Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Saturday's Men's Basketball Recaps

Samford 64, Furman 53

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Clide Geffrard Jr. led three Samford players in double figures as the Bulldogs pulled away from Furman to claim a 64-53 victory over the Paladins in Southern Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena.

Samford improved to 10-18 overall and 8-6 in SoCon play by handing Furman its sixth straight loss.  The Paladins, who dressed just eight players due to injury, slipped to 6-19 overall and 3-11 in league play while suffering their fourth consecutive defeat at home.

Furman rallied from a 31-26 halftime deficit to take a 40-39 lead on senior Bobby Austin's trey with 13:58 remaining, but the Paladins connected on just two field goal attempts over the next 11 minutes as Samford fashioned an 18-8 run to take control of the game.  The Bulldogs, who shot 47.1 percent on the afternoon, made 47.8 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half while holding the Paladins to just 31.8 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.

Geffrard Jr. connected on 7-of-12 shots, including 3-of-6 behind the arc, to lead the Bulldogs with 19 points.  Sophomore Raijon Kelly added 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and Tim Williams contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds as Samford out-rebounded the Paladins 37-23.

Samford connected on 7-of-16 three-point attempts, outscored the Paladins 14-5 on points off turnovers and 24-16 in the paint.

Furman grabbed an early 11-7 lead before Geffrard scored five straight points during a 13-2 Samford spurt.  The Paladins trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but three-pointers from David Brown and Bryant Irwin helped cut the lead down to one prior to the half.

Senior Colin Reddick paced the Paladins with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists while adding two blocked shots in 38 minutes of action.  Irwin tallied 13 points and Kendrec Ferrara totaled 10 points to go with seven boards and a career-high four blocked shots.

Furman shot just 37.8 percent from the field despite making 8-of-21 three-point attempts.  The Paladins were guilty of only 13 turnovers, but forced Samford into just 12 miscues.


College of Charleston 69, Georgia Southern 60

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball cut a 23-point lead to just six with a minute and a half remaining, but could get no closer on Saturday afternoon at the College of Charleston, falling 69-60 to the Cougars. Eric Ferguson scored a game-high 22 points, but it wasn't enough to counter Charleston's large early lead.

Ultimately was a 16-1 run that allowed the Eagles to cut the Charleston lead to six points with 2:02 remaining. From that point on, however, Charleston had the upper hand and took the win to improve to 19-8 and 11-4 in the SoCon. Georgia Southern is now 11-16 and 5-9 in the league.

Ferguson tallied 22 points, coming off the bench for the second-straight game. He was 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. C.J. Reed dropped 16 points with a pair of clutch three-pointers.

Charleston had three scorers in double figures, led by Willis Hall with 18 while Adjehi Baru scored 13 points with 11 rebounds. Overall, Charleston out-rebounded the Eagles 35-31 on the night.

Charleston led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but a Georgia Southern run late in the period cut the lead to 11 at the break. GSU improved from a poor shooting start to the game to finish the first half with a 10-for-25 mark from the field. Charleston made four first half three-pointers and shot 43 percent from the field.

After being down by 23 points (61-41) with 7:51 remaining, the Eagles got the lead down to 11 points just two minutes later with a 12-0 run. A tip-in on the next possession by Kameron Dunnican brought the lead to nine points and moved the run to 14-0, forcing a Charleston timeout with 4:07 remaining.

A switch to zone defense helped the Eagles keep the Cougars from scoring a basket for over six minutes. Reed cut the lead to five with 2:20 left, but a pair of free throws by Adejhi Baru at the other end made the lead seven entering the final two minutes of the game.

Charleston missed on a chance for an old-fashioned three-point play with 45 seconds remaining, but got the rebound and converted it for a layup, giving the Cougars a 67-57 lead. Reed answered with a three-pointer of his own to cut the lead back to seven with 36 ticks left on the clock.

The Eagles, however, could not make any more hay as GSU fell 69-60 to the Cougars.


Davidson 72, The Citadel 57

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Davidson ran its winning streak to 10 game with 72-57 victory over The Citadel Saturday evening at McAlister Field House.

Nik Cochran led five Davidson (19-7, 14-1 SoCon) players in double figures with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including three of his club's eight 3-pointers. Chris Czerapowicz scored 14 points, Jake Cohen had 13, while JP Kuhlman and Tyler Kalinoski finished with 10 each.

For the fourth consecutive outing, Kuhlman led the club in assists with seven as Davidson handed out 17 on 24 field goals.

The Wildcats shot 51.1 percent overall and improved on the nation's top free-throw percentage going 16-of-18 from the stripe.

Mike Groselle paced The Citadel (6-19, 3-12 SoCon) with a game-high 21 points on 10-of-14 from the floor, while P.J. Horgan recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After the Bulldogs opened 5-of-6 from the floor to jump out to an 11-3 lead, Davidson responded with an 18-2 run and stretched its advantage to 37-20 at the break.

Along with shooting 57 percent in the opening period and recording 11 assists on 12 first-half field goals, the Wildcats held The Citadel without a basket for over 10 minutes.

The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 11 in the second half, but that's as close as they would get as Davidson went on a 16-7 streak to push the margin to 20, 67-47.

The Citadel shot 58.3 percent after intermission to conclude the contest at 47.7 percent (21-44).


Wofford 78, Chattanooga 58

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team jumped out early and took a 78-58 win over Chattanooga on Saturday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers shot 51.9 percent for the game and held the Mocs to 33.3 percent from the floor.

Wofford moves to 11-17 on the season and 5-10 in the Southern Conference. Chattanooga is 11-16 overall and 6-8 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with a career-high 30 points, which included six three pointers. Jarell Byrd added 13 points and had seven rebounds to lead the team and set a career high. Indiana Faithfull had nine points and eight assists, plus three steals. The Mocs were led by Z. Mason with 24 points and Gee McGhee had 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Mocs opened the game with a three pointer, but Wofford took a 5-3 lead on a reverse lay-up and free throw by Indiana Faithfull with 16:02 on the clock. Wofford added a three pointer by Indiana Faithfull for a 10-6 lead and another three by Karl Cochran gave the Terriers a 13-8 lead with 13:10 left in the first half. A dunk by Jarell Byrd and a long jumper by Karl Cochran made it a 17-10 game at the 11:44 mark.

Chattanooga cut the score to 17-13 with a three pointer, but Karl Cochran answered with a three to make it 20-13 with 9:43 on the clock. Back-to-back long three pointers by Cochran gave Wofford a 26-15 advantage at the 7:42 mark and forced the Mocs to call a timeout. A quick four points by the Mocs cut the lead, but Wofford had a 32-21 lead with 4:44 left in the half after a pair of free throws by C.J. Neumann.

Jarell Byrd added a three pointer, followed by another bucket by a Karl Cochran for a 37-24 lead with three minutes left on the clock. Back-to-back three pointers by Taylor Wagener to end the half gave the Terriers a 45-27 lead at the break. Wofford was 55.2 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three in the first half.

To open the second half, Jarell Byrd hit two free throws for a 47-27 lead. The teams traded three pointers for a 50-30 score before the Mocs scored eleven straight points to make it 50-41 after five minutes of play. Wofford ended the run with a pair of free throws by Jarell Byrd and a bucket by Byrd. A dunk by Karl Cochran with 11:58 on the clock gave the Terriers a 58-43 lead.

Taylor Wagener hit his third three pointer of the night for a 61-45 lead. A dunk by Jarell Byrd and a bucket by Lee Skinner gave the Terriers a 66-49 advantage with 7:56 left in the second half. A three pointer from Karl Cochran pushed the score to 69-51 and a lay-up off a turnover by Cochran made it a 73-52 lead with 5:34 on the clock. Back-to-back lay-ups by Lee Skinner pushed the advantage to 77-54 with 3:47 remaining. The Terriers cleared the bench with two minutes left and took the 78-58 victory.

Wofford shot 51.9 percent from the floor while Chattanooga shot 33.3 percent overall. The Terriers were 11-of-22 from with three, while the Mocs were 5-of-22 from behind the arc. Chattanooga was 17-of-23 from the line while Wofford was 13-of-18 on free throws. The Mocs had a 35 to 28 lead on the glass. John Swinton missed the game due to injury and Spencer Collins left the game in the first half with an ankle injury.

 
Elon 80, Western Carolina 73 (OT)

ELON, N.C. - The Elon University men's basketball team sustained a late second-half run from Western Carolina to rally in overtime for an 80-73 win on Saturday night, Feb. 16, inside a packed Alumni Gym.

Elon (18-8, 11-3 Southern Conference) extends its lead in the Southern Conference North Division with the win, while Western Carolina falls to 11-16 (8-7 Southern Conference) with the setback.

The Catamounts rallied from 12 points down to take a three-point lead with 2:11 remaining in regulation after Tom Tankelewicz connected on his seventh triple of the game to give WCU a 64-61 edge. The Catamounts held Elon without a field goal for a seven-minute stretch late in the second period to mount the comeback.

But Elon responded down the stretch and tied it at 64-all with 24.6 seconds left after a pair of Jack Isenbarger free throws.

Western's Trey Sumler had a chance to win it for Western at the end of regulation, but Tanner Samson had a good contest on his jumper inside the paint near the free-throw line to force overtime.

Samson hit the proverbial dagger for the Phoenix with 1:24 to play in overtime, as his trey near the top of the key put the Phoenix ahead, 73-69. Elon outscored Western Carolina, 16-9, in the extra session - the team's third OT game of the year.

Ryley Beaumont had a monster game, going for 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the win. Beaumont knocked down 6-of-8 from the field and 6-of-11 from the free throw line.

Lucas Troutman battled through an ankle injury to become Elon's all-time blocks leader in the win after ending the night with four. Troutman now has 145 blocked shots in his career. The Belton, S.C., finished the night with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 28 minutes.

Sebastian Koch had a stellar game for the Phoenix as well, finishing with 16 points. Koch knocked down 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the win, two nights after his clutch performance versus Appalachian State where he sunk key free throws for Elon in crunch time.

Troutman split a pair of free throws with 12.4 seconds remaining in the first period to put the Phoenix ahead by one, 29-28, at intermission. The maroon and gold shot 56 percent in the opening frame, knocking down 10-of-18 from the field.

After Elon led by as many as 12 in the second half, the Catamounts pulled within three with 5:14 to play after a Tawaski King layup off a WCU missed free throw made it a 56-53 game.

Sumler helped Western Carolina complete the comeback and give his squad its first lead since the 13:24 mark of the first half when his left-handed jumper with 3:08 to play put Elon down, 61-60.

In overtime, Josh Mendenhall had a chance to give the Catamounts a one-point lead with 2:21 to play, but missed from the free throw line on a 1-and-1 attempt to keep the game tied at 69-all.

It was all Elon from there, as the Phoenix went on an 11-4 run from that point forward to seal the win.

Tankelewicz led all scorers with 23 points, while Sumler finished with 19 for the Catamounts.

Elon's 18 wins are the most since the 1989-90 season when the team won 19 games. The Phoenix's 11 league wins are the most since joining the SoCon and most since the 1987-88 squad registered 12 wins in league play as a member of the Carolinas Conference.