Wofford 72, South Dakota 68
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Senior Karl Cochran made eight 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 31 points and the Wofford men’s basketball team hung on to defeat South Dakota, 72-68, Saturday evening at Webster Bank Arena.
Wofford led by as many as 23 points with 10 minutes remaining and held a 15-point lead with just 2:28 on the clock. A chaotic final few minutes saw the Coyotes outscore the Terriers 14-3 and cut the margin all the way to one possession, 71-68, with 1.3 seconds to play.
Sophomore Eric Garcia caught the ensuing in-bounds pass and was fouled. He hit 1-of-2 from the line to put it away, earning the Terriers (3-1) their third straight win.
Cochran shot 11-of-21 from the field and 8-of-14 from beyond the arc, also marking a new career-high in made 3-pointers. He had 20 points on six triples at the half, the final one going down at the first-half buzzer to give Wofford a 40-27 lead heading into the locker rooms.
On top of it all, the Marietta, Georgia native had seven rebounds and team-highs of three steals and five assists. The Terriers dished out 20 assists combined, something they did just three times last season.
The Terriers scored the final nine points of the first half all on Cochran threes. It ultimately sparked a 17-0 run that lasted 8:29 between halves and put Wofford ahead 48-27. The Terriers completed the night 11-of-20 from beyond the arc and were dominant in transition with a 16-0 smothering in fast break points.
Junior Justin Gordon reached double figures for the third straight game. He scored 12 points and collected a game-high eight rebounds in his first start of the season. Senior Lee Skinner matched Gordon’s eight boards and the duo also combined for eight on the offensive glass. The Terriers ended the night with a 37-28 advantage, along with 15 offensive rebounds.
For the Coyotes (0-4) junior Adam Thoseby had a career-high 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Freshman D.J. Davis led the team with five rebounds and junior Sekou Harris led all players with six assists.
South Dakota’s bench did the majority of the work to get their team back in the game. They scored 47 points with 31 coming in the second half.
Both teams came out firing. South Dakota had plenty of time to get shots up in Friday night’s triple-overtime loss to Sam Houston State. The Coyotes shot over 50 percent the majority of the first half against Wofford.
The Terriers used their advantage inside to keep pace, going for seven offensive rebounds that made for nine second chance points in the first 13 minutes of the game.
Sophomore Jaylen Allen nailed one of Wofford’s eight first-half field goals for a 19-17 lead at the 8:04 mark. Great passing helped the Terriers build on that lead before Cochran went off for nine straight Terrier points to close the half.
The first possession of the second half resulted in Gordon driving to the rim for the bucket and the foul. He followed with a dunk on the second trip down the floor and a Garcia 3-pointer put Wofford in front 48-27, closing the 17-0 run.
Cochran hit the triple that put Wofford ahead by its largest margin of 23. A layup with 7:30 to play tied his career-high of 30 points. A free throw with 2:28 remaining synched the new career-high and put the Terriers up 15.
Cochran, Garcia and Skinner all subbed out of the game with Wofford up 10 points and just 37 ticks left. They were called upon to return as six straight Coyote points brought it down to just four with 19 seconds to play.
Skinner went 1-of-2 at the line to make it a five-point game and Thoseby closed it to just one possession, forcing a pressure in-bounds play with 1.3 on the clock. Garcia corralled it and sealed the win.
ETSU 98, UNCA 87
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Tying a school record with 15 made 3-pointers as a team and powered by a game-high 31 points from senior guard Rashawn Rembert, the ETSU men’s basketball won an offensive showcase 98-87 over non-conference opponent UNC Asheville Saturday evening inside Freedom Hall.
With ETSU shooting 53 percent from the field and the Bulldogs connecting on a 52 percent clip for the night, a total of eight players scored in double figures with four on each team. While Rembert finished with 31, teammates such as senior guard Jalen Riley netted 16, guard Devin Harris collected 12, and senior post Ron Giplaye pitched in an important 10 points.
Giplaye also just missed on a double-double, collecting nine rebounds and three steals in his best performance as a Buccaneer. Harris’ points and three made 3-pointers were also career bests for the sophomore.
While the offense was impressive, the defensive numbers were critical to the Bucs’ success. ETSU forced Asheville into 23 turnovers and collected 13 steals, while the Bucs gave up the basketball just 11 times on the night.
With two talented offensive teams on the floor, the first half was a shootout. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field before the intermission, with ETSU ultimately using a 22-10 run over the final six minutes to lead 53-42 at the break. The Bucs ended up connecting on nine 3-pointers in the first half, led by three each from Rembert and Harris.
Asheville’s Andrew Rowsey was equally impressive, hitting four threes of his own before half and netting 17 points in all. The key for the Bucs was creating 13 Asheville turnovers.
After the break, the Bucs continued to bomb away from outside and built a lead of as many as 15 at 69-54 with just over 12 minutes left in the game. However, Asheville slowly worked their way back into the contest and got to within four at 88-84 with four minutes left on the clock.
At that point though, a free throw by sophomore guard A.J. Merriweather, a layup by junior guard Petey McClain, followed by a steal and a score by Riley helped the Bucs back out to a nine-point advantage and basically iced the game.
For Asheville, Rowsey finished with an impressive 29 points, while forward Kem Ubaru netted 17, and teammates Kevin Vannatta and David Robertson collected 14 points apiece.
ETSU’s bench outscored the Bulldogs 43-18, while the Bucs also held advantages in points in the paint (34-20) and points off turnovers (31-16).
The Citadel 81, Bob Jones 50
CHARLESTON, S.C. – P.J. Horgan posted his fourth career double-double (23 points, 11 rebounds) as The Citadel ran its home court winning streak to four games with an 81-50 victory over Bob Jones University on Saturday evening at McAlister Field House.
Horgan was the model of consistency as he hit 7-of-11 from the floor and 9-of-11 at the charity stripe en route to his third career 20-point contest. He finished one shy of career-high in rebounds, snagging 11 on the night, as he pulled down five on the offensive glass.
The backcourt duo of Marshall Harris III (17 points) and Ashton Moore (16) also topped double figures for The Citadel, which moved to 2-2 on the season. Harris capped off the evening by knocking down 6-of-9 from the field, including a season-high four treys, to go along with four assists and three steals.
Meanwhile, Moore converted 6-of-16 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and added three assists, two steals and one block.
Warren Sledge, making his second start in as many games for the Dogs, had a solid all-around performance with five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Brian White led the way for Citadel reserves, which edged Bob Jones non-starters 19-4, with nine points and six rebounds (three offensive).
Collectively, The Citadel shot 28-of-57 for the game, including a 15-of-27 performance in the second half. The Bulldogs also held a distinct advantage in total rebounds (34-26) and points off turnovers (25-15).
Bob Jones (3-6) was led on the offensive end by Kyle Turner (16 points) and Marshall Riddle (15). Turner reached double figures by virtue of hitting 7-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. Riddle's double-digit outing included a five field goals and a 4-of-4 performance from the free throw line.
After a hot shooting first half, where they hit 12-of-24 from the field, the Bruins offense cooled in the second as they managed just 8-of-26.
The post play of Horgan and Tom Koopman, who combined for 10 of the Dogs' 12 points, allowed The Citadel to take its first double-digit lead of the game, 53-40, at the 13:32 mark of the second half.
The Bulldogs doubled their lead over the next 6:27 of the contest, using six points from Quinton Marshall and five from Horgan to establish a 70-44 lead with just under seven minutes remaining.
Constant defensive pressure by The Citadel, combined with the perimeter shooting of Harris and Moore down the stretch, allowed the Dogs to complete their largest home victory since a 109-64 win over Montreat on Nov. 25, 2013.
The Citadel broke an eight-all tie early in the first half by outscoring the Bruins 17-8, during a 6:40 stretch, behind four points from White and three each from Harris and Moore as it forged in front 25-16.
Bob Jones countered with a 16-6 spurt, highlighted by a series of 3-pointers by Riddle and Turner, as it assumed a 32-31 advantage with 2:41 left in the frame.
Harris pumped in two 3-pointers and Horgan added four free throws as the Bulldogs closed out the half on a 9-3 run to take a 41-34 lead into the intermission.
Cal-State Northridge 79, Samford 72
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- In the opening game of the 2014 Maui on the Mainland Invitational held at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Saturday, the Samford University basketball team nearly overcame a lackluster defensive performance to rally past the Cal State Northridge (CSUN) Matadors at the Jack Stephens Center.
Instead, CSUN shot a sizzling 61.4 percent from the field and held on for the 79-72 win.
Samford (1-3) drained 10 3-point field goals Saturday and was paced by senior Tyler Hood’s 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Hood, the Bulldogs’ 6-foot-6 forward from Lenoir City, Tennessee, finished 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and added four rebounds in 31 minutes of playing time.
The Bulldogs’ Brandon Roberts and Christen Cunningham also tallied double-figures in scoring against CSUN (2-2) and combined to shoot 10-of-25 (40 percent) from the floor Saturday.
Roberts poured in a season-high four 3-points baskets in the contest and registered 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the floor, while Cunningham tallied 11 points, four assists and a rebound. Cunningham, Samford’s talented true freshman from Georgetown, Kentucky, registered a 5-of-10 shooting performance from the field in 28 minutes of action.
Behind a trio of early 3-pointers from Hood, Samford jumped out to a quick six-point lead, 14-8, at the 15:06 mark. The Bulldogs held their advantage in the period for approximately four minutes, but then CSUN used an 11-0 run en route to taking a 37-31 lead into the half.
The Matadors outscored Samford, 24-4, in points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes of play.
CSUN was triggered throughout Saturday’s contest by seniors Stephen Maxwell and Stephan Hicks. The Matadors’ duo combined to scored 48 of the team’s 79 points and shot 16-of-22 from the floor. Both players finished 8-of-11 from the field and tallied 24 points apiece.
Early in the second half, CSUN used an 11-5 run to build its advantage to 48-36 with 16:24 remaining in the game. The Matadors would later use a layup from Devonte Elliott to garner their largest lead of the day, 58-45, at the 7:09 mark.
Samford, despite falling behind by double digits, never gave up down the stretch.
The Bulldogs used quick 3-pointers from Roberts and Hood, as well as layups from Michael Bradley and Roberts to trim CSUN’s lead all the way down to 60-55 with 4:55 remaining in the contest.
Bradley, Samford’s 6-foot-10 senior from Chattanooga, Tennessee, finished the game with six points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Down the stretch, the Matadors knocked down 14 free throws in the final four minutes of action and eventually held off the resurgent Bulldogs. Samford again trimmed the lead to five, 75-70, following three free throws from sophomore guard Nnamdi Enechionyia, but couldn’t get over the hump as CSUN held on to the 79-72 win.
Eastern Michigan 70, UNCG 62
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The short-handed UNCG men’s basketball team made a late run in the closing minutes Saturday night before the Spartans dropped a 70-62 contest to hosting Eastern Michigan in the second day of the EMU Showcase at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti. The Spartans will play their third game in as many days Sunday when they face off against Youngstown State at noon.
Four different Spartans scored at least nine points Saturday night as the Spartans connected on 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field and 40 percent (8-of-20) from long range against the Eastern Michigan zone defense. Junior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) led the way with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half, as he was 5-of-9 from the field and grabbed six rebounds.
Sophomore Tevon Saddler added 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals on the night, as he was 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Senior Nicholas Paulos added nine points as he was 3-of-5 from 3-point land while sophomore Clay Byrd added nine points on 3-of-11 shooting form distance.
Eastern Michigan connected on 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field and hit 35 percent (7-of-20) from long range in the victory. The Eagles were strong from the free throw line hitting 17-of-19 while also holding a 37-31 advantage on the glass. Raven Lee led EMU with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting while Mike Talley added 17 points off the bench. Karrington Ward finished with a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Spartans came out of the gate quickly and had early success against the EMU zone taking a quick 8-6 lead. Saddler started the scoring off with an old-fashioned 3-point play while Paulos nailed a 3-pointer in the corner.
Eastern Michigan responded with seven straight points to take a 13-8 lead and force the Spartans into a timeout. Raven Lee was the offense early for the Eagles as he scored eight early points, including a pair of 3-pointers. The Spartans pulled within five at 24-19 with 3:59 left when Saddler hit a pair of free throws but those would be the final points of the half for the Spartans. EMU closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 30-19 lead into the locker room.
The Spartans connected on just 24 percent (6-of-25) from the field against the zone and hit just 2-of-8 from long range. Saddler led the way with seven points as six different Spartans scored in the opening half. Eastern Michigan connected on just 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from the field and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from long range in the half. The Eagles controlled the glass with a 22-17 advantage, including eight offensive rebounds while getting to the free throw line 10 times in the half.
The Spartans came out of the break and opened with an 8-2 run to pull within five at 32-27. Byrd was the spark as he nailed two early 3-pointers in the second half. EMU responded with a quick 5-0 spurt before the Spartans came back to narrow the gap to 39-34. Junior Ben Dickinson scored four straight points in the spurt while sophomore Jordy Kuiper made hustle plays on back-to-back possessions to spark the Spartans.
Eastern Michigan responded with a 23-9 run to take a 62-43 lead and looked like it had put the game away. Lee led the way with 10 points in the run, including his fourth 3-pointer, while Ward added eight points in the spurt.
The Spartans did not back down though as they posted a 14-2 run to trim the deficit to 64-57 and force the Eagles into a timeout. Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White started the run as he scored in the paint while Paulos nailed a three-pointer along with junior Asad Lamot. Locke and Saddler both scored on consecutive possessions as the Spartans narrowed the gap. Eastern Michigan was able to hold of the Spartans’ momentum as Talley hit four straight free throws and Lee scored in transition to seal the victory.
UNC Wilmington 110, VMI 93
LEXINGTON, Va. - QJ Peterson had 27 points and Tim Marshall added 17, but the UNCW Seahawks scored 84 points in the paint and shot nearly 60 percent from the field en route to a 110-93 win over the VMI Keydets Saturday night at Cameron Hall.
Despite the disparity inside, VMI (2-2) was very much in Saturday’s contest in the first half, as the Keydets trailed by only one at halftime, 46-45, and had seen 11 lead changes over the first 20 minutes. UNCW (2-1) opened the second half on a 9-0 run, however, and the Keydets got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
In addition to outscoring VMI 84-34 in the painted area, the Seahawks took advantage of 23 Keydet turnovers and scored 33 markers off those miscues. It was the most turnovers VMI had posted in a game since Nov. 18, 2008.
Peterson led all scorers in the non-conference game with his 27 markers, while Marshall fell just two points shy of his career-high of 19 points. Brian Brown chipped in 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting, and Phillip Anglade had six blocks, the most by a Keydet player on the young season.
In its victory, UNCW saw two players post double-doubles, Freddie Jackson (26 points/12 rebounds) and Cedrick Williams (23 points/12 rebounds), while Addison Spruill added 20 points of his own.
The Keydets jumped out to an early 11-6 lead just under five minutes into the game, thanks to three-pointers by Brown and Jordan Weethee, but UNCW scored the next five points to take its first lead, 12-11 on a basket by Spruill with 14:02 on the clock. That set up a back and forth remainder of the half that saw neither team lead by more than six, a lead VMI took with 5:16 left in the period, 38-32.
The visitors answered with an 8-0 run to retake the advantage and set up the final minutes of the half, a period capped by a Malik Pugh basket that gave the Seahawks a one-point lead headed into the locker room, 46-45.
Peterson led the way for VMI in the first half, scoring 14 points as the Keydets shot just under 47 percent in the first 20 minutes. UNCW had 36 points in the paint, but the Keydets had an edge in points off turnovers, 19-12.
That changed in the second half as UNCW sprinted away early, using a 9-0 run at the start of the second half to take the game’s first double digit lead, 55-45, with 18:11 to go. VMI pulled back within seven on multiple occasions over the next several minutes, but could get no closer.
Still, the Keydets were within eight after two Julian Eleby free throws with 7:26 left, 88-80, but two free throws and back to back layups for the Seahawks pushed the lead back to double digits, where it would stay the rest of the way.
For the game, the Keydets shot 31 of 66 from the floor and 13 of 29 from long range. VMI was also 18 of 23 at the line, a 78.3 percent clip, while UNCW was 47 of 79 from the field and just 2 of 7 from distance. The Seahawks made 14 of their 20 free throws, a 70 percent success rate, and held a 43-30 edge on the glass.
Tennessee Tech 69, Chattanooga 67
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.---The Chattanooga Mocs led for nearly 39 minutes tonight at Tennessee Tech. The final 1:22 were not as kind as the Mocs dropped a gut-wrenching 69-67 decision in Hooper Eblen Center.
Of the Mocs 17 turnovers for the game, seven came in the last 10 minutes. Greg Pryor split the defense with a great move making a layup with 9:42 to play to put his squad up 14, 57-43. Turnovers closed the gap.
Chattanooga gave it away five times in the next six possessions while the home team got rolling. The lead was sliced to four, 57-53, on Aleksa Jugovic’s layup at 7:36. That was the fifth scoring play in six possessions for the Golden Eagles.
The Mocs righted the ship. Casey Jones made two free throws and Justin Tuoyo scored on a layup to extend the lead back to eight, 61-53, at 5:27. Tech went on a 7-1 run over the next two minutes to get within two, 62-60 on two Jugovic free throws.
Jones responded with a three-point play at the other end for a 65-60 Mocs advantage. TTU ran off five straight capped by Josiah Moore’s layup at 1:22 to tie it up. Torrance Rowe gave the Eagles its first lead with a deep three from the top right with 31 seconds to go.
The Mocs worked quickly on the offensive end getting a slam dunk by Tuoyo with 17.9 to play to cut the lead to 68-67. They pressed and almost forced a Tech miscue at midcourt before a timeout with just under eight seconds to go
A quick foul on the inbounds led to one of two free throws made for Dwan Caldwell. That gave Chattanooga 6.6 seconds to work with down two. Ronrico White pushed the ball up the court, but his desperation jumper was off giving the home team a come-from-behind win.
Pryor led the Mocs with 12 points. Tre’ McLean came off the bench to add 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Rowe scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. Charles Jackson added 15 points and 11 boards.
The 2-1 Eagles worked a 38-27 advantage on the glass. They were plus-10 (22-12) in the second frame.
The Mocs, now 1-3, led by as many as 19. They went up 45-26 early in the second half on a Tuoyo layup. Chattanooga had the lead for 37:45 the game was tied for 1:44 and TTU was on top for 31 seconds. But that was when it counted most.
UC Davis 58, Furman 55
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman rallied from a 13-point second half deficit to pull within two points, but junior Stephen Croone’s last second three-point attempt missed as UC Davis held off the Paladins, 58-55 in non-conference men’s basketball action on Saturday night at Timmons Arena.
The loss dropped the Paladins to 1-2 on the season, while the Aggies upped their record to 3-0.
Trailing 56-45 with under 4:30 remaining, Croone drained the Paladins third trey in less than three minutes and John Davis III stole an Aggie inbounds pass following a UC Davis timeout and went coast-to-coast for a layup to cut the deficit to 56-50 with 4:11 left. On the next possession J.T. Adenrele made 1-of-2 free throws to push the margin back to seven points before Davis III followed his on miss with a rebound and converted on two trips to the line to get Furman within five at 57-52.
After the teams traded turnovers, UC Davis’ Josh Ritchart missed a three-pointer from the top of the key with time running down on the shot clock and Furman’s Daniel Fowler answered by draining a triple with 59.7 seconds left to cut the Aggies’ lead to 57-55. Ritchart missed another three-point attempt and Furman got an open look from the wing for Kendrec Ferrara with nine seconds left, but his trey was short. Corey Hawkins made the front end of a one-and-one on the other end to push Furman’s deficit back to three at 58-55. Croone grabbed the miss on the second free throw and raced the length of the court, but his effort from the top of the key missed left as time expired.
Hawkins paced UC Davis with 21 points, six boards, four assists and two steals. The senior transfer from Arizona State hit 8-of-14 shots, including 4-of-7 behind the arc. Josh Fox came off the bench to score 11 points for the Aggies, who shot 52.2 percent from the field and connected on 7-of-18 three-point attempts.
The teams traded the lead three times in the opening period before UC Davis carried a 30-27 lead into intermission. In the second half, UC Davis used a 14-2 run from the 13-minute mark to the eight-minute mark to turn a 38-37 lead into a 52-39 cushion. Davis III, Devin Sibley and Croone all hit three-pointers to kick start the Paladins offense that fell just three points short.
Croone led Furman with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Davis III netted a career-high 14 points and Fowler added 11. Furman shot 41.9% from the floor and outscored the Aggies 13-3 at the foul line, but the Paladins converted on just 6-of-24 three-point attempts.
Each team totaled 24 rebounds and 14 turnovers. Furman managed 21 points off of UC Davis’ 14 miscues.