UNCG 68, Georgia Southern 56
STATESBORO, Ga. – Tyrone Outlaw came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points, and UNCG held Georgia Southern to 31 percent shooting from the floor as the Spartans notched a 68-56 Southern Conference win over the Eagles Thursday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Tre Bussey and Brian Holmes each scored 12 points to lead Georgia Southern (11-15, 4-7), while Angel Matias collected 10 points and 11 rebounds. Curtis Diamond chipped in eight points and five rebounds, and Jelani Hewitt, the league’s leading scorer, was held to nine points, just the second time the junior was held under double digits this season.
Tevon Saddler recorded 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists for UNCG (12-14, 5-6), and RJ White chipped in eight points and 12 rebounds off the bench. The Spartan reserves outscored Georgia Southern’s bench 32-10.
Georgia Southern trailed 55-52 following a triple by Holmes with 6:39 to play, and Hewitt got a steal and fed Kyle Doyle for what looked to be a fast-break layup to cut it to one. But Doyle was whistled for a travel, and Outlaw knocked down 3-pointers from the wing on consecutive possessions for the Spartans, pushing the lead to nine.
Matias got an offensive rebound and a putback on the Eagles’ next trip down the floor, making the score 61-54 with 3:57 left, but it was the last basket Georgia Southern would score for the next 3:30. UNCG closed the game with a 7-2 run.
The Eagles struggled shooting the ball in all phases, going 18-of-58 from the field, 7-of-29 from 3-point range and 13-of-25 from the free-throw stripe.
Georgia Southern held the Spartans to 42 percent shooting for the game, but UNCG canned 8-of-16 from long distance and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe.
The Eagles struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 31 percent, but used seven fast-break points and three second-chance points to take a 31-30 lead into the break. The Eagles did their part defensively as well, forcing eight UNCG turnovers and allowing the Spartans to shoot a 41 percent from the floor.
Appalachian State 74, Samford 68
BOONE, N.C. -- In a game that started three hours earlier than originally scheduled Thursday, the Samford University basketball team dropped a 74-68 Southern Conference road matchup at Appalachian State in a hard-fought contest that featured nine ties and 16 lead changes.
The game tipped off at 3 p.m. (CST) instead of 6 p.m., due to the wintry weather in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast.
Samford (11-16, 5-7 SoCon) led by four points, 34-30, at the half, but committed seven of its 11 turnovers in the second period as Appalachian State (8-16, 4-7 SoCon) rallied to outscore the Bulldogs, 44-34 in the final 20 minutes of action.
The Mountaineers shot a sizzling 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the field in the second half and out-rebounded Samford, 39-28, in Thursday’s contest.
With 5:35 remaining, the Bulldogs held a 60-56 lead over Appalachian State following a fast-break, right-handed layup from Russell Wilson. Samford seemed to be charging towards a key road victory, but then the Mountaineers answered with 12 straight points to take a 68-60 advantage with 1:26 left to play in the game.
The Bulldogs then used buckets from Jordan Capps, Connor Miller and Tim Williams down the stretch, but Appalachian State was able to connect on enough of its free throws to hang on for the final 74-68 home decision.
With Thursday’s loss, Samford dropped to 2-13 when playing on the road this season.
Appalachian State’s Tommy Spagnolo led all scorers with 20 points and 10 rebounds to register his fifth double-double in the last seven games. The Mountaineers’ 6-foot-7 forward finished 9-of-14 from the field and tallied three blocked shots in a team-high 37 minutes of action.
Samford’s Williams, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, logged a game-high 38 minutes of playing time and tallied 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. The Bulldogs’ sophomore forward from Chicago, Ill., turned in a 6-of-12 shooting performance from the field, but actually hurt his No. 6 national ranking in field-goal percentage.
Williams entered Thursday’s game with a SoCon-leading 61.7 shooting percentage.
Samford finished with four players scoring in double figures against Appalachian State. Isaiah Williams led the way with 13 points, but only tallied three in the second half of play. Junior guards Miller and Raijon Kelly both finished with 10 points apiece.
Kelly, who is averaging 14.6 points per game in his last seven outings, accumulated 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals Thursday.
The Bulldogs outscored Appalachian State, 40-32, in the paint, but only attempted 15 free throws, as compared to 37 from the Mountaineers. Samford was whistled for 25 personal fouls, while Appalachian State was called for just 14.
Samford forced the Mountaineers into nine turnovers in the first half and built a 34-30 lead at the intermission. The Bulldogs’ Isaiah Williams scored a team-high 10 points in the first half alone, while Hood added seven and Tim Williams dropped in six.
Defensively, Samford limited Appalachian State to 33.3-percent shooting from the field in the first period. The Bulldogs connected on 43.3 percent of their attempts from the floor in the opening half and drained four 3-point baskets. Isaiah Williams, the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Week, finished 2-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first period.
The Mountaineers, who lead the SoCon in fewest turnovers per game this season at 11.6, were forced into nine turnovers Thursday in the first half alone. Appalachian State finished with 13 turnovers.
Appalachian State’s Chris Burgess scored a game-high 11 points in the opening 20 minutes of action, while Spagnolo followed with nine points and six rebounds.
The Mountaineers out-rebounded Samford, 23-15, in the first half, including a 9-3 edge on offensive end of the court.