage with all 28 points coming from Tankelewicz and Mike Brown, who tallied 10 points and was the final Catamount in double-digits.
Limestone placed four of its five starters in double-figures with Foster leading the way with 22 points. Foster was 8-of-17 overall and 6-of-13 from three, including several from well behind the arc. Odem followed with 16 points, while Asaad Woods notched 13 points. Shaq Dance picked up a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the Saints losing effort.
San Diego 83, UNCG 71
ESTERO, Fla. – The UNCG men’s basketball team suffered its second straight loss at the Gulf Coast Showcase Tuesday as the Spartans dropped an 83-71 contest to San Diego at Germain Arena. The Spartans will conclude the Gulf Coast Showcase Wednesday as they battle Stetson in the seventh-place game at noon.
“We put ourselves in a hole early,” head coach Wes Miller said. “Coming off a bad loss yesterday, I thought we just didn’t come ready to play for the first time all season. I give our guys credit though as they regrouped, especially at halftime, but we didn’t have enough sustained stretches of good basketball to get us over the hump. We would play well enough to get back into the game but then have some breakdowns on the glass that really hurt us.”
The Spartans (3-3) connected on 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field and 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from long range. UNCG committed 13 turnovers in the loss, which led to 19 points by the Toreros. Also, the Spartans lost the free throw battle as they only attempted 16 from the line compared to 31 for San Diego.
Junior forward Kyle Cain led all scorers with 21 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Cain was 9-of-14 from the field and hit 2-of-3 free throws to lead the Spartans’ attack. Freshman guard Tevon Saddler added 12 points, six of which came from the free throw line. Redshirt freshman center R.J. White added 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes of play as he was 4-of-6 from the field.
San Diego (6-1) connected on 53.8 percent (28-of-52) from the field and just 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from long range. The Toreros had all five starters score in double figures with Duda Sanadze leading the way with 20 points and six rebounds. Christopher Anderson chipped in 16 points while Johnny Dee added 15 points in the balanced scoring attack.
San Diego jumped out to an early 13-2 lead just over four minutes into the game. Dee and Sanadze both hit three-pointers in the opening minutes to give the Toreros the early lead.
UNCG settled in and posted a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to 15-11 over the next two minutes. Cain got the Spartans going with a basket in the paint while freshman Tyrone Outlaw came off the bench and scored five straight, including a three-pointer from the corner.
After San Diego extended its lead back to double figures, the Spartans posted a 16-7 run to pull within one at 28-27. Cain was the catalyst as he scored nine points in the run, including the first of back-to-back UNCG three-pointers that was capped by White hitting one at the top of the arc to force a USD timeout.
San Diego responded and closed the half on a 17-11 run to take a 45-38 lead into the locker room. The Toreros took advantage of some UNCG foul trouble that saw both Cain and Outlaw with three fouls while sophomore Kayel Locke was saddled with two fouls.
UNCG connected on 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the field in the first half but committed seven turnovers, which led to 10 points for the Toreros. Cain led all scores with 13 points in just 12 minutes as he was 5-of-7 from the field, while White chipped in eight points and four rebounds off the bench. San Diego connected on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field and also hit 10-of-13 (76.9%) from the free throw line in the half. Sanadze and Dennis Kramer led the Toreros with 10 points apiece in the first half.
The Spartans came out of the locker room and posted an 8-3 run to pull within two at 48-46. Cain scored on back-to-back possessions in the post to make it a one-possession game. UNCG could not get over the hump though as it remained at arms’ length against the Toreros.
The Spartans cut the lead to 61-58 with 9:31 left as junior Nicholas Paulos hit a three-pointer off a Cain offensive rebound. San Diego responded with a 14-6 run to extend the lead back to double figures at 75-67. Sanadze and Jito Kok led the final push for the Toreros as they each scored six points in the run. San Diego iced the game away from the charity stripe hitting 10 of its last 12 attempts in the final four minutes of play.
The Spartans, which had won the rebounding battle in the first four games of the season, lost it for the second straight game Tuesday as San Diego held a 31-27 edge on the glass. Sophomore guard Jordan Potts added nine points off the bench as he continued his strong shooting from behind the arc. Potts is hot 11-of-14 from long range in the last three games, while hitting at least three in each contest.
The Spartans final contest in Florida is slated for Wednesday afternoon against Stetson at noon. The Hatters have dropped both games in the tournament, falling to Wagner and Southern Illinois.
Oral Roberts 67, Georgia Southern 65
CANCUN, Mexico – Georgia Southern Men’s Basketball fell to 0-3 in the Cancun Challenge with a 67-65 loss to Oral Roberts in a hard-fought battle by the beach. The Eagles made a season-low five three-pointers in the loss and will look to rebound against Presbyterian College on Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. (ET).
“We had great effort out there tonight and we fought hard which is something I was proud of,” said Head Coach Mark Byington. “A few times tonight we had great chances that bounced out. Our zone defense tonight did a great job on the first attack, but we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds and Oral Roberts was able to capitalize on that.”
The Eagles (2-4) led by as many as four in the first half, but saw that lead evaporate as the Golden Eagles took a four-point halftime lead into the break. Oral Roberts took the lead to 13 in the second half, but the Eagles closed the gap, cutting the lead to four in the final 30 seconds and making a tip-in at the horn to get the two-point margin.
Jelani Hewitt paced Las Aguilars with 19 points and was one of three GSU players in double figures. The junior also secured seven rebounds, sharing team-high honors with Kyle Doyle. Curtis Diamond had 12 points while Tre Bussey was held under 20 points for the first time this season and added 11 points.
Georgia Southern was plagued by 13 turnovers and missed no less than seven shots from inside three feet. As a unit, the Eagles shot .426 from the field and went .294 from downtown.
Oral Roberts (3-3) was led by 24 from Shawn Glover and 21 from Korey Billbury as he secured eight rebounds. The Golden Eagles scored 21 second change points off 16 offensive rebounds, posting 40 points in the paint and making just one three-pointer.
Virginia Tech 75, Furman 54
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech drained 12 three-pointers and placed five players in double figures to claim a 75-54 victory over Furman in men’s basketball action on Tuesday evening at Cassell Coliseum.
Leading 51-42 with under eight minutes remaining, Will Johnston, Jerell Eddie and Marshall Wood each buried a three-pointer as part of a 15-2 Virginia Tech run to help the Hokies answer a late Furman rally and put the game out of reach.
Johnston had knocked down a trey just three seconds before intermission to give the Hokies a 31-17 halftime lead. Virginia Tech began the second period on a 12-4 run to extend its margin to 43-21 on Wood’s triple with 14:30 to play.
Furman (2-3) mounted a second-half comeback as sophomore Larry Wideman scored seven points during an 18-5 run that Stephen Croone capped with back-to-back layups to trim the Hokie lead to 48-39 with 9:16 remaining. Johnston, who hit four treys on the night, stopped the Furman spurt with a three-pointer and answered a Croone trey with another three-ball. After a pair of free throws from Croone brought Furman within 10 points, Virginia Tech reeled off a 12-0 run to pull away.
Eddie led the Hokies with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Wood came off of the bench to add 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting beyond the arc. Johnston tallied 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, and Adam Smith and Joey van Zegeren rounded out the Hokies’ double figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Virginia Tech (4-3) connected on 47.5% of its shots, made 12-of-30 treys and out-rebounded the Paladins 37-31.
Croone paced Furman with a game-high 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Covington, Ga. native hit 8-of-14 shots and converted on 10-of-11 trips to the foul line. Wideman contributed 13 points and William Gates Jr. added 12 points.
Furman found itself in an 18-3 hole after making just one of its first 13 shots, but the Paladins shot 47 percent in the second half to finish at 35.7 percent for the game. Both teams committed just 11 turnovers.
Stephen F. Austin 98, Samford 78
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Samford true freshmen guards Brandon Roberts and Isaiah Williams combined to score 34 points Tuesday, but the Bulldogs’ basketball team dropped a 98-78 decision on the road against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in a 2013 First Bank and Trust Company Roundball Showcase contest held at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
“This was a tough loss for us tonight,” said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. “We hate to lose and I know that we are going to bounce back from this and work that much harder. We can make any excuse that we want about this road trip, but this tough stretch will prepare us for our conference. We’re definitely battle-tested and road-tested, so hopefully this will make us better in the long run.”
Tuesday’s matchup marked the conclusion of a six-game road trip for Samford (1-6). The exhaustive stretch included six games in 15 days and encompassed five different states as well as 5,050 miles of travel. The road streak proved to be the Bulldogs’ longest since Feb. 8, 1988.
Roberts, Samford’s explosive native of Decatur, Ala., scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and knocked down a trio of 3-point baskets. Roberts led four Bulldogs in double-figure scoring as junior Connor Miller added a season-high 16, while Isaiah Williams and Tim Williams finished with 14 and 11, respectively.
Jordan Capps, Samford’s talented junior from Suwanee, Ga., registered six points and six rebounds as 43 of the team’s 78 points were scored by true freshmen.
With Tuesday’s victory, Stephen F. Austin (4-2) extended its home winning streak to 17-consecutive games. Last year, the Lumberjacks climbed their way to a 27-5 overall record and won the Southland Conference regular-season championship.
Stephen F. Austin returned six key members from last year’s squad and junior Jacob Parker led the team with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field Tuesday. Parker, who only scored four points in the first half, exploded for 17 in the final 20 minutes of play. He proved to be a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe in the second period.
Samford trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, but battled back to within 36-35 with 1:53 remaining in the opening period.
The Bulldogs’ early comeback was initiated by Roberts who scored 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the first half. Roberts drained his first three 3-pointers of the game and quickly surpassed his previous career-high of six points at the 4:57 mark in the opening period.
Freshmen guards scored 23 of the Bulldogs’ 37 first-half points as Samford went into the locker room trailing SFA, 43-37.
Isaiah Williams, who made the third start of his budding collegiate career Tuesday, scored 10 points on a 4-of-4 shooting performance in the first half. The Bulldogs’ talented floor general also handed out a trio of assists in the opening 20 minutes of action.
Despite a tough start, Samford outshot SFA, 54.2 percent to 46.7 percent, from the field in the first half, but committed nine turnovers. The Bulldogs were also out-rebounded 17-12 in the opening period.
The Lumberjacks’ Thomas Walkup paced his squad with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the early-going, while reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week Parker was held to four first-half points.
SFA opened the final half on a 9-2 run and built a 52-39 advantage with 17:59 remaining to play. The Lumberjacks would hold a consistent 13 to 19 point lead for the remainder of the second period until Justin Doston connected on a free throw with 39 seconds left to play to make the final score, 98-78.
SFA concluded Tuesday’s game with five players scoring in double figures. Parker led the way with 21 points, while Desmond Haymon added 18 and Walkup chipped in with 15. Additionally, Deshaunt Walker came off the bench to notch 14 points as starting forward Nikola Gajic dropped in 11.
Both teams shot the ball well from the field Tuesday. Samford finished with a game-high 57.1 percent mark from the floor, while the Lumberjacks turned in a 55.7-percent total and out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 29-19.
For the first time in his Samford career, sophomore Tim Williams was held without a rebound. The Bulldogs’ 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., entered Tuesday’s contest averaging 9.5 boards per game this season.
SFA grabbed 12 offensive rebounds against Samford and outscored the Bulldogs, 19-5, in second-chance points. The Lumberjacks also won the points-off-turnovers battle, 23-6, and outscored Samford, 44-28, in points in the paint.
The Bulldogs tallied a final 35-29 advantage in bench points.