UNCG 80, ETSU 79
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – ETSU senior guard Rashawn Rembert eclipsed 1,000 points for his career, but the UNC Greensboro Spartans ruined the celebration by dropping the Buccaneers 80-79 Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference men’s basketball action at Freedom Hall.
Losing for the first time in seven games at Freedom Hall since last season, the Bucs’ defense was unable to stop the Spartans, who shot 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range for the game. Guard Tevon Saddler led the attack for the Spartans with a team-high 24 points, as UNCG improved to 4-6 overall, 1-0 in SoCon play.
Meanwhile, ETSU – which dropped to 5-2 overall, 1-1 in SoCon play – was led by 28 points from senior guard Jalen Riley, 13 points from Rembert, and a double-double effort from sophomore guard A.J. Merriweather, who finished with a 13 points and a career high 14 rebounds.
In the first half, the Bucs looked like a team coming off a 10-day break. Struggling on the offensive end, ETSU did not connect for its first field goal until the 13:49 mark of the first half and the team’s defensive effort was equally lacking, as UNCG built a lead of as many as 14 at 23-9.
The Bucs rallied at that point thanks to the efforts of Riley – who scored 20 first-half points and basically fueled the team’s offensive revival. In the end, the Bucs got to within one at 42-41 before the Spartans were able to finish on a spurt and enjoy a 47-43 advantage at the intermission.
In the second half, the Bucs were able to take their first lead of the game until a Riley layup that made it 53-52 with 14:03 left in regulation. However, the Spartans responded with an 8-0 run of their own to make it 60-53 with 12:45 left.
The Bucs responded with an 11-2 burst to regain the lead at 64-62 and the two teams proceeded to trade the lead three times before UNCG found itself holding a 77-73 advantage with 2:39 left in the game. From there, the Bucs were unable to regain the lead, and a free throw by Sadler made it a four point game with four seconds left. Rembert then hit a three at the buzzer to make it an 80-79 final.
Rembert eclipsed 1,000 for his career with a 3-pointer at the 7:28 mark of the second half. Meanwhile, Saddler was joined by four other teammates that scored 12 points apiece, giving the Spartans five players in double figures for the game. Meanwhile, ETSU shot an impressive 88 percent from the free throw line (22-of-25), while outscoring UNCG 43-8 in points off the bench.
VMI 92, Marist 77
LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI Keydets attempted 55 three-pointers, just one shy of their team record against a Division I opponent, and made 19 en route to a 92-77 win over the Marist Red Foxes in non-conference basketball action Saturday at Cameron Hall in Lexington, Va.
The long-distance barrage saw VMI (5-6) attempt just 20 two-point field goals and post 11 consecutive three-point attempts to open the game. That helped the Keydets take the lead just over four minutes into the game and they would not relinquish it the rest of the way, as they moved to 3-1 at home on the young season.
QJ Peterson led the home team with 25 points, while Tim Marshall posted his second 20-point game over his last three outings. Peterson (17) and Marshall (16) fell just short of the VMI record for three-pointers attempted by a single player, 19, in going 6 for 17 and 6 for 16 respectively.
Marist (1-9) was led by Eric Truog, who had a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
VMI changed up its traditional starting lineup, going with Jarid Watson and Marshall, who made just his second career start. It was Marist, however, that took the early lead, jumping ahead 5-0 in the opening minute. The Red Foxes still led 7-3 at the 18:31 mark, but VMI came back with an 11-2 run that included three triples to take a 14-9 lead with 15:12 left in the half. The Keydets would never trail again, and ran their lead out to as many as 21 in the opening half behind 16 points from Peterson and 20 bench points.
The second half was more of the same, as VMI pulled away early in the second half behind Marshall, who made four consecutive three-pointers at one point. Marist then appeared to be on the verge of a possible comeback following a 10-0 run that cut VMI’s lead to 11, 77-66, with just over 11 minutes remaining. The Keydets, however, answered with a 6-0 run that halted the spurt and the Red Foxes got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
VMI finished the game 30 of 75 from the floor (40%) and 19 of 55 from long range (34.5%). The Keydets also made 13 of 18 from the charity stripe (72.2%), while Marist was 16 of 24 (66.7%) from the foul line. The Red Foxes went 28 of 59 (47.5%) from the field and 5 of 17 (29.4%) from long range.
In addition, the Keydets finished the game with an 18-6 edge in second chance points and had 24 assists on 30 made shots, led by Trey Chapman’s six helpers. VMI held a 45-38 edge on the class, sparked by Watson’s career-high 11 rebounds, and its bench outscored Marist’s 28-9.
Gardner-Webb 74, Furman 68
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Gardner-Webb's Jerome Hill netted 28 points and added a career-high 19 rebounds to power the Bulldogs to a 74-68 victory over Furman in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday night at the Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Hill connected on 10-of-21 shots from the field and 8-of-18 free throws to lead all scorers, while teammates Tyrone Nelson and Adonis Burbage added 19 and 14 points, respectively, to improve Gardner-Webb to 6-4 on the season. The loss dropped Furman to 2-6.
Trailing 36-35 at the break after Gardner-Webb shot 50% from the field over the opening 20 minutes, Furman claimed the early lead in the second half as Stephen Croone and Geoff Beans each drained a three in the first three minutes of the period. The Paladins, however, committed five turnovers in less than three minutes and Burbage followed back-to-back baskets by Hill with a three-pointer of his own to stake the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 49-43 lead with 13:48 remaining.
Furman kept the deficit within six over the next nine minutes and trailed just 60-58 when Croone converted on a pair of free throws with 5:08 to play, but Gardner-Webb fashioned a 7-1 run and held the Paladins without a bucket for nearly three minutes to stretch the margin to eight at 67-59 when Hill scored and finished the three-point play at the foul line with 2:46 left.
Devin Sibley got Furman back within four points on a three-point play with 1:28 remaining, but the Paladins were held without a field goal until Croone's layup with two seconds left.
Gardner-Webb shot 46.6% while outscoring Furman 15-9 on points off turnovers and 16-4 on second chance points. The Bulldogs managed a 41-34 rebounding edge and forced the Paladins into 11 second-half turnovers.
Croone scored 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 at the line to lead the Paladins. Beans added 11 points and Kendrec Ferrara tallied nine points to go with nine rebounds.
The Paladins shot 43.9% from the floor and connected on 8-of-19 three-point attempts. Gardner-Webb made just 15-of-33 free throw attempts to help Furman keep the game close down the stretch.
Furman returns to action on Friday night when it travels to face Florida Gulf Coast. Tip-off in Fort Myers, Fla., is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN3.