The Citadel 51, Bethune-Cookman 47
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Ashton Moore capped off his night with a team-high 20 points and P.J. Horgan added 13 points and nine rebounds as The Citadel earned its fifth win at home this season with a 51-47 victory over Bethune-Cookman at McAlister Field House.
The four-point victory allowed The Citadel (5-7) to capture its third-most home wins by Dec. 31 since the 2000-01 season. The only two teams with more wins in that span were the 2001-02 and 2004-05 units, who won seven apiece.
With the score deadlocked at 27-all at the 14:02 mark of the second half Moore scored seven of next nine Citadel points as the Dogs moved out in front by five.
A Moore 3-pointer from the right wing stretched the advantage to eight, 39-31, marking the largest Bulldog lead of the contest with 8:06 remaining.
Bethune-Cookman (3-10) used timely shots by Ricky Johnson and Brandon Stewart to trim its lead to four on three occasions, but it was a Moore 3-pointer at the 3:59 mark that sealed The Citadel's victory.
The Dogs converted 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to secure their final non-conference victory of the season.
Moore, who knocked down 8-of-17 from the field and four from 3-point range, eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season and 17th time in his Bulldog career. He also climbed the glass for five rebounds, snagging four on the defensive end.
Horgan reached double figures by virtue of hitting 7-of-9 from the free throw line and 3-of-10 from the field. His game-high nine boards (seven defensive) highlighted a Dogs unit that finished with 30 rebounds.
The game also marked the return of point guard Marshall Harris III who came off the bench to contribute a game-high four assists along with two points and two rebounds.
Bethune-Cookman's (3-10) lineup was led offensively by the combination of Stewart (22 points) and Johnson (10). Stewart topped the double figure mark by hitting 10-of-14 from the free throw line along with 6-of-15 from the floor. He also led the Wildcats defensively with three steals.
Johnson was an additional scoring threat as he finished 3-of-9 from the floor and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats took advantage of Quentin Brewer's athleticism in the post, which resulted in eight rebounds, as the finished with a 36-30 advantage on the glass. Brewer was joined up front by Johnson, who hauled in seven boards.
Five points off the hand of Stewart allowed Bethune-Cookman to build a 13-3 advantage by the 13:07 mark of the first half.
The Bulldogs responded with an 11-2 run, highlighted by a Wright 3-pointer as time expired on the shot clock, pulling within one point with just under seven minutes remaining.
The Wildcats answered took advantage of scores by Stewart and Ricky Johnson, pushing the lead back to give, but a layup by Moore followed by a pair of Horgan free throws again made for a one point contest.
Bethune-Cookman again stretched its lead to four points, 22-18, but a 3-pointer by Moore coupled with two free throws by Horgan allowed The Citadel to take a one point lead into the intermission.
Western Carolina 86, St. Catharine 70
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Western Carolina University men’s basketball team trailed for a total of three minutes Tuesday night as the Catamounts picked up an 86-70 victory over St. Catharine College in their final game of 2014. Four Catamounts reached double-figures in the game with senior James Sinclair leading the way with 24 points.
Sinclair was 7-16 from the field while going a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe. He also had four rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game. Junior Torrion Brummitt tied a career-high with 17 points as he nailed nine of his 10 attempts at the free throw line while knocking down four field goals. He also had five rebounds and a block in the game.
The final two double-digit scorers for the Catamounts were a pair of freshmen. Devin Peterson made the first start of his career and ended with a career-high 12 points and a team-high four assists. He also had two steals and a block in the contest. Tucker Thompson, who started five games earlier this season, came off the bench to score a career-best 12 points. He also added six rebounds, two steals and an assist to his total. He was a perfect 4-4 from the field while going 4-7 at the free throw line.
Juniors Justin Browning and Mike Brown tied for the team-high in rebounds with eight each. Brown was one point away from double-figures with nine points to go along with a block and a steal. Browning had five points as well.
Freshman Haboubacar Mutumbo made his WCU debut and played five minutes with a pair of rebounds while junior Dexter Jenkins scored his first career points while finishing the game with three points and a rebound.
The Catamounts dominated the paint, out-scoring the Patriots 40-4 in the lane. WCU shot 42.9 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from 3-point range and 80.6 percent from the free throw line. The Patriots shot 33.3 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three and 65.2 percent from the charity stripe.
After WCU opened the game with a 4-0 run, the Patriots used a layup and a 3-pointer to take their first lead of the game at 5-4. The Catamounts answered with a jumper but another SCC three gave the Patriots their largest lead of the contest at 8-6. An 11-2 run opened the game up for the Catamounts but it would not last long as the Patriots came back to take the lead at the 6:33 mark of the first half with another 3-pointer. This time the Catamounts answered with a 12-0 run to open the game back up. WCU would take a 40-30 lead into the break led by Sinclair’s 13 points.
The second half opened with a 14-5 run by the Patriots which cut the Catamounts lead to just one but that would be as close as SCC would get. WCU once again answered with a 15-2. From that point on the closest the Patriot would get would be nine points on four different occasions but every time the Catamounts had an answer. The Catamounts closed out the game 86-70. Sinclair had 11 points in the second half followed by Brummitt’s nine.
Lorenzo Dewberry led the Patriots with 29 points including seven 3-pointers.
Furman 72, St. Andrews 35
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman held St. Andrews to just 14 second-half points and 4-of-16 shooting over the final 20 minutes as the Paladins pulled away for a 72-35 victory over the Knights in non-conference men’s basketball action at Timmons Arena on Tuesday night.
The victory snapped a four-game skid and improved the Paladins to 3-8 on the season as they prepare to return to Southern Conference play on Saturday night at Chattanooga.
Leading 30-21 at intermission, freshman Geoff Beans opened the second period with a three-pointer to ignite a 31-4 Furman run. The Paladins outscored St. Andrews 16-1 over the opening 6:55 of the period before Tahj Scott recorded the Knights’ first field goal of the half with 13:05 remaining. Furman followed the basket with a 17-0 spurt, including five straight points from Devin Sibley, as it held the Knights without another score until the 6:41 mark to stretch its lead to 61-25.
The Paladins turned 20 St. Andrews’ turnovers into 28 points and outscored the visitors 32-16 in the paint. Furman managed a 36-25 edge on the glass and posted a 16-5 edge in second chance points.
Sibley and fellow freshman Daniel Fowler paced the Paladins with 12 points apiece, while junior Stephen Croone reached double figures for the 30th consecutive game by adding 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting. Croone added seven assists and Fowler registered a career-best four steals. Junior Kendrec Ferrara grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points as the Paladins shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 53.3 percent in the second half.
After connecting on just 3-of-15 first half three-point attempts, the Paladins carried a nine-point cushion into the locker room. In the second period, they forced 13 turnovers and allowed only 16 shot attempts to shut down St. Andrews’ offense.
Jeff Gulley led the Knights with nine points in 37 minutes of action. St. Andrews shot just 31.7 percent from the floor and converted on 4-of-15 three-point tries.
Samford 94, Auburn-Montgomery 60
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In its highest scoring output of the 2014-15 season, the Samford University basketball team extended its winning streak to four-consecutive games Tuesday with a 94-60 home triumph against the Auburn-Montgomery Warhawks in a key in-state victory held at the Pete Hanna Center.
Despite falling behind 6-0 out of the gate, Samford (7-8) quickly rebounded and tied the score at 6-6 with 16:32 left in the first half. Midway through the opening period, the Bulldogs exploded for a 16-0 run and extended their decisive advantage to 37-18 with 3:30 remaining until the intermission.
During Samford’s dominant first-half run, the Bulldogs’ catalysts proved to be guards Brandon Roberts and Marcus Johnson.
Roberts, Samford’s dynamic sophomore sharpshooter from Decatur, scored seven points during the flurry, while Johnson drained a deep 3-point basket and added a fast-break layup for five points.
Johnson, the Bulldogs’ talented junior transfer from Washington, D.C., finished Tuesday’s contest with a career-high 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field. He also went a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
Roberts led Samford in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. He also connected on a game-high four 3-point baskets and handed out a career-high five assists.
Auburn-Montgomery (5-6) was limited to 38.6 percent shooting from the field and became the Bulldogs’ third straight opponent to fail to reach the 40-percent mark.
Samford outscored the Warhawks, 38-18, in the paint and out-rebounded Auburn-Montgomery, 39-26. Additionally, the Bulldogs bested the Warhawks in bench scoring, 61-20, and fast-break points, 26-13.
At the half, Samford held a 40-26 lead and closed out the opening period on a 19-8 run. Early in the second stanza, the Bulldogs quickly increased their advantage to 27 points and Padgett began to clear his bench with a 40-point lead, 80-40, with 9:15 left to play in the game.
Samford shot a stellar 13-of-26 from 3-point range and turned in a 51.5-percent mark from the field.
The Bulldogs finished with four players scoring in double figures for the third time this season and turned in their highest scoring output of the young and upcoming Padgett Era. Samford’s 94 points scored Tuesday topped its previous high mark of 81 against Presbyterian on Dec. 16.
Senior Tyler Hood scored the Bulldogs’ first nine points of the game and finished with 11 on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Hood only played a total of 15 minutes Tuesday and moved within 13 points of reaching the prestigious 1,000-point plateau for his career.
Darius Jones-Gibson dropped in 10 points for the Bulldogs, while senior center Michael Bradley came off the bench to tally eight points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots, a steal and an assist in 20 minutes of action. Bradley’s seven boards led all players in the game.
Samford’s Nnamdi Enechionyia finished with eight points and Evan Taylor shot a perfect 3-for-3 from the field for seven of his own. Rounding out the Bulldogs’ scoring Tuesday were Christen Cunningham (4), Ryan Dickey (3), Brandon Hayman (2) and Emeka Ikezu (2).
Cunningham played a key role in guiding Samford’s offense as he handed out a game-high eight assists. The Bulldogs tallied 24 assists in the contest and forced Auburn-Montgomery into 21 turnovers.
George Washington 80, VMI 60
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A late 9-0 run broke open a 10-point game and sent the George Washington Colonials past the VMI Keydets, 80-60, in non-conference men's basketball action Tuesday at the Smith Center in Washington, D.C.
After trailing by six at halftime, the Keydets (5-8) trailed by 15, 59-44, with 8:35 to go. VMI rallied with an 8-2 run that cut the margin to nine, 61-52, with 6:59 remaining, but GW (10-3) scored the next nine points and VMI got no closer than 15 the rest of the way.
The Keydets were led by Phillip Anglade's 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss, while the homestanding Colonials had two players notch double-doubles, Kethan Savage (18 pts., 10 reb.) and Patricio Garino (16 pts., 10 reb.).
The visitors kept things close in the first half, and did so with an unusual starting lineup. Leading QJ Peterson did not start for the first time in his career, but he had seven points and seven rebounds off the bench in the first 20 minutes. More importantly, the Keydet defense held GW to a 13 of 40 shooting effort in the first half, and went into the locker room down only six, 35-29.
VMI finished the game just 8 of 36 from three-point range, and saw just one player, Trey Chapman, make multiple three-pointers. Chapman went 2 for 3 from long range on the night. Overall, the Keydets shot 21 of 71 from the floor and 10 of 14 from the charity stripe, while GW was 30 of 66 and 19 of 30 in those two categories.
Texas A&M 65, Mercer 50
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Mercer men’s basketball guards Ike Nwamu and Jordan Strawberry combined for 28 points as the Bears dropped a 65-50 decision to Texas A&M on Tuesday at Reed Arena.
The loss sent Mercer to 6-8 and completed the non-conference portion of the schedule, while Texas A&M (8-3) won for the fourth time in its last five outings.
Nwamu was 6-of-11 from the floor, including four 3-pointers. The junior also added three rebounds, three assists and a block. Strawberry shot 5-of-8, connecting on two 3-pointers while also registering four assists and zero turnovers.
Mercer was firing on all cylinders at the start, holding the Aggies to 2-of-10 shooting while breaking open an 11-5 lead. The Bears would eventually go ahead by 19-8, as Strawberry nailed a 3-pointer to cap a 14-3 Mercer run elapsing 6:37 of game time.
Texas A&M got an old-fashioned three-point play from Jalen Jones with just under seven minutes remaining in the period, marking the start of 17-unanswered Aggie points that put the hosts ahead 30-23 at intermission.
Jibri Bryan and Nwamu both hit 3’s in the first two minutes out of the break to get Mercer within one of the lead, but the Aggies responded with an 11-3 charge to move back ahead 41-32.
Nwamu swished a trey the next time down, and the Bears hung around for the better part of the half, ultimately getting back within five twice before a late 14-0 Aggie run put the game out of reach.
Senior T.J. Hallice scored seven and tallied four rebounds, an assist and a block. The Bears outscored the opponent off the bench for the second consecutive game, as freshman Stephon Jelks and sophomore James Bento each chipped in four points.