Samford 85, Austin Peay 63
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team used a phenomenal 41-9 run Saturday to soar past the Austin Peay Govenors, 85-63, in a pivotal early-season battle of former Ohio Valley Conference rivals held at the Pete Hanna Center. Samford’s 85 points scored proved to be the highest total of The Seltzer Era.
“I was really pleased with how hard our team played today,” said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. “We did a great job of competing on the defensive end and especially in getting stops. We also scored the basketball when we needed to, but it was ultimately our defensive play that won the game for us.”
Samford (4-7) trailed Austin Peay (4-5), 39-27, with 1:59 remaining in the first half, but then closed out the opening period with back-to-back 3-pointers from Isaiah Williams and Raijon Kelly. Following Kelly’s third of his game-high five 3-point baskets, momentum shifted in favor of the homestanding Bulldogs in a major way.
Samford’s 6-0 streak to end the first half ignited an unprecedented 41-9 run which encompassed exactly 13 minutes and 11 seconds and gave the Bulldogs a 68-48 advantage midway through the second half.
In its biggest turning point of the 2013-14 season, Samford turned a 12-point deficit into a decisive 20-point lead with 8:48 remaining in the game.
The Bulldogs improved to 4-1 at home this season and will next be in action Saturday at noon as they square off against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in another key non-conference contest to be held at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.
With Saturday’s loss, Austin Peay (4-5) dropped to 15-7 all-time versus Samford and suffered its first defeat versus the Bulldogs since Jan. 26, 2008, in the teams’ final meeting as OVC foes.
Samford’s momentous victory was ignited by junior guard Raijon Kelly’s season-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs’ 6-foot-4 native of St. Paul, Minn., returned to the starting lineup for the first time in four games and answered the bell with a season-high five 3-point baskets.
Kelly scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the first half Saturday and finished the contest with eight assists and two steals in 31 minutes of playing time.
The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 70 percent from 3-point range in the second half and posted a 65.4 shooting percentage from the field in the final 20 minutes of action. Both proved to be season-highs for Samford.
Samford’s strong defensive performance forced 19 Austin Peay turnovers and limited the Governors to a 28.1 shooting percentage from the field, as well as a dismal 2-of-20 mark from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs’ Isaiah Williams scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor and drained 4-of-8 attempts from 3-point range. Williams, the reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Week, also accumulated six assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals in 29 minutes of game action.
Samford’s Tim Williams, who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut versus Austin Peay last season, nearly tallied another double-double Saturday with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs outscored Austin Peay, 39-20, in the paint and ran past the Governors for a 21-8 advantage in fast-break points. Samford also registered 25 assists on its 28 made field goals for a remarkable 89.3 percentage.
Austin Peay’s Chris Horton, the 2013 OVC Freshman of the Year, registered a double-double Saturday with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Governors’ Travis Betran scored a team-high 13 points, but finished just 5-of-14 from the field.
During Samford’s phenomenal 41-9 run, the Bulldogs’ defense proved to be the key as it forced Austin Peay into 15 missed field goals and nine turnovers, all while scoring a total of nine points in nearly 14 minutes.
A total of 13 Bulldogs earned playing time Saturday, 11 of whom scored points versus Austin Peay. Tyler Hood returned to the starting lineup and finished with nine points and three steals, while Connor Miller tallied eight points, four rebounds and four assists.
Samford’s Russell Wilson and Michael Bradley both added five points. Bradley, the Bulldogs’ 6-foot-10 junior from Chattanooga, Tenn., also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in only 13 minutes of playing time.
Georgia Southern 79, South Carolina State 61
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Georgia Southern Men’s Basketball got its first road win of the season on Saturday night with a 79-61 victory over South Carolina State. The Eagles got a career-best 22 points from Angel Matias in the win which boosted the Eagles to 5-5 on the year.
“It was great to have Brian Holmes back on the court tonight,” said Head Coach Mark Byington. “We missed not having him on the floor for the last few games. We had a balanced night with a bunch of different guys scoring points tonight. I’m happy to see Angel Matias play so well tonight, we hope this will help make him more confident.”
Matias was 8-for-12 from the field on the night and made 6-of-7 from the free throw line en route to the win. He also added nine rebounds, one shy of his second career double-double.
Overall, four Eagles finished in double figures with 14 from Curtis Diamond and Tre Bussey, respectively. Jelani Hewitt posted his lowest scoring night of the season with 13 points, snapping a run of three-straight games with 20+ points.
The team shot 50 percent from the field for the first time in the last six games. As a unit the Eagles went 10-for-23 from downtown, a 43.5 percent mark.
Defensively the Eagles forced 19 South Carolina State (2-7) turnovers and turned those miscues into 29 points. Additionally, it was the lowest scoring total allowed this season by the Eagles. The Bulldogs were led by Adama Adams with 21 points off the bench.
Davidson 105, Johnson & Wales 63
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Tyler Kalinoski scored a career-high 23 points to lead Davidson past Johnson & Wales, 105-63, in non-conference men’s basketball action Saturday evening in John M. Belk Arena.
Kalinoski was joined by three others in double figures for Davidson (4-5), as Tom Droney scored 18 points, Brian Sullivan added 17 and Jordan Barham finished with 11. Kalinoski, who hit 10-of-13 attempts from the field, was dominant in all phases of thegame as he also made a career-high five steals, joined Barham with a team-best seven rebounds, and added four assists.
Davidson led the battle of the two Mecklenburg County, “Wildcats” schools from Chris Czerapowicz’s opening layup. JWU (4-8) kept it a two-point game early until Davidson took control with a 37-8 run, building a 31-point lead with 1:54 remaining in the first half. The Red and Black took a 52-26 lead to the locker room at halftime.
JWU opened the second half on a 10-3 run to pull within 19 points, and later trimmed the deficit to 17 points to make it a 67-44 game with just under 15minutes to go, but Davidson scored the next 12 points and ultimately outscored JWU 41-16 over the remainder of the game. Davidson’s largest lead was 47, before JWU scored the final five points of the game.
DeQuincy Bennett and Kindrick Anderson led JWU with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Nick Crawford led the way on the glass with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Davidson converted 58.7 percent of its attempts from the field, while holding JWU to39.0 percent, and also held advantages in rebounding (43-32) and turnovers (24-14). The Red and Black also had 21 assists on 37 baskets and were able to get all 14 dressed players into the game, with 11 scoring.
Furman 74, Presbyterian 59
CLINTON, S.C. -- Sophomore Stephen Croone poured in 24 points, reaching double-digits for the eighth-straight game, and tied his career high with nine rebounds to lead the Furman men's basketball team past Presbyterian, 74-59, Saturday at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C.
Croone, who recorded a season-high seven assists on the night, drained ten of 14 field goals and was four for five from the free throw line to help the Paladins to a 54 percent field goal percentage, including a 65.2 second-half percentage. Sophomore Larry Wideman tied a career high with five three-pointers, registering 21 total points for Furman, while freshman William Gates, Jr., added 12 points.
Down by ten, 44-34, with 14:20 left in the second half, the Paladins went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to come within four points of the Blue Hose, before consecutive three-pointers by Gates and Wideman at the eight-minute mark gave Furman a 51-50 advantage, the Paladins' first lead since the first two minutes of the game.
After a layup by Presbyterian's Jordan Downing put the Blue Hose back on top by one, 52-51, with seven minutes remaining, Furman put together an 18-2 run over the next six minutes to take control of the game. A three-pointer by Keith Belfield, followed by two free throws by Kendrec Ferrara, ignited a 10-0 run by the Paladins over the span.
Presbyterian (3-8) was led by Downing, who recorded 21 points, while junior William Truss registered a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Danny Herrera added 12 points, while freshman Reggie Dillard paced the Blue Hose with nine assists.
William & Mary 63, Wofford 60
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 63-60 by the College of William and Mary at Benjamin Johnson Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers were down one and had a shot to win in the final seconds, but the Tribe got the rebound and added a pair of free throws to secure the victory.
Wofford is 3-5 to open the season and William & Mary is 5-4. The Terriers were led by Spencer Collins with 15 points and Jaylen Allen with 13 points. Lee Skinner added eleven rebounds and nine points for Wofford. Tim Rusthoven led the Tribe with 17 points and seven rebounds.
“William and Mary was just a little bit better than us today,” said head coach Mike Young. “We played well enough to win. Unfortunately for us the team in green was pretty well coached and had good players as well and got us by a couple. We have to keep rolling here in preparation for Saint Louis next Saturday.”
The Terriers scored first on a lay-up by Jaylen Allen, but the Tribe were able to take a 6-4 lead after four minutes of play. William and Mary hit a three pointer with 13:06 on the clock for a 9-4 advantage, but Jaylen Allen responded with a three for a 9-7 score. The Tribe scored the next six points for a 15-7 lead at the ten minute mark. With 8:10 left in the first half, Wofford trailed 17-10 after a lay-up by Aerris Smith.
A pair of free throws by Lee Skinner made it a 19-12 game with 6:38 left in the first half. Skinner added two more points and a free throw by C.J. Neumann cut the lead to 19-15 with just over five minutes remaining. The run went to 7-0 for the Terriers until a dunk by Marcus Thornton pushed the lead to 21-17. Indiana Faithfull added a pair of free throws to tie the game at 21 with 2:37 on the clock, but the Tribe answered with a three pointer. With sixty seconds left, Karl Cochran had a lay-up to tie the contest at 27. Neither team could take the lead before the horn sounded for the half.
Spencer Collins opened the scoring in the second half with a three pointer for a 30-27 lead. The Tribe answered with a three, but two free throws gave the Terriers an advantage. William and Mary scored the next four points, but Karl Cochran tied it at 34 after four minutes of play. A three by Kyle Gaillard gave the Tribe a 40-36 lead at 14:55. Karl Cochran hit a three from the corner to regain the lead at 41-40 for the Terriers. After a huge block by C.J. Neumann, Jaylen Allen hit a jumper for a 43-40 advantage with 12:22 remaining in the second half.
The Tribe tied the game at 45 after a lay-up and free throw by Omar Prewitt with 10:47 on the clock in the second half. After William and Mary took a lead, Spencer Collins tied it at 47 with a lay-up. The Tribe pushed the lead to 52-48 with 6:15 remaining in the half. A dunk by Karl Cochran off a turnover made it a 52-50 score at 5:43. After cutting the lead to 53-52, the Tribe scored the next four points for a 57-52 advantage with 2:50 left in the half.
Wofford answered with a lay-up by C.J. Neumann and a three by Spencer Collins for tie game at 57 with 1:36 on the clock. The Tribe had a four point lead with 35 seconds remaining A lay-up and free throw by Indiana Faithfull made it a 61-60 game at the 31.6 mark. Wofford forced a turnover, but the shot by Jaylen Allen with five seconds left was rebounded by the Tribe. Two free throws by William and Mary with 1.6 seconds left provided the 63-60 final margin.
Wofford shot 38.2 percnet from the floor while William & Mary shot 56.1 percent overall. The Terriers were 4-of-13 from with three, while the Tribe was 4-of-12 from behind the arc. William & Mary was 13-of-22 from the line while Wofford was 14-of-18 on free throws. Wofford had a 35 to 26 lead on the glass.
Gardner Webb 67, The Citadel 55
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Donta Harper led three Gardner-Webb players in double figures with 13 points as the Runnin' Bulldogs led wire-to-wire in a 67-55 victory over The Citadel on Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House.
Harper knocked down 4-of-6 field goal attempts and converted 5-of-7 free throws to finish as Gardner-Webb's top scorer. He was joined in double figures by the combination of Tyler Strange (11 points) and Tyrell Nelson (10).
The Runnin' Bulldogs (5-5) earned their second victory in the all-time series by hitting 23-of-47 from the field and 18-of-27 at the charity stripe. Gardner-Webb's well-balanced offense was due in large part to 12 team assists, five of which came from Strange.
The Citadel (3-8), which suffered its first setback at home since Feb. 28, was unable to establish consistency in the offensive, hitting just 19-of-50 from the floor. The Dogs did however force Gardner-Webb into 20 team fouls, which turned into a 15-of-22 performance at the free throw line.
Freshman Brian White (13 points) took home high individual honors for The Citadel. White combined his 6-of-10 shooting performance with five rebounds (four offensive) in just under 30 minutes of action. He was joined in scoring by frontcourt teammate C.J. Bray (11 points) who finished 4-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-5 at the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs also got a solid outing from Ashton Moore who came off the bench to score nine points by virtue of two field goals and four free throws. Moore, along with Dylen Setzekorn (five points), led The Citadel bench to 24 points, the most in the last three contests. Marshall Harris III handed out six assists for The Citadel, marking his fifth straight game with four assists or more.
Facing a 35-26 deficit to open the second half, The Citadel put together a 5-2 run over a 3:42 stretch to trim the margin to six following a White free throw.
Gardner-Webb countered with a 7-2 run that included a Strange trey and a breakaway layup by Onzie Branch to forge back in front by double figures, 44-33.
The Bulldogs amped up their defensive efforts and along with four points apiece by Bray and Tom Koopman the GWU lead was cut to 45-41.
A 3-pointer by Isaiah Ivey and a layup in transition from Nelson helped Gardner-Webb push the margin back to nine with just under 10 minutes left in the contest.
After allowing The Citadel to pull within five, 50-45, behind back-to-back layups by White, Gardner-Webb used four points from Naji Hibbert to highlight an 11-0 run that stretched the lead to 61-45 with 3:50 remaining.
Despite being outscored 10-6 over the final three minutes of the contest the Runnin' Bulldogs earned their third victory in their last three games by a 67-55 final.
Three points each by the tandem of Harper and Strange allowed Gardner-Webb to establish an 8-2 lead at the 15:19 mark of the first half.
The Citadel shook off its early shooting struggles with a Harris 3-pointer and followed with a Bray layup to quickly trim the five-point deficit to one in just over a minute of action.
Harper maintained the hot hand for Gardner-Webb who outscored the Cadets 10-2 during a 4:37 stretch as the Runnin' Bulldogs moved in front 18-9 with just under nine minutes remaining.
Solid defense kept GWU in front by double figures as the lead eventually reached 27-14 following a pair of Branch free throws at the 4:08 mark. It was there The Citadel turned to Setzekorn, who came through with a three-point play and put the margin at 10.
The Citadel scored nine of the final 17 points of the frame, including four by Moore, to trail by nine points as the first half buzzer sounded.
North Carolina 81, UNCG 50
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG men’s basketball head coach Wes Miller returned to the Dean Smith Center for the first time as part of an opposing team Saturday night as his Spartans dropped an 81-50 contest to hosting North Carolina. The game marked a homecoming of sorts for Miller, assistant coach Jackie Manuel and director of basketball operations J.B. Tanner, who all won National Championships under UNC head coach Roy Williams.
“This was an awkward feeling walking in here to play and having so many good experiences and memories in this building,” Miller said. “I told Coach (Roy Williams) before the game, this was the first time that I have ever truly loved the person that I’m playing against on the other bench.”
The Spartans were put in a tough position in the first half as they only connected on 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from the field in the first 20 minutes. UNCG committed 15 first half turnovers as the Tar Heels took a 24-14 lead and ballooned it to 44-24, scoring the final 20 points of the half.
“As far as the game goes, I have to give them (UNC) a lot of credit,” Miller said. “Coming off a big win against Michigan State, I think they are starting to hit their stride, especially defensively. Their pressure and ability to get into the passing lanes, really shell-shocked us in the first half and dismantled the things we were trying to do offensively. I was proud of my guys in the second half because I thought they can our and fought. I was proud of how we responded.”
UNCG showed its mettle though in the second half as it battled the Tar Heels scoring 36-second half points connecting on 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field. Junior forward Kyle Cain paced the attack with 13 points and eight rebounds as he was 6-of-11 from the field. Cain scored nine of his points after the halftime break. Sophomore forward Kayel Locke also added 13 points as he was 5-of-8 from the field.
North Carolina (6-2) used its size and athleticism in the post to control the tempo of the game as the Tar Heels out-rebounded UNCG 46-28, including 23 offensive rebounds. UNC scored 40 points in the paint in the victory as five different players scored in double figures. Brice Johnson led the Tar Heels with 14 points and six rebounds off the bench while James Michael McAdoo added 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Spartans started strong, holding a 6-4 lead just under four minutes into the game as Cain and Locke scored on consecutive possessions. Cain pulled the Spartans within six at 19-13 as he scored on a dunk off a backdoor play and pass from freshman guard Tevon Saddler. North Carolina asserted itself down the stretch, posting a 25-1 run to close the final 8:22 of the half.
UNCG came out of the halftime break and opened the second half on a 13-4 run to trim the deficit to 48-27. Cain and Locke each scored four points in the run while junior Nicholas Paulos hit a three-pointer in the corner.
The teams traded baskets back and forth in the second half but the Spartans were unable to make a dent in the deficit they dug in the first half. Freshman Tyrone Outlaw came off the bench and scored nine points in 24 minutes as he hit a pair of three-pointers and was 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
Marcus Paige, UNC’s leading scorer, was limited to 12 points but dished out eight assists as he was just 4-of-12 form the field. Nate Britt added 11 points and four assists while Kennedy Meeks chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.