Davidson 73, Furman 36
DAVIDSON, N.C. - De'Mon Brooks (15 pts, 10 rebs) and Jake Cohen (12 pts, 11 rebs) each recorded double-doubles to lead Davidson to its 11th straight victory, a 73-36 win over Furman in Southern Conference men's basketball action Wednesday at John M. Belk Arena.
With tonight's triumph, the Wildcats have posted 20 wins under head coach Bob McKillop 11 times, including seven of the last nine seasons. Davidson (20-7, 15-1 SoCon) has reached the 20-win plateau 20 times in school history.
It also marks the seventh time McKillop has guided the Wildcats to 11 consecutive wins or more.
Chris Czerapowicz and Nik Cochran added nine points each, while JP Kuhlman had eight to go along with eight assists.
Brooks and Cohen's effort on the glass led Davidson to a 45-26 rebounding margin.
The Wildcats shot 50 percent in the second half to finish the contest at 44.3 percent (27-61), while holding Furman (6-20, 3-12 SoCon) to 25 percent (11-44). Davidson, the nation's top free throw shooting team, concluded the contest 11-of-13 from the stripe.
Larry Wideman was the lone Paladin in double figures with a game-high 18 points.
In addition to scoring the first 10 points of the contest, Davidson closed the first half on a 25-3 run to take a 39-12 lead into the break. The Wildcats didn't allow a field goal the final 12 minutes of the opening period, while holding the Paladins to just 18.2 percent (4-22).
College of Charleston 67, Western Carolina 65
Cullowhee, N.C. - Trey Sumler capped a feverish Catamount rally as Western Carolina stormed back from a 12-point deficit inside the game's final 3:08, tying the game with his patented runner down the right-side of the lane with 4.6 seconds remaining. However, College of Charleston guard Andrew Lawrence dribbled the length of the floor on the ensuing inbounds play and was fouled attempting a would-be game-winning lay-up.
Lawrence stepped to the free throw line and ultimately made both free throws to propel the Cougars to the two-point victory as Adjehi Baru deflected WCU's final heave on the inbounds play to end the game.
Sumler scored 22 of his game-high 24 points in the second half after shooting just three times (0-for-3) in the opening 20 minutes and only scoring a pair of free throws. For the second-straight home game, he took over in the closing moments, tallying a dozen of WCU's final 14 points during the 12-point run to knot the game at 65 inside the closing five seconds.
Following Sumler's game-tying heroics, Lawrence grabbed the inbounds pass and raced up the right sidelines while the Catamount defense recoiled. Leaning in from the right side of the hoop, Lawrence drew enough contact on the missed runner to be awarded a pair of free throws with just 0.6 remaining on the game clock.
After Lawrence sank the first, WCU called a timeout to plan for the final attempt. It became apparent quickly that Lawrence wanted to miss his second charity toss to start the clock, preventing WCU from being able to advance the ball at all. Looking to prolong the game, WCU took several intentional lane violation calls until Lawrence finally made the free throw.
Preston Ross then threw the ball nearly the full length of the court on the ensuing inbounds play, looking for a quick tip towards the goal. However, Baru deflected it to the left side, killing the final sixth-tenths of a second off the clock.
Ross was the only other Catamount in double figures, tallying 12 points including 10 in the first half. Ross finished 5-of-7 from the floor with a 3-pointer, adding five rebounds and a steal. Both Tom Tankelewicz and Tawaski King just missed double digits with nine points apiece. Tankelewicz drained three 3-pointers while King - who entered the game leading WCU in field goal percentage - struggled against the Cougars' post defense, shooting just 4-of-12 while managing a team-high seven rebounds.
Trent Wiedeman recorded a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for the College of Charleston which scored its eighth win in the past nine outings. Baru chipped in 13 points and nine boards while Lawrence and Anthony Stitt finished with 12 points apiece.
Charleston secured a first-round bye in the 2013 Southern Conference Basketball Championship with the victory, while also tallying a 20-win season under first-year head coach Doug Wojcik.
Western Carolina (11-17, 8-8 SoCon) built a 26-18 lead in the final six minutes of the opening stanza only to see the Cougars close the half on a 12-to-2 run, taking a two-point, 30-28, lead into the halftime locker room. After intermission, CofC rattled off seven-straight points before a jumper by King two and a half minutes in snapped the cold streak.
Charleston held the Catamounts at arm's length most of the second half, posting a 6-0 spurt to build a game-high 12-point advantage with just three minutes remaining. Sumler sparked WCU's rally with a 3-pointer before scoring nine-more points in the rally including the game-tying shot which was very reminiscent to the game-winner against Wofford the week before.
Charleston edged the Catamounts on the boards, 42-to-38, but held a commanding 20-to-8 advantage in points from the free throw line. CofC attempted 28 free throws while WCU was awarded only nine attempts, shooting 88.9-percent from the stripe.
The Citadel 80, Appalachian State 77 (OT)
BOONE, N.C. - Mike Groselle scored The Citadel's final 10 points and was credited with a crucial block with less than 10 seconds remaining in overtime to lead the Bulldogs to an 80-77 upset victory over Appalachian State University men's basketball on Wednesday evening at the Holmes Center.
Appalachian State (12-15, 8-8 SoCon) took a 77-76 lead on a Tab Hamilton three-pointer with 1:09 to go in overtime but the 6-8, 240-pound Groselle answered by muscling his way past Tevin Baskin for a layup that gave The Citadel a 78-77 advantage with 48 seconds remaining.
The teams traded turnovers on the two ensuing possessions, giving the Mountaineers the ball back with 18 seconds left on the clock. Jay Canty drew two defenders as he drove from the left wing to the free-throw line and dished to Baskin on the left block. As Baskin went up for the would-be go-ahead basket, Groselle wrestled the ball out of Baskin's hands and drew a foul from Appalachian's Mike Neal with 4.6 seconds left.
Groselle wrapped up his impressive extra period by knocking down both free throws to stretch The Citadel's advantage to 80-77. Neal drove down the floor quickly after Groselle's free throws and had a good look at a potential game-tying shot from the right wing but the attempt fell short to seal what is only the Mountaineers' second home loss since November.
Groselle finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds and Matt Van Scyoc scored a game-high 24 points to pace The Citadel.
Baskin, Hamilton and Neal all had 13 points to lead Appalachian State but Baskin will likely be the focus of highlight shows around the country for his one-handed, three-quarter-court bank shot at the end of the first half that knotted the score 34-34. Both teams also scored 34 points apiece in the second half of the back-and-forth battle.
The Mountaineers shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) on the night including 12-of-27 from beyond the arc while the Bulldogs shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) and nailed 7-of-13 shots form deep.
The Citadel finished with a 37-36 edge in rebounds and scored 22 points off 18 Appalachian turnovers while dishing out 23 assists.