Davidson 86, Stetson 80

DeLAND, Fla. – Freshman Jack Gibbs paced five Davidson players in double figures with a season-high 20 points and the Wildcats used a lengthy second-half run to get by Stetson, 86-80, in non-conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Edmunds Center.

Trailing 63-59 with 9:42 left, Davidson (2-5) took control of the back-and-forth contest with a 21-6 run and stretched its advantage to as many as 11, with just over a minute to play.

In addition to Gibbs’ outstanding performance, backcourt mate Tyler Kalinoski just missed a triple-double with 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Davidson also got double digits from Tom Droney (13), Brian Sullivan (12) and Andrew McAuliffe (10), who made all five of his attempts.

The Wildcats shot 61.5 percent after intermission to finish the game at 54.7 percent from the floor. Davidson also made the most of its 3-point attempts going 8-for-15 (.533), while connecting on 20-of-25 from the free-throw line.

Willie Green led four Hatters in double figures with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers.

The first half featured five ties and 11 lead changes before a 3-pointer by Aaron Graham in the closing seconds of the period gave the Hatters a 36-34 edge at the break.

Davidson, which played a majority of the first 20 minutes with three starters in foul trouble, got 23 points from its bench in the half, including 16 from Gibbs on 5-of-7 shooting and three triples.

Stetson (0-9) finished with a 29-28 edge on the glass.

Furman 89, Brevard College 72

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman shot better than 57 percent from the field and converted on 14 three-point attempts en route to an 89-72 victory over NCAA Division II Brevard College in non-conference men’s basketball action Saturday on YP Court at Timmons Arena.

Sophomore Larry Wideman poured in 24 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, and fellow sophomore Stephen Croone made all six field goal attempts and all seven of his free throw attempts to add 22 points as the Paladins snapped a three-game skid to improve to 3-3.

Leading 47-41 with 16:28 to play, Aaron O’Neill drained the first of his three treys on the day to ignite a 13-0 run as Furman open up a 60-41 advantage when Wideman capped the spurt with a layup with 12:41 remaining.  The Tornados trimmed the lead to 13, but Furman pulled away over the final 10 minutes by make 8-of-12 second half three-point attempts and shooting 58 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes.

The Paladins finished the game shooting 57.4 percent from the field, including 14-of-23 from three-point range.  Furman posted a 35-24 rebounding edge and outscored the Tornados 32-22 in the paint.

Sophomore Kendrec Ferrara joined Wideman and Croone in double figures with 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.  Dominic Early added nine points and a career-high nine rebounds while O’Neill netted a career-best nine points.

Brevard (1-4) shot 47.4 percent on the day and stayed within striking distance by hitting 10 second half three-pointers and 13-of-29 for the game.  Darius Moose paced the Tornados with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting while Trevon Shaw added 17 points.  Harrison White and Dominique Pickett scored 13 and 10, respectively, to round out Brevard’s double figure scorers.

Wofford 90, Johnson & Wales 48

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Five players scored in double figures for the Wofford men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon in a 90-48 win over Johnson & Wales at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers hit a season-high 14 three pointers on the way to the victory.

Wofford is 2-4 to open the season and Johnson & Wales is 3-7 overall. The Terriers were led by Lee Skinner with 14 points and eight rebounds. Spencer Collins had 13 points, while Eric Garcia, Jaylen Allen, and Karl Cochran each added 12 points. The Wildcats were led by Nick Crawford with 17 points.

The Terriers score first and had a 5-4 lead after a three pointer by Eric Garcia. Jaylen Allen added a three for an 11-4 advantage after four minutes of play. Spencer Collins hit a three pointer to give the Terriers an 18-8 lead with 12:05 on the clock. The Wildcats cut the score to 20-15 before Karl Cochran had a three and a lay-up by Lee Skinner made it 25-15 with 8:22 left in the first half.

Wofford pushed the run to 12-0 and had a 32-15 lead at the 5:45 mark of the first half. The run ended with a pair of free throws for the Wildcats. Jaylen Allen made a lay-up for a 35-18 advantage with four minutes left on the clock. A jumper by Jaylen Allen gave the Terriers a 40-20 lead with 2:39 remaining. Wofford made it a 47-22 score at the half after a lay-up by Zac Grossenbacher.

In the second half, Wofford scored the first six points for a 53-22 advantage. After the Wildcats scored five straight, the Terriers answered with a three by Eric Garcia and an easy lay-up by Lee Skinner for a 58-27 lead at the 15:22 mark of the second half. A dunk by Justin Gordon and a three by Spencer Collins made it a 63-29 game just a minute later.

After Wofford took a 68-29 lead, the Wildcats hit a three. The Terriers answered with a pair of threes by Karl Cochran and Zac Grossenbacher for a 74-32 score with 11:00 on the clock. With 7:15 left in the game, the Terriers cleared the bench. Zach Korkowski hit two free throws for an 85-38 lead. John Swinton added a three with a minute left to make it 90-46. The Wildcats hit the final shot for the 90-48 final score.

Wofford shot 55.0 percent from the floor while Johnson & Wales shot 32.7 percent overall. The Terriers were 14-of-25 from with three, while the Wildcats were 2-of-19 from behind the arc. Johnson & Wales was 10-of-15 from the line while Wofford was also 10-of-15 on free throws. Wofford had a 45 to 23 lead on the glass. Wofford had 16 turnovers on the night along with 23 assists.

The Terriers had five players score in double figures for the first time since January 6, 2011 against The Citadel (Loesing, Diggs, Dahlman, Giltner, Rundles). Eric Garcia (12), Zac Grossenbacher (7), Zach Korkowski (4), and Jaylen Allen (12) set new career highs in scoring.

 

Wright State 85, Western Carolina 77

DAYTON, Ohio - Wright State placed five players in double figures spearheaded by AJ Pacher's game-high 18 points as the Raiders led from start to finish in an 85-77 win over Western Carolina Saturday night in a nonconference game in the Nutter Center.

Pacher, who went 5-of-6 from the floor -- including knocking down both his 3-pointers -- and 6-of-10 from the free throw line, scored the first points of the game on a three from the corner for the Raiders. It would be a lead WSU would not relinquish over the remaining 37:58 of play.

Leading 9-8 with 13:11 on the clock in the first half following two free throws from Western Carolina's Torrion Brummitt, Wright State opened up the game with an 11-0 run over the next three minutes and 40 seconds to take a 20-8 lead on Cole Darling layup. Rhett Harrelson hit a jumper at the 9:15 mark - WCU's next possession -- to end a four-minute stretch for the Catamounts without any points and an almost five minute spurt without a field goal.

The Raiders held a 12-point lead for the second time in the half, 31-19, with 1:46 left and a 11-point advantage, 35-24, a minute later, but two Tom Tankelwicz free throws ended the half and pulled the Catamounts within nine points, 35-26.

WCU was a sluggish 8-of-24 in the opening 20 minutes for 33 percent, while WSU connected on 13 of its 29 attempts from the field for 45 percent. The Catamounts also handed the ball over 10 times compared for four turnovers over by the Raiders in the fist half.

Coming out the of the intermission, WCU strung together an 8-4 run to cut the WSU margin down to four points, 38-34, on Tawaski King three-point play with 17:50 remaining. However, three and half minutes later, the Raiders extended the gap back to 12 points, 49-37, following an 11-3 run.

The Raider lead hit 15 points -- the highest of the contest -- with 9:21 on the clock following two Miles Dixon free throws. However, Wright State would not make a field over the final 3:13 as WCU cut the lead down to five points, 82-77 with 22 seconds to play. The Raiders converted 13 of their 16 free throws during the stretch to hold on for the 85-77 lead.

WCU improved on its shooting percentage from the first half and ended the game at 42 percent from the floor and 39 percent from behind the arc, while WSU continued its sizzling performance ending at 49 percent overall and 50 percent from behind the 3-point line. The Catamounts finished 20-of-29 from the free throw line, while the Raiders made 29 of their 38 free throw attempts.

Wright State used 17 WCU turnovers to score 20 points, while the Catamounts only scored 13 points off of 16 Raider turnovers.

Trailing Pacher for WSU was Reggie Arceneaux, who scored 12 points, Kendall Griffin and JT Yoho tallied 11 points each and Darling chipped in 10 points. Arceneaux and Yoho came off the bench and were a combined 6-of-10 overall and 5-of-6 from three.

Trey Sumler scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and a 3-of-6 performance from three for the Catamounts. He connected on five of his seven field goal attempts and three of his five 3-point field goals in the second half for 13 points. Tankelewicz also notched 15 points, nine of which came on 3-pointers in the second half. Brandon Boggs went 6-of-10 with one three for the Catamounts as he tallied 13 points.

WCU, who with the loss falls to 5-5, continues its current three-game road trip at Coastal Carolina on Wednesday, December 4 before heading back to the state of Ohio for the third and final time with a game at Cleveland State on Monday, December 16 following final exams for the fall semester.

 

West Alabama 90, The Citadel 77

TOWSON, Md. – West Alabama's Cordell Pope came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds as the Tigers completed an undefeated weekend at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament with a 90-77 victory over The Citadel on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers extended a 23-point lead at the half to 30 points in just over two minutes of play behind five points from Aaron Cobb.

But freshman Brian White singlehandedly scored the next five Citadel points and along with contributions from Ashton Moore and Tom Koopman the Bulldogs narrowed the lead to 62-41 with 14:39 remaining.

West Alabama (3-2) countered that 10-2 run by the Dogs by scoring 16 of the next 23 points, over a 5:50 stretch, to push the margin to 78-48. In that run, the Tigers penetrated the lane for five layups.

White scored 13 of the next 16 points for the Bulldogs as they began gradually chipping away at the 30-point deficit. In just over three minutes the West Alabama lead was cut in half due to White's scoring surge.

Buckets by Desmond Raymond and Corey Pope twice pushed the margin to 17, but the Dogs answered with jumpers by Matt Van Scyoc and a series of free throws by C.J. Bray to eventually pull within 84-73.

With 2:19 left on the clock junior guard Marshall Harris III forced a steal and converted a layup to draw The Citadel within nine. However, that would be as close as the Dogs would get as two free throws and a breakaway dunk made for West Alabama's 13-point victory.

Pope, one of four players to reach double figures for the Tigers, finished 9-of-13 from the floor and was successful on five treys. He was joined in double digits by Cobb (19 points), Raymond (18) and Sandy Underwood (13).

The Tigers finished 32-of-63 from the field and drained 11-of-25 from 3-point range. West Alabama held advantages over the Bulldogs in rebounds (39-32), points in the paint (38-28) and bench points (31-18) in the victory.

White proved to be the offensive catalyst for the Bulldogs as he scored 24 points, all in the second half, after hitting 7-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the charity stripe. The freshman forward, who earned his second all-tournament accolade of the season, also made his presence felt on the glass for the Cadets, pulling down nine rebounds (eight offensive).

White was joined in double figures by Scyoc who contributed 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. The Citadel (3-6) was 23-of-51 as a unit, rebounding from a tough shooting first half (7-31) to convert 13-of-27 in the second frame.

Five points from Moore and two each by Marshall Harris III and Van Scyoc allowed the Bulldogs to establish a 9-2 lead three minutes into the game.

That margin quickly evaporated as West Alabama used six points in the paint and a 3-pointer off the hand of Spears to take its first lead 13-12 at the 12:17 mark. Just over a minute later The Citadel regained the lead, 15-13, on a 3-pointer by Van Scyoc.

West Alabama responded with a 19-4 run over the next 3:55 of the contest to move in front 32-19. The run by Tigers was highlighted by five points from Underwood and a trio of 3-point conversions.

A series of free throws by Harris and Van Scyoc, combined with a jumper by Setzekorn, moved the Dogs within striking distance at 37-25 with just over four minutes remaining.

West Alabama again responded to the challenge for the lead with a run. This time the Tigers rattled off 14 of the next 17 points to take a 51-28 lead at the break. That scoring spurt was keyed by three long distance shots for West Alabama including two from Pope.

 

Campbell 75, Georgia Southern 73 (OT)

STATESBORO, Ga. – A turnover with three seconds left in overtime opened the door for a layup at the buzzer by Campbell’s Quinton Ray to give the Fighting Camels a wild 75-73 win at Hanner Fieldhouse. Jelani Hewitt led the Eagles with 38 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double going 11-for-27 from the field and 13-for-14 at the free throw line. Georgia Southern is back at home on Wednesday night to face Brewton-Parker at 7 p.m.

“A lot of times you look at the final score and see that we lost by two on the final play, but really it was the plays that led up to that,” said Head Coach Mark Byington. “We had a lot of chances to win the game before that moment, but it wasn't to be. I was happy that we showed toughness in the second half. We still weren't playing as well as we could, but we were playing hard.”

Georgia Southern (3-5) will get another shot at Campbell (4-3) in one month’s time when the Eagles travel to Buies Creek for the return leg of this season’s home-and-home non-conference series.

A three-pointer by Tre Bussey with 1:20 left in regulation forced the extra frame as both teams saw game-winning opportunities scuttled in the final minute. Down the stretch in overtime Hewitt made four-straight free throws to level the game at 73-73. The Camels had an opportunity with eight seconds remaining with clanged off the backboard and fell to Bussey. He brought the ball up the floor, but was dispossessed at the three-point line. Ray, who made the steal, took the ball coast-to-coast and layed it in as the clock expired.

Hewitt’s 38 points made him the first Eagle to score 30+ since Ben Drayton dropped 31 against Wofford in 2010-11. 20 of his points came in the first half as the Eagles trailed by five at the break.

Tre Bussey added 15 second half points, finishing the night with 19 as the only other Eagle in double figures. He also added four assists in the contest. As a team, Georgia Southern shot 37.7 percent from the field and went 45.2 percent from the field in the second half.

Campbell had four players in double figures, led by 20 from D.J. Mason off the bench. Kyre’ Hamer also added 15 off the bench. Andrew Ryan and Leek Leek rounded out the top-scorers with 14 and 10 each.

Angel Matias secured nine rebounds with eight points as the Eagle starters scored 72 of the team’s 73 points on the night. 38 of the points for GS came in the paint as the Eagles got the drive working against Campbell’s defense.