Wofford 76, Furman 52
GREENVILLE, S.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford men’s basketball team earned a 76-52 win over Furman at Timmons Arena. The Terriers led by eight at the half, but outscored the Paladins by 16 points in the second half to take the road victory.
Wofford is 10-10 on the season and 5-3 in the Southern Conference. Furman is 7-13 overall and 1-6 in league play. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 22 points, marking his third straight game with 20 or more points. Spencer Collins added 20 points, while C.J. Neumann led the team with eight rebounds. The Paladins were led by Stephen Croone with 15 points.
Wofford opened the scoring with a lay-up by Aerris Smith. After the teams traded three pointers, Furman took a 6-5 lead with 16:38 on the clock. Spencer Collins had a bucket and free throw to give the Terriers an 8-6 lead four minutes into the game. A lay-up by C.J. Neumann made it a 10-8 score, but at 13:14 the game was tied at twelve. After ties at 14 and 16, Furman took a lead with a 5-0 run. Two free throws by Justin Gordon made it a 21-20 score with 8:29 on the clock. On the next possession, Furman hit their fourth three pointer of the half for a 24-20 advantage.
The Terriers scored four straight points, including a lay-up by Aerris Smith, to tie the game at 24 with 6:45 left in the first half. A jumper by Spencer Collins gave the Terriers a 26-24 lead. Back-to-back buckets by Karl Cochran pushed to lead to 30-25 with 3:45 on the clock. A three by Karl Cochran and a lay-up that was good after goaltending by Cochran made it a 35-25 game. A pair of free throws by Spencer Collins gave Wofford a 37-26 lead with 39 seconds left in the half. A three with ten seconds on the clock by the Paladins made it a 37-29 score at the half.
To start the second half, Spencer Collins hit a jumper for a 39-29 lead, but the Paladins answered with a 7-0 run to cut the score to 39-36 with 17:34 on the clock. Back-to back three pointers by Eric Garcia gave the Terriers a 45-37 lead after four minutes of play. A lay-up by John Swinton and a dunk off a steal by Karl Cochran made it a 50-39 game with 13:10 left in the second half. With Wofford holding a ten point lead, the Terriers scored the next six points for a 58-42 advantage at the midpoint of the half.
Eric Garcia and Karl Cochran each added three pointers to give Wofford a 65-47 lead with 7:45 remaining in the second half. Karl Cochran made it a 69-48 game before the Paladins cut it to 69-52 with 5:31 left in the game. The Paladins would not score another point in the game, but Wofford added buckets by Justin Gordon and Spencer Collins, along with a three pointer by Zac Grossenbacher for the 76-52 final margin.
Wofford shot 47.5 percent from the floor. Furman was held to 40.9 percent overall. The Terriers were 7-of-15 from with three, while the Paladins were 6-of-12 from behind the arc. Furman was only 10-of-25 from the line while Wofford was 11-of-16 on free throws. The Terriers had a 35 to 30 lead on the glass. Furman had 16 turnovers, while Wofford had ten assists and only nine turnovers.
Samford 62, Elon 59
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In arguably its best win of the 2013-14 season, the Samford University basketball team boasted a stingy defensive performance Saturday en route to a 62-59 win against the Southern Conference-favorite Elon Phoenix in a pivotal league contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford (9-13, 3-4 SoCon) turned in a brilliant 52.3-percent shooting performance from the field Saturday and limited Elon (10-11, 3-3 SoCon), the league’s top scoring team at 77.1 points per game, to only 59 points and a 39.2-percent outing from the floor.
The bulk of the Bulldogs’ scoring came from the triumvirate of Tim Williams, Raijon Kelly and Tyler Hood, which combined to record 40 of the team’s 62 points.
Williams, Samford’s 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., paced all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while pulling down 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double and third of the 2013-14 campaign. On Thursday, Williams exploded for 29 points and 12 rebounds in the Bulldogs’ 88-78 victory over UNCG.
Just a sophomore, Williams, the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year, has already registered nine double-doubles in his young Samford career.
The Bulldogs’ Raijon Kelly, who entered the season as an All-SoCon First-Team selection, provided a key spark off the bench Saturday with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Samford’s junior guard from St. Paul, Minn., finished 5-of-9 from the field and drained a crucial 3-point basket.
Tyler Hood scored 10 points and handed out a pair of assists Saturday and led the Bulldogs with two 3-point field goals. Jordan Capps added eight points and five rebounds, while Connor Miller carded five points, three assists and a pair of rebounds.
Elon scored the first basket of the game Saturday and led 2-0 with 19:35 remaining in the first half. It would prove to be the Phoenix’s only lead of the contest.
Samford quickly answered with a deep 3-pointer from Miller and went on an early 11-0 run to take an 11-2 advantage with 15:24 to play in the opening period. The Bulldogs led by as many as 12 points in the first half and took a 34-27 advantage into the locker room.
Early in the second stanza, Kelly drained a jumper to give Samford a 45-32 lead, but then Elon eventually trimmed away at the Bulldogs’ advantage until finally making it a one-point game, 60-59, with just under two minutes remaining.
The Phoenix’s Ryley Beaumont knocked down a runner in the lane and then Jack Isenbarger connected on a rare four-point play to bring Elon within contention late in the game.
Surprisingly, at the 1:39 mark, Samford’s Hood scored the last two points of the contest from the free-throw line giving the Bulldogs their decisive 62-59 advantage. Down the stretch, Isenbarger missed a 3-pointer at 1:12, but then Samford turned the ball over.
Elon took another possible game-tying 3-pointer from Tanner Samson at the nine-second mark, but then in a scrum after the rebound, the Phoenix was eventually awarded possession on its own baseline.
On the final play with 5.5 seconds remaining, Elon worked the ball to Sebastian Koch on the right wing. As he went up for the last-second 3-pointer, Samford’s Tim Williams got a hand in his face and forced Koch to alter his shot. The clinching miss was aimed high and clanked off the back of the rim.
With its win, Samford improved to 8-3 all-time against Elon and snapped a two-game losing streak versus the Phoenix.
The Bulldogs outscored Elon, 13-0, in fast-break points and 24-18 in points in the paint. Samford only attempted 13 free throws Saturday, but knocked down 11 for a stellar 84.6 shooting percentage.
Chattanooga 77, UNCG 67
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The UNCG men’s basketball team rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit and held a one-point lead with 6:32 left, but the Spartans couldn’t hold off Southern Conference leading Chattanooga Saturday night falling 77-67 in front of 6,648 fans at the McKenzie Arena. The Spartans fall to 3-4 in SoCon play while the Mocs improve to 8-0 in league action and have won 10 straight games overall .
The Spartans trailed 39-28 at halftime but rallied for a second half lead, leading by as many as three with its last advantage coming at 56-55 with 6:32 remaining. UNCG connected on 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field, including 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half. The Spartans won the rebounding battle, holding a 39-33 edge on the glass, including a 19-12 showing in the second half. UNCG was hampered by 18 turnovers in the loss, which led to 29 points off miscues for the Mocs.
Freshman guard Tevon Saddler led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Saddler connected on 8-of-16 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, scoring 17 points in the second half. Sophomore forward Kayel Locke added 14 points in 32 minutes of action as he was 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line.
Chattanooga (14-8, 8-0 SoCon) had four score in double figures in the victory with Casey Jones leading the way with 22 points. Jones was 7-of-10 from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line as he drove into the paint repeatedly. Z. Mason added 15 points and six rebounds while Ronrico White chipped in 11 points off the bench.
The Spartans came out of the gate and held their own early against the Mocs, taking an early 6-4 lead four minutes into the game. Chattanooga settled in and posted a 14-5 run to increase the advantage to 18-11 as Mason scored four points and Lance Stokes added four points off the bench early.
UNCG slowed the momentum, scoring six straight points to pull within one at 18-17. The Spartans were able to force some UTC turnovers, which led to points in transition. Chattanooga closed the half on a 13-3 run to take a 37-24 lead into the locker room. Martynas Bareika scored seven points in the run while White added five points as both players hit three-pointers during the stretch.
UNCG committed nine first half turnovers, which led to 15 points for the Mocs in the opening 20 minutes. The Spartans only hit 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from the field and were 5-of-11 from the free throw line. Locke led UNCG with 10 points while Saddled added seven points in the half. Chattanooga conversely hit 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the field and was 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Bareika led the way with nine points while Mason added eight points.
The Spartans came out of the locker room a different team, scoring the first eight points of the half on their way to a 12-1 run tying the game at 40-40. Locke and Saddler each scored four points in the run while senior Drew Parker added a jumper and junior Nicholas Paulos scored in transition off a Mocs’ turnover to knot the game.
After UTC retook the lead at 46-42, the Spartans scored six straight to take a 48-46 lead. Redshirt freshman center R.J. White scored four straight points in the post while Cain added a jumper to take the lead back. The Spartans held their largest lead of the night at 53-50 when Saddler scored in the paint.
The teams traded baskets until UNCG held a 56-55 lead when Jones started to go to work attacking the basket. He scored four straight points to give the Mocs the lead and Bareika hit a three-pointer for a 62-56 advantage. Sophomore guard Jordan Potts answered with a three-pointer of his own, but Chattanooga had an answer as Mason nailed a three for a 68-61 lead with 3:28 remaining.
The Spartans were able to get the deficit down to five on a pair of Saddler free throws, but UNCG committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions, allowing Chattanooga to get some breathing room down the stretch.
Junior forward Kyle Cain was held to 11 points and six rebounds in the loss, which is five points under his season average. Cain connected on 5-of-13 from the field but Chattanooga collapsed its defense in the paint against him. Paulos was held to five points but grabbed seven rebounds in the loss.
Western Carolina 78, The Citadel 60
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Tom Tankelewicz poured in ten first half points leading Western Carolina to a 14-point halftime lead as the Catamounts cruised to a 78-60 win over The Citadel Saturday in the McAlister Fieldhouse in a Southern Conference game.
Tankelewicz ended the game 5-of-9 overall including a 3-of-7 mark from behind the 3-point line. Justin Browning recorded career-highs with 10 points and seven rebounds. He also had three steals, a block and an assist. Trey Sumler tallied 10 points and a game-high eight assists, while Kenneth Hall added seven points and swatted three Bulldog shots.
Trailing 9-8 four and a half minutes into play, WCU strung together an 11-2 run to take a 19-11 lead with 9:33 left in the first half. The Citadel cut the lead down to four points, 19-15, 30 seconds later, but WCU responded with a 7-1 run highlighted by four points from Hall, including a dunk on an offensive putback, to extend the margin to ten points, 26-16, with five minutes remaining before the break.
The Catamounts controlled the final five minutes of play and pushed the lead out to 14 points, 38-24, following Tankelewicz’s second 3-pointer of the half right before the buzzer.
The Purple & Gold continued to dictate the game as WCU extended the lead out to 18 points, 57-39, with 8:35 remaining en route to the 78-60 win snapping the Catamounts’ two-game slide.
Western Carolina shot 45 percent from the field, while The Citadel ended the game at 33 percent. The Bulldogs were limited to only seven second half field goals, but made 20-of-25 free throws in the second stanza. WCU held a consider advantage on the glass outrebounding The Citadel 43-27, including a 15-5 advantage on the offensive boards. The Catamounts scored 38 points in the paint compared to 17 for The Bulldogs.
Matt Van Scyoc ended with a career-high 25 points as he was 6-of-17 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Van Scyoc also collected 10 rebounds for a double-double. Ashton Moore and Brian White ended with 11 points each.
With the win, WCU halts a two-game skid as the Catamounts improve to 12-10 overall and 5-2 in the Southern Conference. The Catamounts have reeled off five straight wins over the Bulldogs.
Davidson 82, Georgia Southern 52
DAVIDSON, N.C. – De’Mon Brooks and Brian Sullivan both scored 21 points to lead five Davidson scorers in double figures, as the Wildcats cruised past Georgia Southern, 82-52, in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Saturday night in Belk Arena.
Brooks went 10-for-10 at the free-throw line, while Sullivan was also perfect at the charity stripe (5-for-5) and drained four 3-point attempts.
Davidson (10-11, 6-1 SoCon) also got 11 points each from Tom Droney and Jake Belford, while Tyler Kalinoski scored 10 points, including two treys, and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
The ‘Cats have won 19 of their last 20 conference games and 26 of 28 dating back to the 2011-12 campaign.
For the second straight contest the Wildcats torched the nets in the opening half shooting 63 percent from the floor, including a 6-of-9 effort from long range. Brooks (15) and Sullivan (13) combined for 28 points in the first 20 minutes, while converting all 13 of Davidson’s charity tosses.
Aftertrailing 4-0, the Wildcats responded with a 29-6 run and led by 30 several times in the period before going to the half up, 53-25.
Davidson pushed its lead to as many as 37, 71-34, on a Belford trey with 10:30 remaining.
For the game, the Wildcats shot 50.9 percent, made 10-of-22 3-pointers and finished at 94.1 percent (16-17) from the line. Davidson was just as impressive at the defensive end holding the Eagles to 33.3 percent.
The Wildcats held a commanding 46-26 advantage on the glass.
Jelani Hewitt and Tre Bussey were the lone Georgia Southern (9-12, 2-4 SoCon) players in double figures with 13 and 11, respectively.