ETSU 96, Western Carolina 89
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – On a night when the goal was to fill Freedom Hall, ETSU and Western Carolina filled the baskets with a record shooting performance.
But as he has done on multiple occasions already this season, it was ETSU senior guard Jalen Riley who landed the decisive blow in the final seconds.
With a pair of free throws and a clutch 3-pointer that took a tie game and gave the Buccaneers a five-point lead with 1:39 left on the clock, Riley – who finished with a career high 31 points – helped ETSU hold off Western Carolina 96-89 in the Southern Conference opener for both teams Wednesday evening in front of 4,287 fans at Freedom Hall.
Along with helping seal with win, Riley’s final 3-pointer of the game also helped the Bucs match the school record for 3-pointers in a game with 15, while Western Carolina finished with 11 long-range shots of its own on the night. In fact, Western overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to tie the game at 83 before ETSU used a 10-0 run to end the Catamounts’ threat.
Along with Riley’s 31 points, the Bucs also got 22 points from senior guard Rashawn Rembert, 17 from junior forward Lester Wilson and 16 from sophomore guard A.J. Merriweather. Meanwhile, the Catamounts were led by a career high 30 points from guard Rhett Harrelson, while fellow guard James Sinclair netted 23 and forward Torrion Brummitt added 11.
It was the 16th straight win for Bucs against Western Carolina, and in the first half it appeared the Bucs would run away from the Catamounts.
ETSU was on target from the outset of the game, hitting eight 3-pointers in the first half and shooting an impressive 50 percent from beyond the arc before the intermission. The attack was led by Riley and Rembert, who combined for 32 of the Bucs’ 52 points in the first 20 minutes of play. ETSU also was impressive in the open court, outscoring the Catamounts 16-0 in fast break points.
Western tried to answer the onslaught thanks to 15 points from Sinclair, but it was not enough. The Cats hit on just 18 percent of their shots from beyond the arc and ultimately trailed 52-36 at the break.
In the second half though, Western Carolina began to match the Bucs’ outside shooting – thanks primarily to Sinclair and Harrelson – who combined to hit seven 3-pointers to get to within five points at 77-72 with seven minutes left in the game.
Harrleson continued to stay hot, hitting two more 3-pointers at that point, followed by a traditional 3-point play by WCU forward Mike Brown that ultimately tied the game at 83 with 3:16 left in the game. However, from there Riley took over with his two free throws and his final 3-pointer of the night, igniting the Bucs 10-0 run to make it 93-83 with 39 seconds left. Western Carolina never recovered at that point.
ETSU finished the game shooting 50 percent from 3-point range (15-of-30) and 75 percent from the foul line (27-of-36), while Western shot 47 percent from 3-point range in the second half. The Catamounts outscored the Bucs 32-18 in the paint, but ETSU held a 37-12 advantage in points off the bench.
Wofford 66, Presbyterian 45
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior Karl Cochran joined Robert Mickle (1981-85) as the only Terriers to earn 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists and the Wofford men’s basketball team earned a 66-45 victory over Presbyterian, Wednesday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Heading into the game, Cochran was three points and two assists shy of the trifecta. He hit his first 3-point attempt to reach 1,500 and later registered his 250th assist at the 3:15 mark of the first half. Cochran recorded his 500th rebound in Saturday’s game at William & Mary and now has 1,508 points, 511 rebounds and exactly 250 assists.
Mickle was in attendance to witness Cochran join him in the 1,500-500-250-club. The ’85 graduate was recognized at halftime after finishing his career nearly 30 years ago with 1,572 points, 569 rebounds and 264 assists.
Cochran and junior Spencer Collins finished the game with 11 points each. However, they were outdone by sophomore Jaylen Allen, who dropped a career-high 16 points to lead all Terriers. Allen was 6-of-11 shooting and 4-of-6 from three, also collecting five boards.
Wofford (6-2) used a 27-5 run that spanned 12 minutes of the second half to put away Presbyterian (3-5). The Blue Hose had gotten within one possession with 15:22 left, before a triple by sophomore Eric Garcia sparked the big run that ended in a 64-39 Wofford lead.
Offensive rebounds and 3-point shooting contributed to the blowout. The Terriers collected 16 on the offensive glass to outscore PC 17-0 in second-chance points. Wofford also tied a season-high with 11 made threes to shoot 46 percent from beyond the arc (11-24).
The Terriers outshot the Blue Hose 39.7 percent to 37.8 percent from the floor. Wofford also had a 40-31 edge in rebounds and won the turnover battle 17-7, earning 22 points off PC’s turnovers.
The win improved the Terriers to 96-67 in the all-time local series. It was the first meeting in either program’s Division I era and the first since January 23, 1995.
Wofford jumped out to a 12-5 lead with its defense holding strong through the opening 10 minutes. Presbyterian started 2-of-9 from the field as the Terriers looked much better after allowing William & Mary to shoot 66 percent in Saturday’s loss.
On offensive end, Wofford struggled around the basket but made up for it from long range. The Terriers were good for six of their first nine 3-point attempts to go up 26-18. Allen led the charge by hitting three of his first four.
It was an eight-point game at the half with Wofford in front 32-24. Allen led all scorers with nine points, while Cochran and Collins had six apiece. Garcia had four assists and would go on to record a career-high seven.
After opening the second half with the first five points, the Terriers weathered a 10-0 PC run that ended with two of Jordan Downing’s game-high 17 points. It brought the game to within just three points for the first time since the 14-minute mark of the first half.
Cochran missed a jumper on the ensuing Wofford possession, but senior Lee Skinner was there for the offensive rebound. He kicked it out to Garcia who buried the triple to extend the lead back to six.
Garcia and Allen carried the Terriers the rest of the way, combining for 15 points in 25-5 run. The sophomore duo hit four 3-pointers during the span as Wofford ran away with largest Division I win of the season.