ETSU 63, Morehead State 59
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Despite losing its starting point guard to an injury early in the game, having its back-up point guard in foul trouble throughout the second half, and shooting just 35.7 percent from the field for the game, the ETSU men’s basketball team still found a way to drop Morehead State 63-59 Monday night inside Johnson Arena.
The Buccaneers can thank junior forward Lester Wilson and senior guard Jalen Riley for overcoming all those odds. Wilson made multiple defensive plays down the stretch and hit three straight 3-pointers over the final four minutes to finish with 18 points, while Riley scored a team-high 21 despite playing much of the second half with four fouls.
Junior guard Petey McClain departed the game early in the first half after apparently injuring his left ankle. But fortunately for the Bucs, it was a struggle for both teams offensively before the break.
ETSU did not have a made field goal until a 3-pointer by Riley with 10:48 left before the intermission, but the Eagles were equally ineffective and allowed the Bucs to stay in the game.
ETSU’s scoring attack finally found some rhythm midway through the half and managed a 7-0 run to take a 20-14 lead with 5:30 left before the break. However, Morehead State regained the advantage at 21-20 before the Bucs got a layup from sophomore guard Devin Harris with 54 seconds left that made it 22-21 at halftime. In the end, the Bucs shot just 25 percent from the field and the Eagles hit on 30 percent of its shots in the first half.
After the break, the Bucs continued to have a hard time scoring the basketball with McClain on the bench and Riley picking up his fourth foul early on in the half. Even so, after falling behind 40-34 the Bucs rallied with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 40 all with 7:32 left.
From there, ETSU fell behind by four at 47-43 but after a pair of free throws from Riley, Wilson blocked a shot on one end of the floor and then sprinted to the other end to sink a corner 3-pointer that gave the Bucs a 48-47 lead with 3:20 left in the game. Wilson followed with two more long range bombs, including one that came with 42 seconds on the clock and made it 59-54.
Morehead didn’t go away at that point, but they were unable to get closer than three over the last minute. In the end, ETSU senior guard Rashawn Rembert also joined Riley and Wilson in double figures with 10 points on the night.
The Eagles got a team-high 13 points from Angelo Warner, while teammates Corban Collins and Lyonell Gaines each added 12 points. Morehead finished the night shooting just 37 percent from the floor and 28 percent from 3-point range, while the Bucs at 44 percent from beyond the arc. ETSU did, however, struggle at the line and hit just 25-of-38 shots from the charity stripe.
Liberty 66, Furman 52
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Liberty rallied from a nine-point first half deficit to down Furman, 66-52, in non-conference men’s basketball action on Monday night at the Vines Center in Lynchburg, Va.
The Flames (3-4) held Furman (1-4) to 33 percent shooting, outscored the Paladins 32-16 in the paint and managed a 42-32 rebounding edge to avenge last season’s 86-83 loss in Greenville, S.C.
Trailing 30-26 after Furman’s John Davis III opened the second half with a three-pointer, Liberty scored the next five points to take a 31-30 lead. The lead changed hands seven times over the next six minutes before Davis put Furman in front 43-41 on a layup with 10:51 to play.
The Flames took control the rest of the way by reeling off a 17-2 run over the next 7:30 and holding Furman to just two made field goals over the final 10:50. Liberty outscored the Paladins 40-25 in the second half and limited Furman to just 2-for-14 from three-point range over the final 20 minutes.
David Andoh, who contributed eight points and seven rebounds in the second half, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Flames. Andrew Smith added 12 points, while Tomasz Gielo totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Liberty shot 47 percent from the floor and converted on 12-of-18 trips to the foul line.
Furman used an 18-4 first half run to build a 23-14 first half lead. After falling behind 10-5 in the early going, Furman caught fire beyond the arc as freshman Geoff Beans, playing his first collegiate game, connected on his first three treys to propel the Paladins. With the game tied at 14-14, Kris Acox scored in the paint, Daniel Fowler drained a three and Stephen Croone stole the ball at the top of the key and finished with a dunk to give Furman a 21-14 lead with 8:51 left in the first half. Fowler converted on a jumper with 7:34 left in the period to up the margin to nine before Liberty outscored the Paladins 12-4 to end the half.
Croone paced the Paladins with 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals in the loss. Beans added nine points, while Fowler accounted for eight points and four assists. After hitting five three-pointers in its first seven attempts, Furman went 3-for-24 from behind the arc the rest of the way.
High Point 76, UNCG 68
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team returned home to the Greensboro Coliseum Monday night and suffered a 76-68 loss to Triad rival High Point. The Spartans tied the game in the middle of the second half but HPU took the lead back with a late 11-2 run and held off the UNCG final charge down the stretch.
The Spartans had four players in double figures in the loss as they shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the field but only hit 5-of-19 (26.3%) from long range. UNCG controlled play in the paint as redshirt sophomore center RJ White and junior forward Kayel Locke combined for 27 points on 13-of-17 shooting form the field. White was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field while Locke was 6-of-10 as they converted the chances they were given.
The Spartans also committed 16 turnovers in the loss and were out-rebounded by a 33-25 margin, including 12 offensive rebounds for HPU. The Panthers finished the game shooting 21-of-49 (42.9%) from the field and 6-of-16 (37.5%) from distance. High Point held a distinct advantage at the free throw line, converting 28-of-33 while UNCG was just 9-of-15. John Brown led the Panthers with 24 points as he was 7-of-13 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line while DeVante Wallace chipped in 15 points.
The Spartans and Panthers came out of the gate and traded baskets back and forth for most of the first half that saw the game tied six times, including 21-21 with 5:29 left as Tevon Saddler hit a jumper from the elbow. High Point responded with nine straight points and posted a 14-3 run to take a 35-24 lead. DeVante Wallace hit a 3-pointer in the run while Lorenzo Cugini nailed two from the outside during the spurt. Senior Nicholas Paulos hit a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left in the half to send the Spartans into the locker room trailing 35-37.
The Spartans connected on 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the field and hit 3-of-8 from distance, but committed 11 first half turnovers. Eight different Spartans scored in the first half with Paulos leading the way with six points. High Point connected on 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from the field and hit 5-of-11 from long range. The Panthers also held a 15-12 edge on the glass, including eight offensive rebounds. Cugini led the Panthers with 13 points off the bench while John Brown added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
The Spartans came out of the halftime break and quickly scored the first six points of the second half to trim the deficit to 35-33. Saddler scored four points in the run and Locke added a basket in the paint as UNCG made a concerted effort to go inside. The Panthers answered back with a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 45-35, but Brown picked up his third foul in the sequence.
UNCG took advantage of his absence as it pounded the ball inside posting a 10-0 run tying the game at 45-45 with 9:50 remaining. White scored six points in the run while Locke added four points as the Spartans went to the paint during their run. Brown came back in the game and scored five straight points to give the Panthers the lead back.
After Saddler scored four straight to pull within three at 52-49, the Panthers posted an 11-2 run to take a 63-51 lead. Wallace was the catalyst for High Point as he scored all 11 points during the run, capping the spurt with a 3-pointer in transition. The Spartans kept battling and notched a 7-1 run in the closing minutes to pull within four at 72-68 when Paulos hit a 3-pointer, but HPU connected on its final four free throws to secure the victory.
Saddler finished the night with 14 points and four assists as he was 6-of-7 from the free throw line and 4-of-12 from the field. Paulos added 12 points in 37 minutes of action, connecting of 4-of-8 from long range. Junior forward Ben Dickinson added six points in 14 minutes off the bench as he was 3-of-4 from the field.
Charleston Southern 72, Western Carolina 66
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Western Carolina University men’s basketball team trailed by as many as 26 points Monday night in Charleston, S.C., against Charleston Southern but the fight and determination never left the Catamounts as they battled back and fell 72-66 to the Buccaneers.
The game looked to be over at halftime with the Buccaneers leading 45-22 but the Catamounts had another plan as they stormed out of the gates in the second stanza and eventually cut the Bucs lead to just six with just under six minutes to play.
WCU was led by junior Rhett Harrelson who achieved another career-high in points with 22. He was 8-15 from the field including 6-12 from long range. Junior Mike Brown also eclipsed a career-high with 18 points while going 7-14 from the floor and hitting 4-9 from 3-point range. Senior James Sinclair added 12 points and a career-high seven assists to the effort while also picking up five rebounds and three steals. Junior Torrion Brummitt was the final Catamount in double-figures with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and his career.
The Catamounts were out-rebounded 42-34 but held 20-16 advantage in the second half. As a team, WCU shot 38.7 percent from the field including 46.9 percent in the second half. The Bucs shot 46.3 percent from the field including 40.9 percent in the second.
CSU had five players in double-figures including Saah Nimley (22), Will Saunders (12), Cedrick Bowen (11), Aaron Wheeler (11) and Arlon Harper (10).
The opening half was back and forth over the opening 10 minutes but the second ten minutes was all Charleston Southern. With the score in CSU’s favor 15-13 with 10:08 to play, the Buccaneers began a 30-9 run that closed out the opening period. Within the run the Bucs hit five 3-pointers while the Catamounts were just four of 16 from the field. The Bucs used a 26-14 advantage on the boards as well during the opening half to build their lead. The Catamounts were held to just two offensive boards and two second chance points while the Buccaneers collected seven offensive caroms and turned them into nine second chance tallies.
The second half was another story as the Catamounts came out fighting and outscored the Buccaneers 44-27 but it was not enough as the Bucs hung on to claim a 72-66 victory. Brown, Harrelson and Sinclair all had double-digits in the second half alone as they tried to give the Catamounts a chance.
Over the opening four minutes, the Catamounts outscored the Bucs 10-5 to set the tone. WCU eventually cut CSU’s lead to single digits on a Brown 3-pointer with 6:12 to play, 64-56. Sinclair followed with a jumper to get the Catamounts within six at 64-58. A Nimley three ended WCU’s run and pushed CSU’s lead back to nine. The lead would eventually swell to 11 at the 1:32 mark but once again the Catamounts battled back as Harrelson scored five-straight points to cut it back to six. After a pair of CSU free throws, Brummitt hit a streaking layup with eight seconds remaining which would be the final basket of the game.
Samford 76, Jacksonville 70
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team rallied from six points down late in regulation to tie the game at 62-62 and shoot its way to a 76-70 overtime victory against the Jacksonville Dolphins on Monday in a key non-conference contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.
With the win, Samford (3-5) improved to 2-0 when playing at home this season and evened its all-time series against Jacksonville (2-6) at 9-9.
The Bulldogs trailed the Dolphins for a majority of the game and found themselves behind 61-55 at the 4:48 mark following a 3-point basket from Andris Misters.
Samford then reeled off a jump hook from Michael Bradley, free throws from Christen Cunningham and Evan Taylor, as well as a driving 3-point play from Darius Jones-Gibson to give the Bulldogs just their second lead of the half with 44 seconds remaining, 62-61.
Jacksonville’s Marcel White then hit the first of a pair of free throws to even the score at 62-62. On his second attempt, White missed badly, but the rebound bounced directly back to him at the free-throw line to give the Dolphins the ball and a chance to win with just 26 seconds remaining.
On its final possession of regulation, Jacksonville’s Kori Babineaux drove the right side of the lane, but dragged his pivot foot and traveled to turn the ball over to Samford.
The Bulldogs’ Cunningham then drove coast to coast with five seconds left in the second half, but his possible game-winning jumper hit the front rim as the teams went to overtime knotted at 62-62.
In the extra frame, Samford quickly jumped out to its biggest lead of the contest, 70-63, behind a layup from Jones-Gibson and crucial 3-point baskets from both Evan Taylor and Tyler Hood. The Bulldogs continued to hit their free throws down the stretch and eventually tallied the 76-70 victory over the Dolphins.
Samford’s Jones-Gibson led the team with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and finished 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also pulled down a rebound and handed out an assist in 28 minutes of playing time.
Hood, the Bulldogs’ senior forward from Lenoir City, Tennessee, dropped in 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and also added six rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot. Taylor came off the bench to register his best game of the season with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and three rebounds.
Rounding out Samford’s scoring were Bradley (9), Cunningham (9), Brandon Roberts (6) and Nnamdi Enechionyia (5).
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field, 42.9 from 3-point range and outscored Jacksonville, 36-20, in the paint. Samford’s bench also bested the Dolphins’ reserves, 20-9.
Jacksonville’s Misters paced his squad with 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. He also connected on a game-high four 3-point baskets and went a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. The Dolphins’ Babineaux chipped in with 12 points and five assists, while J.R. Holder scored 11.