Davidson 77, Samford 54
ASHEVILLE, N.C. --- No. 1 seed Davidson (20-11) started fast and never looked back in a 77-54 win over No. 8 Samford (13-20) to open quarterfinal action in the 94th Southern Conference Tournament. The Wildcats began the game with a 12-2 run powered by SoCon Player of the Year De’Mon Brooks.
Brooks scored 10 of Davidson’s 12 in the opening burst capping it with a three from the top of the key at 16:03. Jordan Barham extended the lead to 20, 28-8, six minutes later with a strong slam off an offensive rebound.
Samford held the Wildcats without a basket for the next 4:04 trimming the margin to 14, 28-14, on three straight Jordan Capps layups. Brooks ended the drought with a three-point play at 6:01 leading his squad to a 16-point halftime advantage, 42-26.
Tim Williams’s jumper got the second half started for the Bulldogs, but 14 is as close as it would get. Williams’ layup at 9:40 also got it to 14, 56-42. The Wildcats put together a 13-2 run as Brooks’ tip-in stretched it to a game-high 25-point lead, 67-42.
It was two of Davidson’s 21-6 advantage in second chance points. The work on the offensive boards, 15 total, along with a 19-6 lead in points off turnovers proved to be the difference in the game.
Brooks had game-high totals of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Jack Gibbs (14) and Barham (10) combined for 24 points off the bench. Capps led the Bulldogs with 14 points and six boards.
Western Carolina 66, Elon 64
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Senior Tawaski King scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as fifth-seeded Western Carolina mounted a late-game comeback to defeat the fourth-seeded Elon Phoenix, 66-64, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Friday afternoon. The Catamounts advance to battle top-seeded Davidson in the first semifinal contest on Saturday, March 9 at 6 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center.
Down 49-38 with 12:27 to play, Western’s Mike Brown dumped in a bucket that would effectively jumpstart a 22-10 run to flip the lead in the Catamounts’ favor for the first time since an early first-half 12-11 advantage. Western got two big three-pointers from sophomore Rhett Harrelson as the Catamounts connected on their only four three-pointers of the game during the stretch. A King bucket with 4:28 remaining gave Western a 60-59 advantage.
Western held a 66-61 lead with 20 ticks on the clock, but the Phoenix was relentless, hitting a free throw and then finding Ryley Beaumont for a layup after turning Western over. Elon forced yet another turnover on its end of the court and managed to get sharp-shooter Jack Isenbarger a good look from three, but the ball was just off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
The performance marked the first double-double of season for King who was an efficient 7-of-8 from the field and grabbed six of the team’s 18 offensive rebounds. Brandon Boggs led all scorers with 18 points and James Sinclair also scored in double figures with 12 points for the Catamounts.
Beaumont netted 7-of-11 field goals for a team-best 16 points while hauling in eight boards. Isenbarger contributed 10 points. Elon’s leading scorer Lucas Troutman wasn’t able to get going in his final contest as Western held the big man to seven points and four boards.
The Phoenix held the lead for the majority of the game, shooting the ball well during the first 30 minutes of the contest. During Western’s run, Elon went just 3-of-9 from the field, including 1-of-5 from long range, and turned the ball over three times. After shooting 50 percent in the opening stanza, the Phoenix shot 38 percent in the second half, connecting from three-point land just once. Elon used a 7-2 run to take a 34-25 edge into the locker room, though the Phoenix left points on the table going 6-of-12 from the charity stripe.
For the game, Western won the battle on the glass, 39-34, including an 18-12 advantage on the offensive end of the floor. Elon shot 43 percent from the field; Western shot 40 percent.