Rutgers 89, UNCG 72
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The UNCG men’s basketball team dug itself into a 19-point halftime deficit it could not overcome as the Spartans dropped an 89-72 contest to Rutgers Saturday afternoon at the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC). The Spartans rallied in the second half to trim the deficit to single digits, but could not mount the complete comeback.
Junior forward Kyle Cain paced three Spartans in double figures in the loss, scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Cain was 8-of-15 from the field in the loss, despite battling through foul trouble in the first half. Freshman Tevon Saddler added 13 points, including eight in the second half, while sophomore Kayel Locke chipped in 11 points.
The Spartans connected on 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field in the loss and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from three-point land. UNCG committed 18 turnovers Saturday, 14 of which came in the first half, as Rutgers scored 26 points off those miscues.
Rutgers (5-7) finished the night shooting 50 percent (31-of-62) from the field and 45 percent (9-of-20) from three-point land. Myles Mack led the way with 21 points and eight assists, as he was 6-of-11 from the field, 4-of-6 from three-point land and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Kadeem Jack added 18 points while Wally Judge finished with 13 points.
The Spartans and Scarlet Knights traded baskets in the early going with Cain leading the way with eight early points. Rutgers took an 18-8 lead as Judge scored five straight points, taking advantage of three straight UNCG turnovers. The Spartans slowed the run and notched a 10-5 spurt to make it a 23-18 contest as they scored in the paint with baskets from Cain, Locke and redshirt freshman R.J. White.
Rutgers responded with a barrage of three-point shot, scoring 13 straight and closing the half on a 19-6 run to take a 52-33 lead into the locker room. Mack led the way with 11 points during the closing run, including three three-pointers, including a pair back-to-back from long range.
UNCG finished the first half shooting 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from the field and 40 percent (4-of-10) from three-point land in the first half. The Spartans were done in by committing 14 first half turnovers and being called for 12 fouls in the opening 20 minutes as three different players had three fouls apiece. Sophomore Jordan Potts led the Spartans with nine points off the bench as he was 3-of-5 from long range while Cain had eight points, all in the first nine minutes before getting into foul trouble.
Rutgers scored a season-high 52 points in the first half as it connected on 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the field and 5-of-11 from long range. The Scarlet Knights also connected on 11-of-15 free throws while UNCG only attempted five from the charity stripe. Mack led all scorers with 14 points as he hit 3-of-3 from distance while Moore added 12 points off the bench.
Rutgers kept the Spartans at bay for the first eight minutes of the second half, holding a 67-44 lead as Jerome Seagears hit a three-pointer. UNCG showed some fight down the stretch as it posted an 18-4 run to narrow the gap to 71-62 with 4:56 left in the game. The Spartans turned to the duo of Cain and Saddler during the run as they combined for 12 points during the stretch. Cain scored eight points in the run while Saddler added four. Junior Nicholas Paulos also hit a three-pointer in the spurt. The Spartans were looking for stop on the ensuing possessions, but Rutgers responded with nine straight points, including a three-pointer from Craig Brown on the fast break.
Florida Gulf Coast 83, Samford 51
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Samford University basketball team committed 18 turnovers, 12 of which occurred in the second half Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped an 83-51 decision against the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles in an early-season contest held at Alico Arena.
Tim Williams, Samford’s leading scorer on the season with an average of 15.4 points per game, did not play Saturday due to a hip contusion. He was injured in practice Friday and was a game-time decision.
With the loss, Samford (4-8) moved to 0-7 when playing on the road this season. The Bulldogs will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m. (CST) as they travel to Jacksonville, Fla., for another road contest against the Jacksonville University Dolphins.
Samford only committed six turnovers in the first half Saturday, but suffered 12 costly miscues in the final 20 minutes of action. FGCU (5-4) outscored the Bulldogs, 25-8, in points-off turnovers and parlayed Samford’s errors into a 45-27 scoring disparity in the second half.
Tyler Hood, Samford’s junior forward from Lenoir City, Tenn., paced the Bulldogs with 11 points in 30 minutes of playing time. He also added four rebounds and finished a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Samford’s Raijon Kelly and Chris Longoria both added eight points apiece.
FGCU finished with four players scoring in double figures and was led by Brett Comer’s 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Comer tallied 12 of his 18 points in the second period and added two assists and a blocked shot.
The Eagles’ Bernard Thompson scored 15 points Saturday and moved to within just eight points of reaching the prestigious 1,000-point plateau. Junior Natie Hicks dropped in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Chase Fieler tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Samford out-rebounded the Eagles, 14-11, on the offensive end of the court, but FGCU ended up winning the total rebounding battle, 42-35.
The Bulldogs’ Russell Wilson pulled down a career-high eight rebounds Saturday and handed out a team-high three assists. He also finished with five points, a rebound and a steal. Junior center Michael Bradley grabbed six rebounds and added three points, but got into some early foul trouble and only logged 17 minutes before fouling out.
Connor Miller chipped in with six points, three rebounds and a pair of steals for the Bulldogs, while Brandon Hayman, Jordan Capps and Nnamdi Enechionya came off the bench to score five, four and three points, respectively.
Samford’s Longoria, who made the first appearance of his Bulldog career since transferring from Binghamton University last December, scored his eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in only six minutes of playing time.
FGCU shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and took a 38-24 lead into the locker room. Fieler nearly accumulated a double-double in the opening period with eight points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes of play.
Samford’s Hood scored seven points and pulled down a pair of rebounds in the first half Saturday. Fellow juniors Miller and Kelly added six points apiece in the opening 20 minutes of action.
The Bulldogs only shot 16.7 percent from 3-point range in the first half and entered the intermission with a 32.1-percent mark from the field. FGCU turned in a 4-of-11 performance from beyond the arc in the opening half.
Samford forced the Eagles into eight first-half turnovers, but FGCU garnered a 10-5 advantage in points-off turnovers. The Bulldogs were also out-rebounded 22-15 in the opening 20 minutes of game action.
Clemson 71, Furman 35
CLEMSON, S.C. – Jordan Roper netted a game-high 16 points and Clemson held Furman to its lowest points total in 50 years as the Tigers downed the Paladins, 71-35, on Saturday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson limited Furman to a season-low 30.2 percent shooting as the Paladins’ 35 points marked their lowest offensive output since scoring just 32 in a 45-32 loss at South Carolina on December 10, 1963.
Roper buried back-to-back treys and delivered eight straight points to key a 17-0 Clemson run that turned a 21-17 margin into a 38-19 halftime lead for the Tigers. In the second half, Clemson held the Paladins to 5-of-21 shooting to outscore Furman 33-16 over the final 20 minutes.
K.J. McDaniels, who ignited an 18-2 second half run with a pair of highlight reel dunks, and Devin Coleman scored 12 points apiece to join Roper in double figures. Clemson shot 50 percent from the field and made good on 11-of-14 trips to the charity stripe. The Tigers managed a commanding 37-23 advantage on the glass while also scoring 18 points off of 16 Paladin turnovers.
Kendrec Ferrara led Furman with 10 points and Stephen Croone added nine points and three assists. Furman converted on just 13-of-43 field goal attempts, including 3-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The Paladins grabbed an early 7-6 lead on a Ferrara trey and trailed just 21-17 with 6:51 remaining in the first half before Clemson held Furman without a field goal until Croone’s driving layup as time expired in the half.
Saint Louis 66, Wofford 52
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 66-52 by Saint Louis University on Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena. The Billikens jumped out to a twenty point lead in the first half, but Wofford made it a five point game in the middle of the second half. Saint Louis closed the game on an 11-4 run for the win.
Wofford is 3-6 on the season. Saint Louis is 9-2 after reaching the third round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Terriers were led by Spencer Collins with 17 points, while Jaylen Allen and C.J. Neumann each added nine points. Jordair Jett scored 16 points for the Billikens and Rob Loe added 14 points.
“They start four seniors and are awfully good,” said head coach Mike Young. “I thought we mishandled some things. We had a chance to make it more interesting and I think I botched a couple of things and I take responsibility. Karl Cochran did a nice job defending Jordair Jett and defensively we played well as a team. It does not get any easier next Tuesday against VCU.”
The Billikens scored the first seven points of the game, but Wofford answered with a jumper by Spencer Collins and a three by Jaylen Allen for a 7-5 score after three minutes of play. Saint Louis pushed the lead to 14-5 with 12:52 on the clock before Spencer Collins added a jumper for a 14-7 score. A three by Jordair Jett gave the Billikens a 21-7 lead at the ten minute mark. After a shot by Spencer Collins, Saint Louis went on an 8-0 run for a 29-9 score with 7:53 on the clock.
A jumper by Justin Gordon and a three by Spencer Collins cut the lead to 29-14 less than a minute later. Wofford made it a 30-17 game at the 5:53 mark of the first half. Back-to-back threes by Jaylen Allen and Karl Cochran made it a 33-25 game with 2:45 remaining. The Billikens added two free throws and Justin Gordon had a jumper for a 35-27 score at the half.
Indiana Faithfull had a basket and free throw to open the second half for a 35-30 score. After the first five minutes, the Billikens had a 43-32 advantage. Four straight points by Wofford made it 43-36 score at the 13:45 mark. Lee Skinner’s lay-up with 13:06 on the clock cut the lead to 45-38. A three pointer by Jaylen Allen made it a 46-41 score.
With 8:44 left in the second half, C.J. Neumann hit a pair of free throws for a 51-45 game. After the Billikens hit a three, C.J. Neumann answered with a three from the corner for a 55-48 score with 6:30 on the clock. Saint Louis pushed the lead back to 62-50 with three minutes left in the half. A three pointer made it a 66-50 score at the 1:30 mark. C.J. Neumann scored the final two points of the game on a dunk with three seconds left for the 66-52 final score.
Wofford shot 42.2 percent from the floor while Saint Louis shot 47.7 percent overall. The Terriers were 6-of-11 from with three, while the Billikens were 5-of-18 from behind the arc. Saint Louis was 19-of-28 from the line while Wofford was 8-of-10 on free throws. Saint Louis had a 34 to 23 lead on the glass. The Billikens blocked six shots, while the Terriers had ten steals. Eric Garcia missed the game due to a concussion suffered in practice earlier in the week.