Western Carolina 72, UNCG 51
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team opened Southern Conference play Thursday night with a 72-51 loss to Western Carolina at the Ramsey Center. The Spartans committed a season-high 23 turnovers in the loss, which WCU was able to turn into 35 points off those miscues.
The Spartans (7-9, 0-1 SoCon) connected on just 39.5 percent (17-of-43) from the field and hit 2-of-7 from three-point land in the loss. Junior forward Kyle Cain led UNCG with 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half, as he was 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Sophomore forward Kayel Locke added 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, but they were the only Spartans to reach double figures scoring.
Western Carolina conversely connected on 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field and 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from long range. The Catamounts took advantage of every UNCG miscue, scoring 35 points off of turnovers and tallying 10 fast break baskets. Trey Sumler led the way with 16 points while Mike Brown added 13 points as nine different Catamounts found their way on to the box score.
Both teams came out slowly until Western Carolina took a 21-11 lead as Brown and Sumler hit three-pointers to extend the Catamount lead to double figures. The Spartans settled in as Locke scored in the paint to start the swing of the momentum. Cain took over from there, scoring eight straight points to pull UNCG within two at 23-21.
The Spartans continued to claw their way back and took a lead off a scramble of consecutive turnovers. Cain was the recipient of the last miscue, converting an old-fashioned three-point play on the fast break to put UNCG in front 29-28. Western Carolina did not back down though as it scored the final eight points of the half as it took advantage of three straight UNCG turnovers which directly led to fast break baskets giving the Catamounts a 36-29 lead at the break.
The Spartans connected on 39.1 percent (9-of-23) in the first half and hit 2-of-3 from three-point land. Cain led all scorers with 15 points in the first half as he was 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from long range. Western Carolina connected on 48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the first half and hit four three-pointers. Sumler scored 10 points in the first half while Tawaski King added six.
The Catamounts came out of the break and quickly ran the lead back to 10 points at 43-33. The Spartans answered with four straight points to force a WCU timeout as Locke and freshman Tevon Saddler both scored in the paint.
Western Carolina responded from that point forward, scoring 12 unanswered points on its way to a game-changing 26-8 run, which ended any chance for UNCG. The Catamounts took advantage of 10 Spartan turnovers in the run while converting those miscues into baskets, including four three-pointers in the stretch.
Wofford 71, Samford 61
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In the opening game of the Southern Conference slate, the Wofford men’s basketball team used a late run for a 71-61 win over Samford on Thursday night at the Pete Hanna Center. The Terriers were down four with 4:52 remaining, but closed out the contest with an 18-4 run to secure the league victory.
Wofford is 6-7 on the season and Samford is 6-10 overall. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with a season-high 27 points and six rebounds. Eric Garcia added a career-high 14 points and Justin Gordon led the team with seven rebounds. The Bulldogs were led by Tyler Hood with 22 points, while Tim Williams added 17 points.
The Bulldogs scored first but Karl Cochran hit a three to give Wofford a lead a minute into play. Spencer Collins added a three and C.J. Neumann tipped in a shot for a 10-4 advantage at the 15:15 mark. Samford answered the 7-0 run with a 7-0 run of their own for an 11-10 lead after eight minutes. Back-to-back three pointers by Eric Garcia gave Wofford a 16-11 advantage with 11:43 on the clock.
Wofford pushed the run to 10-0 with a 20-11 lead at the ten minute mark of the first half. Samford ended the run with a three pointer, but Lee Skinner answered with an old fashioned three point play for a 23-14 lead with 8:01 on the clock. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to cut the score to 23-21 less than three minute later. Eric Garcia had a three pointer to end the run. A three by Karl Cochran gave Wofford a 29-23 advantage with 4:35 left in the first half. Cochran hit another three for a 32-25 lead with three minutes on the clock. Samford scored the final seven points of the half to tie the game at 32 at the break.
Karl Cochran opened the second half with a three pointer, but the Bulldogs scored the next seven points for a 39-35 lead. Wofford regained the lead at 40-39 with a dunk by Justin Gordon at the 17:12 mark. Samford took a 44-40 lead before a lay-up by C.J. Neumann. A three by the Bulldogs made it 47-42 before a pair of free throws by Spencer Collins. Justin Gordon had a tip-in bucket to cut the lead to 49-46 with 12:15 on the clock.
Samford pushed the lead to 53-46 before a lay-up and free throw by Karl Cochran cut it to 53-49 with 10:13 left in the second half. A running jumper by Karl Cochran made it a two-point game, but the Bulldogs answered with a bucket. A long jumper by Karl Cochran cut the score to 55-53 with 5:05 remaining in the half. Karl Cochran hit a three pointer for a 57-56 at the 4:08 mark before a bucket by Justin Gordon gave Wofford a 58-57 lead with three minutes left.
A three pointer by Karl Cochran plus a jumper gave Wofford a 63-59 lead with ninety seconds left. Eric Garcia hit a pair of free throws and Lee Skinner added a free throw on a technical foul called on the Samford coach with 44 seconds left for a 66-59 advantage. Lee Skinner made three more free throws for a 69-59 advantage before Samford hit a jumper with 21 seconds on the clock. Two more free throws by Spencer Collins gave the Terriers the 71-61 final margin.
Wofford shot 46.2 percent from the floor while Samford shot 54.3 percent overall. The Terriers were 11-of-21 from with three, while the Bulldogs were 6-of-13 from behind the arc. Samford was 5-of-8 from the line while Wofford was 12-of-17 on free throws. Wofford had a 32 to 22 lead on the glass and had 19 assists.
Radford 76, The Citadel 59
RADFORD, Va. – Javonte Green scored 17 points and teammates R.J. Price and Jalen Carethers added 16 and 10, respectively, as Radford earned a 76-59 victory over The Citadel on Thursday evening at the Dedmon Center.
Green converted 8-of-11 field goal attempts to lead a Radford unit that finished 28-of-60 from the floor en route to a wire-to-wire victory. He also made his presence felt on the glass with 10 rebounds (seven defensive) to become the second player (Willis Hall) in as many games with a double-double against the Dogs.
The Highlanders (10-4) also took advantage of 21 Citadel fouls to finish 17-of-22 from the charity stripe. Radford capitalized on two key elements of the game including points in the paint (46-20) and points off turnovers (17-6) to remain unbeaten at home in 2013-14.
Despite 17 points from Matt Van Scyoc and 10 off the hand of fellow starter Quinton Marshall, The Citadel offense struggled to find any rhythm. The Bulldogs (4-11) were 18-of-47 from the floor and 2-of-11 from 3-point range.
Keeping in line with their season average the Bulldogs were successful on 21-of-27 attempts at the free throw line. Three Citadel players including Van Scyoc (9-9), Marshall Harris III (2-2) and Warren Sledge (2-2) were perfect at the charity stripe. Marshall doubled his previous single-game career-high in free throws by hitting 6-of-8 at the line.
With a comfortable 40-25 lead at the intermission, Radford used five points from Green and four by Ya Ya Anderson to put together a 13-5 run to move in front 53-30 at the 14:20 mark.
The well-balanced Citadel offense received 12 points from six different players as it outscored Radford 10-4 during a 7:21 stretch to make for a 57-42 score.
The Highlanders countered with a 3-pointer by Kyle Noreen and a dunk in transition by Green to regain the momentum and stretch the lead to 67-45 with 4:31 left in the contest.
Free throws by Marshall and a 3-pointer deep from the left corner by Van Scyoc made for a 71-50 Radford advantage. The Bulldogs managed to score nine of 14 points down the stretch, including three from Tom Koopman, to make for the 76-59 final.
The Citadel now heads into Southern Conference play when it hosts Chattanooga on Monday evening at McAlister Field House.
Green led all scorers with 10 points at the intermission, knocking down 5-of-7 from the field to go along with a team-high six rebounds as Radford closed the first half by hitting 16-of-33 from the field. The Highlanders also got a solid first half performance from Price (nine points) and Carethers who tacked on eight points from the bench.
The duo of Marshall and Koopman scored six points apiece to lead the way for a Bulldogs unit that hit just 7-of-20 from the floor by the break. The bright spot for The Citadel offense was that it knocked down 11-of-13 from the free throw line, knocking down seven straight during a 2:13 stretch to keep the Dogs within striking distance.
Four points each from Green and Price allowed Radford to streak out to a 16-4 lead in the first 5:54 of the contest.
The Highlanders eventually built a 20-11 advantage, following a jumper by Rashun Davis and a layup by Carethers. Limited by only one field goal during a span of 6:53, The Citadel knocked down 7-of-7 at the free throw line to remain within striking distance.
A Koopman layup ended the Dogs 0-for-6 slump and made for a seven-point contest, 20-13, with just over 10 minutes left in the half.
Six Citadel points in the paint, including four from Koopman, was not enough to counteract an 11-8 Radford run as the Highlanders moved out in front 31-21 with 5:03 remaining.
The duo of Price and Carethers accounted for eight of the final 10 Radford points of the half as the Highlanders took a 15-point lead into the intermission.
Duquesne 79, Appalachian State 55
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A slow start on offense and a hot-shooting Duquesne squad was too much to overcome as Appalachian State University men’s basketball suffered a 79-55 loss on Thursday at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
The Mountaineers (4-9) led just once in ballgame as the Dukes (7-5) rolled to their fourth-straight victory and defeated Appalachian for the second-straight time.
After Chris Burgess hit a three on App State’s opening possession to make it 3-2, Duquesne took control and scored four-straight to make it 6-3 with 17:06 to play in the first half.
The Mountaineers were able to cut the deficit to one point (6-5) when Tab Hamilton connected on a jumper at the 16:34 mark, but it was all the closer that Appalachian would get as the Dukes dominated the rest of the game.
Tra’Vaughn White’s bucket with 13:33 on the clock gave Duquesne its first double-digit lead of the game (18-8) and the Mountaineers were held scoreless for over four minutes midway through the half, a stretch which allowed the Dukes to turn an eight-point lead (23-15) into a 17-point lead (32-15).
Duquesne ended the final five minutes of the half on a 12-2 run to take a 49-24 lead into the locker room. The Dukes connected on 12-of-16 free throws in the first half and held Appalachian to just 29.4 percent from the floor en route to the 15-point halftime lead.
Despite playing better on both ends of the floor in the second half, the Mountaineers were never really able to mount a serious run as Duquesne led by as many as 28 points (59-31) and never saw its lead drop below 19 points.
Hamilton led Appalachian with18 points while Jay Canty added 12 in his season debut. Burgess also tallied 12 points and Tommy Spagnolo finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Duquesne was paced by a game-high 22 points from Ovie Soko, who finished 8-of-11 at the charity stripe and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. White scored 14 points off the bench and grabbed six boards while Dominique McKoy finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Dukes shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and made 15-of-25 free throws while the Mountaineers connected on just 31.3 percent (20-of-64) of their shots. Duquesne finished with a 52-30 edge in rebounds and dished out 22 assists while forcing 14 App State turnovers.