Western Carolina 106, Milligan 72
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Senior guard Trey Sumler tallied a career-high 40 points to led the Western Carolina men’s basketball team to a 106-72 win over Milligan Monday night in the Ramsey Center in a nonconference match. It was the second time this season the Catamounts eclipsed the century mark.
Sumler, who becomes the tenth player in the NCAA to score 40 or more points this season and third player in the Southern Conference to achieve the feat, was 13-of-21 from the field, 7-of-10 from behind the arc and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Sumler has scored exactly 100 points in WCU’s last four games with 21 points at Wright State, 18 points against Charleston Southern, 21 points at Georgia and his 40 points Monday against Milligan. He also becomes the first Catamount since Kevin Martin in 2004, now in the NBA playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, to score 40 or more points in a game.
Following two free throws from Josh Mendenhall with 12:26 left in the first half, WCU held an 18-5 lead only to see Milligan mount a 10-0 run to cut the margin down to 18-15 two minutes later. However, the Catamounts closed out the half with a 28-11 run take a comfortable 46-26 lead into the break. Sumler was 5-of-10 overall with four 3-pointers for 20 points in the first 20 minutes.
The second half was never contested as the Catamounts outscored the Buffaloes 60-46 to pick up the 106-71 win. WCU remains perfect at home, 5-0, and move to 7-8 overall on the season. They also pick up their 111th win when scoring 100 or more points.
The Catamounts outrebounded the Buffaloes 51-31 including 18-10 on the offensive glass. WCU’s 18 offensive boards led to 24 second chance points. The Purple & Gold forced Milligan into 10 turnovers leading to 21 Catamount points. WCU handed the ball over a season-low six times leading to only three points for Milligan.
Trailing Sumler, who also had seven rebounds and three assists, for WCU was Torrion Brummitt, who tallied a career-high 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. He also knocked down six of his eight free throw attempts; his six makes from the line was a career-high. James Sinclair grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Rhett Harrelson had a team and career-high four assists.
WCU ended the game at 48 percent from the floor, 42 percent from three and a season-high 85 percent from the charity stripe as the Catamounts made 23 of their 27 free throw attempts.
Chattanooga 86, Maine 80
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Ronrico White and Casey Jones each tallied 20 points as the Chattanooga Mocs captured the Dr Pepper Classic title 86-80 over Maine tonight in McKenzie Arena. It’s the 16th time in the tourney’s 24 years the Mocs claimed the trophy and fifth time in the past six seasons.
“My understanding of the expectations of the Dr Pepper Classic was that we win it,” Head Coach Will Wade stated. “I think we’ve now won five of the last six tournaments, and it’s certainly the expectation that we play well and win it.
“It was good to do that,” he continued. “I thought the crowd was tremendous. It was great having the band play for us because they add tremendously to the atmosphere. They are giving up some of their holiday break to come cheer us on. We really appreciate them and the fans for supporting us.
“Some people see this as the kickoff to basketball season so hopefully we left a good impression.”
White and Jones sparked a second half comeback for Chattanooga. Tourney MVP Z. Mason had his third consecutive double-double with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Gee McGhee had his first double-double with 17 points and 10 assists.
The Black Bears were led by all-tournament team members Dmitry Akanda-Coronel and Shaun Lawton. Coronel had 24 points and six rebounds, while Lawton chipped in 10 points and nine assists.
Maine led by as many as 11, and were up 38-29 with 3:54 left in the opening frame when the Mocs made their charge. Jones’ free throws at 1:22 made it a one point affair, 40-39, before Coronel tallied the final three points of the half for a 43-39 Maine advantage.
Chattanooga’s Louisiana connection took over to start the second 20 minutes. McGhee and Jones scored on the first seven offensive possessions out of the break and had 19 consecutive points to stake their squad to a 58-47 lead with 14:05 remaining. That marked a 22-point swing as the Mocs out-scored the Black Bears over a 12:19 stretch.
It was a 10-point game, 64-54, after Greg Pryor canned a three-pointer with 11:30 to go. Maine went on a 15-4 run capped by a Troy Reid-Knight trey at 6:24 to get the lead back, 69-68.
White, who made the all-tournament team for the second year in a row, immediately answered with back-to-back threes at the other end as the Mocs re-took the lead for good, 74-69. Coronel got the Black Bears within one, 74-73, at 3:56, but Chattanooga held strong to the end for the six-point victory.
The Mocs hit a season-best 11 three-pointers in 25 attempts for the game. They shot 51.7 percent (31-60) overall from the field and won the battle of the boards 41-36, 24-15 in the second half.
Kilian Cato came off the bench to post 12 points and five rebounds for the Black Bears. Troy Reid-Knight and Christian Ejiga also scored in double figures with 10 apiece. Reid-Knight added four rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Appalachian State 97, Bluefield College 70
BOONE, N.C. – Mike Neal scored a game-high 23 points and Appalachian put together its best shooting night in more than three years in a 97-70 win over visiting Bluefield College on Monday at the Holmes Center.
The Mountaineers (4-8) shot a blistering 63.2 percent (36-of-57) from the floor and scored first-half points to cruise to an easy win over the Rams (6-2) for their second-straight victory.
Bluefield appeared as if it may hang around longer than anticipated as it held a one-point lead (9-8) three minutes, but Appalachian turned on the offense and grabbed its first double-digit lead (29-18) in a Chris Burgess layup with 9:22 remaining in the opening period.
The Apps saw their lead cut to six points on Nequan Melvin's dunk two minutes later, but pushed the lead to 11 points (36-25) when Rantavious Gilbert converted a layup with just under six minutes to go and never led by less than 10 points the rest of the way.
Neal, who scored 19 points in the first half, made 6-of-7 shots in the opening period of play including a 4-of-5 mark form beyond the arc as the Mountaineers connected on 64.5 percent (20-of-31) of their shots in the first half.
The Rams never threatened in the second half as App State pushed its lead to 20 points (73-53) when Tab Hamilton converted a pair of free throws with 10:43 on the clock and rolled to the victory to close out the calendar year.
Neal finished 8-of-9 from the floor as the game's leading scorer while Hamilton added 16 and Burgess scored 14 while dishing out four assists. Michael Obacha notched his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Bluefield was led offensively by Melvin's 13 points off the bench while Devin Page (12) and Kearsten Marion (10) scored in double figures.
Appalachian help the Rams to just 40.0 percent (25-of-65) from the floor and finished with a 39-30 edge in rebounds while dishing out 17 assists.
The Mountaineers open up the 2014 calendar year when they take on Duquesne at 7 p.m. on Thursday from the A.J. Palumbo center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Wofford 81, High Point 53
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Returning home after the Christmas break, the Wofford men’s basketball team was dominant in an 81-53 win over High Point at Benjamin Johnson Arena. After a slow start, the Terriers went on a 15-0 run in the first half to build a 23-point halftime lead. Wofford shot 53.4 percent for the game and led by as many as 28 points in the second half.
Wofford improves to 5-7 on the season and High Point is 3-9 overall. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Lee Skinner also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Panthers were led by Adam Weary with 22 points. High Point won the first meeting between the teams this season 66-56 on November 24, but has now lost seven straight games.
“This is three straight games holding the opponent to under 40 percent from the field and that will win you games,” said head coach Mike Young. “It was a team effort on defense tonight that made it happen. I am proud to be a part of it as they played their guts out again and were good on both ends of the floor. We are developing more depth and can go to the bench with great confidence that the level will not dip. We have 48 hours to dial it up and head into January and the Southern Conference schedule. I feel good heading into league play with the way this team is playing.”
The Terriers scored first with a lay-up by Justin Gordon. After High Point took a 4-2 lead, Wofford tied the game with a lay-up from Lee Skinner. The Panthers had an 8-4 lead after five minutes of play. Karl Cochran hit a three at the 13:15 mark for an 8-7 score. C.J. Neumann tied the game at ten with a lay-up and free throw with 12:30 on the clock. The Terries took a 13-10 lead on a lay-up and free throw less than a minute later.
A lay-up by C.J. Neumann, a three by Eric Garcia, and lay-up by Lee Skinner made it a 20-10 lead for the Terriers. After the Panthers ended the 15-0 run, Wofford answered with a three by Eric Garcia for a 25-12 lead. High Point added a bucket, but Eric Garcia responded with another three to make it a 28-14 game with 6:40 remaining in the first half. Karl Cochran had a long jumper for a 32-15 lead two minutes later. A pair of free throws by Eric Garcia and an easy lay-up by Lee Skinner made it a 36-15 game with less than two minutes left in the half. A fast-break lay-up by Jaylen Allen gave the Terriers a 38-15 advantage with 40 seconds on the clock. The Panthers had the final shot of the half, but the rebound went to Wofford for a 23-point lead at the break.
Wofford opened the second half with a Karl Cochran lay-up off an in-bounds play from Spencer Collins for a 40-15 lead. High Point scored the next five points to cut the score to 40-20 two minutes into the half. Lee Skinner added a lay-up for a 43-20 lead, but the Panthers score the next four points. Karl Cochran answered with a three to make it a 46-24 game after five minutes. The Panthers responded with the next six points to cut the lead to 48-30 at the 13:05 mark, but Spencer Collins had a lay-up to keep the lead at 20 after eight minutes.
Spencer Collins added a lay-up on a fast break for a 52-30 lead with 11:04 left in the second half. Lee Skinner gave the Terriers a 54-31 advantage before the Panthers answered with the next four points. At the 8:29 mark, two free throws by Lee Skinner made it a 56-35 game. A three pointer by Karl Cochran gave the Terriers a 59-35 lead with 7:45 left on the clock. At the 5:35 mark, another three by Karl Cochran pushed the score to 64-37.
Cochran scored his 1,000th career point to give Wofford a 66-39 lead. A fifth three pointer by Karl Cochran gave the Terriers a 73-45 advantage with under four minutes to play. A put-back by C.J. Neumann made it a 75-52 game and a bucket and free throw by Jaylen Allen gave Wofford a 78-52 lead with 1:07 left. A three pointer by Zac Grossenbacher with 16 seconds remaining gave the Terriers the 81-53 final margin of victory.
Wofford shot 53.4 percent from the floor while High Point shot 28.6 percent overall. The Terriers were 9-of-24 from with three, while the Panthers were 2-of-15 from behind the arc. High Point was 19-of-29 from the line while Wofford was 10-of-14 on free throws. Wofford had a 44 to 28 lead on the glass and had 22 assists. Justin Gordon fouled out with 4:12 left in the second half.
It marked the third straight game the Terrier defense limited an opponent to under 40 percent from the floor. Wofford shot over 50 percent in a game for the fourth time this season, all wins. Karl Cochran becomes the 43rd Wofford player to reach the 1,000 point mark. He has 1,003 points in 77 career games. Cochran’s double-double was the second of his career (16 points, 12 rebounds vs. UNCG 2/9/13).
NC State 68, UNCG 64
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team rallied from a 17-point second half deficit and pulled within two points in the final minute, before suffering a 68-64 loss to Atlantic Coast Conference member NC State Monday night in front of 5,989 fans at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The loss ends a three-game stretch for the Spartans against ACC teams where they posted a 1-2 record with an eight-point loss at Wake Forest, a three-point win at Virginia Tech and tonight’s four-point loss to NC State. The Spartans enter Southern Conference play Thursday night with a 7-8 record on the year as they travel to Cullowhee for a meeting against Western Carolina.
“This is a tough loss tonight because it felt like it was right there for us,” head coach Wes Miller said. “I am really proud of the way my guys played and competed -- down 17 and to make it a one possession game in the final minute. We did something tonight we haven’t been able to do this year -- battling our way back from a deficit like that. My team has done a really good job in a short period of time of coming together as a team. We have taken steps in the right direction and we need to build on that heading into conference.”
Sophomore forward Kayel Locke continued his strong play in his career against NC State, scoring a team-high 19 points while grabbing six rebounds. Locke, who scored 21 points in the loss at NC State last season, connected on 6-of-12 from the field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line.
Freshman guard Tevon Saddler returned to the court after missing last game due to an injury and poured in 18 points off the bench, including 11 in the second half. Saddler connected on 5-of-8 from the field and hit 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Junior forward Kyle Cain added 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Spartans connected on 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the field and just 20 percent (3-of-15) from three-point land. UNCG out-rebounded the taller Wolfpack by a 43-35 margin, including 15 offensive rebounds which helped the Spartans scored 17 second chance points. NC State finished the night shooting 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field but just 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the charity stripe. T.J. Warren, who entered the game sixth in the nation in scoring, tallied a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds while Anthony Barber chipped in 17 points.
The Spartans came out of the gate playing with a passion as they battled the Wolfpack point-of-point in the early going with the game tied at 11-11. The Spartans used that early energy to post a 9-2 run to take a 20-13 lead just under nine minutes in the game. Saddler scored four straight points, including a dunk off a steal under the NC State basket.
The Spartans also hit the offensive glass as Cain converted an offensive rebound for a basket while redshirt freshman center R.J. White grabbed an offensive board and converted an old-fashioned three-point play to cap the run.
UNCG maintained the seven-point advantage at 28-21 until NC State scored seven straight points on its way to a 17-7 close of the half to take a 38-35 lead into the locker room. The Wolfpack were able to get out on the fast break during the stretch while UNCG misfired with some jump shots down the stretch.
The Spartans connected on 35.3 percent (12-of-34) from the field and 3-of-10 from three-point land. Locke led the Spartans with 11 points in the first half as he was 4-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity strip. Cain and Saddler each added seven points in the opening stanza. NC State connected on 43.8 percent (14-of-32) from the field and hit just 1-of-5 from long range. T.J. Warren scored 16 points in the first half as he was 7-of-12 from the field.
NC State came out of the locker room at halftime and opened on a 16-2 run to take a 54-37 lead just under four minutes into the second half. The Wolfpack were able to get out in transition during that stretch as Barber and Desmond Lee each tallied five points in the run to balloon the lead to the largest of the game.
The Spartans showed their mettle though as they posted a 9-2 run on their way to a 24-9 stretch over the next 11:44 of the game to pull within at 63-61. Locke started the comeback converting an old-fashioned three-point play to ignite the Spartans and breathe life back into the Coliseum. From that point on, Saddler took over scoring 11 of his 18 points in the 10-minute stretch, including the basket at the 4:19 mark to force NC State into a timeout.
Both teams buckled in over the next three minutes as only one field goal was scored until UNCG made it a 66-64 game with 52 seconds remaining. Saddler came up with a steal on the defensive end, stripping Warren of the ball and sending the Spartans on the break. Freshman Diante Baldwin narrowed the gap back to two points as he muscled his way for an offensive rebound and a put-back.
After Warren gave NC State a 67-64 lead, the Spartans had possession with 21 seconds remaining. They went inside to Cain who got a good look at the basket but his shot was off the rim. Locke grabbed the offensive rebound and put up a shot through contact in traffic but it rolled off the rim and the Wolfpack was able to grab the rebound. Barber hit one of two free throws with eight seconds remaining to seal the victory, making it a two-possession game.
Campbell 69, Georgia Southern 63
BUIES GREEK, N.C. – Georgia Southern cut Campbell’s advantage from 14 to just one inside of two minutes, but a late flurry of scoring from the home side gave the Fighting Camels a 69-63 win in the final game of 2013 for both teams. The Eagles finish non-conference play at 7-8.
“We had too many guys not play well tonight and because we don’t have a lot of depth, we’ve got to have everyone play well for us to win,” said Head Coach Mark Byington. “We got some guys in foul trouble in the second half so we had to make a switch to zone to protect some of our guys. A major emphasis for us was getting them off the three-point line. In the first half they had a lot of players who normally don’t shoot well make some big three-pointers. We did a much better job of closing out in the second half.”
Georgia Southern rebounded from a poor first half from the field to shoot .412 for the evening. The Eagles matched their fewest three-pointers of the season with just four buckets from downtown.
Campbell took a 14-point advantage with 10 minutes left in the game, paving the way for an Eagle comeback. Marvin Baynham sparked the rally with a dunk which punctuated his 11-point scoring night. The Eagles ultimately rattled off five-straight points to imitate the comeback.
Tre Bussey scored seven of his team-high 18 points in the final five minutes. His layup with 2:36 cut the lead to four points. On the next possession after a Campbell timeout Brian Holmes drained a three-pointer to slice Campbell’s lead to one with 2:01 left.
Campbell, however, made back-to-back layups on the ensuing two possessions to send the lead back to five points with 33 seconds left. Jelani Hewitt earned a foul on a three-point shot on the next trip down the floor and added three points to his total of 13 for the night.
The Eagles fouled twice on the next two possessions, but were unable to score again as Campbell walked out of the gym a 69-63 win. The Camels were led by 13 points from Darius Leonard and Andrew Ryan. Campbell finishes 2013 with a 6-7 mark.
Samford 71, Presbyterian 59
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In its final non-conference contest of the 2013-14 season, the Samford University basketball team overcame a 10-point first-half deficit Monday against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose and charged back for a definitive 71-59 home triumph held at the Pete Hanna Center.
“We had to come out and play hard and play tough defensively in the second half,” said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. “Presbyterian is a good basketball team, especially offensively, and Jordan Downing is one of the best scorers that we’ve faced all season. He can flat-out score the basketball and I thought we did a good job on him in the second half.”
Samford (6-9) received a career-high 31 points from sophomore forward Tim Williams, who finished an impressive 14-of-16 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
Williams entered Monday’s game ranked No. 33 in the nation in field-goal percentage at 59 percent on the season. Following the victory over Presbyterian (4-10), the Bulldogs’ preseason All-Southern Conference selection improved his shooting percentage to 62 percent from the floor. Williams leads Samford in both points per game (17.2) and rebounds per contest (6.9) in 2013-14.
The Bulldogs have been victorious in five of their last eight games and are now 5-1 at home this season.
Presbyterian knocked down four 3-point baskets in the opening 11:13 of the game and garnered a 27-17 advantage with 7:54 remaining in the first half.
Williams then scored 11-consecutive points for the Bulldogs as Samford trimmed the Blue Hose’s lead to 29-28 at the 4:16 mark. In the final minutes of the opening period, Presbyterian’s Reggie Dillard scored five straight points, but the Bulldogs closed out the half in stellar fashion as sophomore point guard Russell Wilson raced the length of the floor in just six seconds to score a final layup at the buzzer.
Samford trailed the Blue Hose by just three points at the intermission despite shooting 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the opening half. Presbyterian knocked down 5-of-7 three-pointers in the first period to tally 15 points from beyond the arc.
In Monday’s second half, Samford held the lead for a predominant portion of the action, but the Blue Hose kept clawing back to make it a one-point game.
Midway through the final half, Connor Miller drained a crucial 3-point basket, Chris Longoria scored five-straight points and Williams added a pair of layups to give the Bulldogs a nine-point advantage, 66-57, with 3:35 left to play. Samford would eventually add to its decisive lead in the final minutes to win by a sizable 71-59 margin.
With Monday’s victory, the Bulldogs improved to 2-0 all-time against Presbyterian.
Samford outscored the Blue Hose, 46-16, in the paint and took advantage of a 17-5 lead in bench scoring. The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 57.1 percent from the field, but only 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from 3-point range. Presbyterian turned in a 42.6 shooting percentage and a 40-percent mark (8-of-20) from beyond the arc.
Along with Williams’ 31 points and seven rebounds, Samford’s Connor Miller tallied 11 points, four boards and an assist.
Additionally, the Bulldogs’ Tyler Hood, Longoria, Wilson and Jordan Capps all added six points apiece. Hood chipped in with three rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting, while Longoria finished with four assists and three steals.
Capps, Samford’s high-flying true freshman from Suwanee, Ga., turned in one of the best games of his young, up-and-coming career as he registered six rebounds and a career-high six assists. He also grabbed a pair of steals and finished 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
Junior Raijon Kelly didn’t score Monday, but chipped in with six key assists.
Presbyterian’s Dillard paced his squad with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, while Jordan Downing turned in a solid all-around game with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Furman 75, UC Davis 65
Davis, Calif. – Stephen Croone scored 17 points to lead five Paladins in double figures as Furman closed out its non-conference schedule with a 75-65 victory over Big West Conference member UC Davis on Monday night at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif.
The victory improved the Paladins to 6-7 on the season while the Aggies slipped to 4-10.
Leading 29-28 at intermission, Kendrec Ferrara scored eight points, including six straight, to key a 12-2 Furman run to open the half and give the Paladins a 41-30 lead with 12:45 to play. Ferrara, who tallied 14 points on the night, converted a pair of free throws to open the half before draining a jumper in the lane. After a pair of Aggie free throws, Ferrara delivered a one-handed slam on a pass from Croone on the fast break. Croone and William Gates Jr., who netted 10 points off of the bench, hit back-to-back jumpers before Ferrara capped the run with another jumper.
Furman extended its advantage to 14 points at 57-43 with under six minutes remaining. UC Davis rallied to trim the margin to eight points on Ryan Sypkens trey with 1:27 to play, but Larry Wideman converted a layup after breaking the full court pressure and Croone made two free throws following an offensive foul by the Aggies to put the game away.
Wideman and Charlie Reddick scored 15 and 11 points, respectively, to join Croone, Ferrara and Gates in double figures while freshman Kris Acox added eight points and five rebounds. Reddick snagged a team-best seven rebounds and two steals.
The Paladins shot 51.9 percent from the field and converted on 14-of-17 trips to the charity stripe. Furman managed a 34-30 edge in rebounding, scored 14 second chance points off of 10 offensive rebounds and outscored the Aggies in the paint, 42-22.
Corey Hawkins paced UC Davis with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting and Sypkens added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting beyond the arc. Georgi Funtarov and Darius Graham rounded out the Aggies’ double digit scorers with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Furman held UC Davis to just 36.8 percent shooting from the field despite the Aggies’ 9-for-24 effort from three-point range.
The Paladins raced out to a 5-0 lead before the Aggies rallied to claim a 20-18 advantage on Sypkens trey with 6:57 left in the first half. Gates erased a two-point deficit with a driving layup and Acox put Furman on top for good with 2:36 to play in the half when he hustled to retrieve a loose ball and dunk to give the Paladins a 25-23 advantage.