Davidson 94, Chattanooga 51DAVIDSON, N.C. – Led by De'Mon Brooks' 10th career double-double, Davidson placed four players in double figures and shot 59.2 percent from the floor as the Wildcats ran past Chattanooga, 94-51, in Southern Conference men's basketball action Thursday night in Belk Arena. With the win, Davidson (11-11, 7-1 SoCon) ended the Mocs' 10-game winning streak and handed them their first loss in conference play. Brooks finished with 27 points, connecting on 12-of-18 attempts, and 12 rebounds as the Wildcats dominated the paint, outscoring Chattanooga (14-9, 8-1 SoCon), 70-24. Jordan Barham also contributed down low with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while Tom Droney and Tyler Kalinoski added 11 each. Droney also handed out a career-high eight assists and pulled down five boards. Along with shooting 52.6 percent in the first half, Davidson opened the period on an 11-4 spurt and closed with a 10-2 run to take a 43-25 lead into the break. Brooks led all players at intermission with 15 points and eight rebounds. Casey Jones was the lone Moc to reach the 10-point plateau with 20 points to go along with a team-high eight boards. The Wildcats were even better in the second half as they started 8-of-10 from the floor and eventually stretched their advantage to 41, 85-44, thanks to a 27-7 streak, highlighted by 10 points from Barham. Davidson, which controlled the glass, 44-26, also put together one its best defensive efforts of the season, holding Chattanooga to 32.7 percent from the floor, which included an 0-for-13 showing from behind the arc. The last time the Mocs failed to make a 3-pointer in a game was Jan. 17, 1998.
The Wildcats will conclude their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. contest against The Citadel. Prior to the game, there will be a ceremony honoring head coach Bob McKillop's 25th season as Davidson's head coach.
Georgia Southern 83, The Citadel 52
STATESBORO, Ga. – Jelani Hewittled all scorers with 22 points, and Georgia Southern scored 29-straight points in the first half en route to posting an 83-52 Southern Conference men's basketball victory over The Citadel Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Hewitt was 8-for-10 from the floor for Georgia Southern (10-12, 3-4), made 4-of-6 from long distance and dished out five assists. Curtis Diamond scored 13, andTre Bussey tallied 12 points, five assists and seven rebounds. Brian Holmes chipped in 11 points and six assists.
Ashton Moore led The Citadel (4-19, 0-8) with 14 points and five rebounds, while Brian White scored eight and Matt Van Scyoc tallied seven points and four boards.
The Eagles shot 53 percent from the floor and canned 11-of-22 from downtown in dealing the Bulldogs their worst loss of the season. GSU also held The Citadel to 35 percent shooting from the floor, including 1-for-13 from 3-point range.
After The Citadel netted the first six points of the contest, Georgia Southern held the Bulldogs scoreless for the next 12:03 while erupting for 29 points. Holmes ignited the run with a conventional 3-point play and scored six, and the Eagles held the Bulldogs to 0-for-17 from the floor during the stretch.
The Eagles wound up shooting 54 percent from the field for the half while holding The Citadel to 27 percent, and Georgia Southern led 38-17 at the break.
Consecutive triples by Bussey sparked a 20-4 Georgia Southern run early in the second half to blow the contest open. Hewitt scored seven points during the stretch, and Diamond chipped in five. The margin grew to as many as 39 points at 83-44 on a layup by Grayson Clark with three minutes remaining.
Elon 74, Western Carolina 60
ELON, N.C. – Five Phoenix players scored in double figures as the Elon men's basketball team rolled to a 74-60 win over Western Carolina on Thursday night, Jan. 30, inside Alumni Gym.
Lucas Troutmanpaced the maroon and gold with 17 points and 10 boards en route to his eighth career double-double, as Elon (11-11, 4-3 Southern Conference) shot 53 percent from the field.
Elon limited Western Carolina (12-11, 5-3 Southern Conference) to 40 percent shooting in the victory, holding Trey Sumler, who came into the game ranked fourth in the league in scoring at 18.3 points per game, to six points.
Starting for the first time this season, Jack Isenbargerplayed 25 minutes and finished with 11 points, going a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Kevin Blackeearned a start for the Phoenix as well, the fourth of his career, as the Toronto, Ontario, native ended the night with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
Tanner Samson provided a spark off the bench for the Phoenix, scoring 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, which included a 4-of-6 clip from three.
Elon ended the game with a slight 33-31 edge on the glass and finished with a 30-14 advantage in point in the paint.
Elon led by as many as 18 points in the first half, taking a 35-20 lead into the locker room at intermission. The Phoenix shot a blistering 55 percent from the field in the opening frame, knocking down 12-of-22 from the field and 5-of-8 from long distance.
Western Carolina managed to trim Elon's lead to three points with 6:31 to play, as a James Sinclair triple from the wing limited the Phoenix to a 58-55 lead.
But Elon responded with a quick 8-0 run over the next three minutes to take an 11-point advantage after Blake found Troutman underneath the basket for an easy layup.
Elon kept the Catamounts in check from that point forward, securing the victory and improving to 8-2 inside Alumni Gym this season. Over the last five seasons, Elon is now 30-9 at home.
UNCG 66, Appalahcian State 61GREENSBORO, N.C. — Appalachian State University men's basketball led by as many as 18 points early in the second half but UNC Greensboro rallied to top the Mountaineers, 66-61, on Thursday evening at Greensboro Coliseum. Appalachian State (6-14, 2-5 SoCon) appeared to be en route to its third-straight win when it took a 41-23 lead on two free throws by Mike Nealwith 18:07 to go in the ballgame. The Mountaineers still led by 12 with less than 14 minutes to go before UNCG's Jordan Potts almost single-handedly pulled the Spartans back into the game, making six-straight three-pointers over a 5:21 span, the last of which gave UNCG a 56-55 lead with 8:38 left to play. The lead changed hands four times in the next three minutes but Appalachian went cold down the stretch, making just one of its final 10 field goals to allow the Spartans to close the game on a back-breaking 8-2 run. Appalachian limited UNCG (11-12, 4-4 SoCon) to just 21 points on 7-of-28 shooting in the first half to jump out to a commanding 34-21 halftime lead. However, the Spartans made 17-of-30 shots in the second half to steal the win. The story of the game was Potts, who scored all of his game-high 24 points on eight three-pointers, including the six-straight treys that turned UNCG's 12-point deficit into a one-point lead midway through the second half. Kyle Cain chipped in with 14 points and 15 rebounds to help pace Spartans.
Tommy Spagnolo led Appalachian State with a team-high 15 points and game-high 17 rebounds (both career highs). Frank Eavesadded 10 points in his hometown, all of them coming in the first half. Michael Obacha chipped in with 10 rebounds, including a game-high four on the offensive boards.