VMI 85, The Citadel 75
LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI Keydets blew the game open with a 28-7 run to start the second half and put five players in double figures en route to an 85-75 over The Citadel Bulldogs in SoCon men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Va. The Keydets (8-13, 4-6 SoCon) won a game that lasted two hours, 28 minutes and was marred by 60 personal fouls, a new Cameron Hall record for combined personal fouls called.
The first half was a back and forth affair, marked by six ties and four lead changes, but after a Brian White dunk in the opening moments of the second half pulled the Bulldogs (8-12, 3-6) within two, VMI scored 28 of the game’s next 33 points to pull away for good. The Citadel managed to draw within eight in the closing moments, but could get no closer as VMI captured its fifth win in the last six contests against the Bulldogs.
Julian Eleby led VMI’s five double figure scorers with 15 points, 10 of which came from the foul line, while Brian Brown (12), Trey Chapman (11), Tim Marshall (10) and Jordan Weethee (10) all hit double figures as well. It was the first time the Keydets had put five or more players in double figures since Jan. 2’s game at ETSU.
Ashton Moore of The Citadel led all scorers with 20 points and P.J. Horgan added a double-double (14 pts., 14 reb.), but VMI’s 51-18 edge in bench scoring, including a 34-5 margin in that statistic in the second half, was more than enough to take the victory.
As mentioned above, the 60 personal fouls were a new facility record, breaking the old mark of 59 set Dec. 11, 2006. The Citadel was whistled for 32 while the Keydets were charged with 28.
VMI jumped out to an early 19-10 lead in Saturday’s action thanks to five three-pointers over the first 6:48, but The Citadel rallied. A 10-0 run, capped by a Horgan free throw, gave the visitors their first lead of the day, 20-19, at the 8:36 mark of the opening half. That was the first of the four lead changes, and neither team led by more than three until a Christian Burton basket on VMI’s final possession of the half gave it a 35-31 edge headed into halftime.
The Keydets exploded early in the second half, taking a game-high 25-point lead before the under-12 media timeout. The Bulldogs gradually chipped away, drawing to within 11 at 76-65 after two Moore free throws with 5:44 to go, but four consecutive points pushed the lead back to 16 and helped VMI hold off a Bulldog rally in the final minute. The Citadel was able to get the margin down to eight with 44 seconds remaining, 83-75, but could draw no closer as VMI held on.
In addition to the double figure scorers, Phillip Anglade notched five blocks, moving him past Tim Allmond and into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Institute list in that statistic.
Chattanooga 81, UNCG 72
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A quartet of double-digit scorers led the Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga Mocs to an 81-72 win over visiting UNCG Saturday evening. UTC shares first place at 7-1 with Wofford, a game ahead of Mercer at 6-2. The Mocs improve to 14-7, while the Spartans fall to 6-15, 2-6 in the league.
Greg Pryor posted a team-high 19 points, with Justin Tuoyo adding 18. The duo combined for 24 in the second half, none bigger than two in the closing minute.
Tevon Saddler drove strong for a layup at 1:41 for the Spartans. It was two of his game-high 22 points to make it a four-point game, 74-70. The Mocs worked the clock getting a good three-point look from the SoCon’s leading marksman, Eric Robertson.
Robertson shot at 1:11 was a little off, but Tuoyo claimed the rebound. Chattanooga went to work for nearly another 30 seconds before Pryor’s pulled up in the paint and made it a two-possession game with 42.6 to go.
UNCG worked quickly up the floor. Nicholas Paulos drove to the basket but missed the layup. Tre’ McLean grabbed the board and made one of his two free throws. That was the first of two defensive stops in the final minute to secure the final of 81-72.
Robertson and Martynas Bareika were big off the bench. The duo combined for 27 points with Bareika netting 14 and Robertson 13. Tuoyo led the effort on the boards with nine, four offensive, while blocking four shots. It’s his ninth consecutive game with three or more.
Kayel Locke and Diante Baldwin had 12 apiece for the Spartans. Marvin Smith added 10 points matching Tuoyo for game-high honors with nine boards. UNCG shot 49.2 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle 37-34.
A big key for the Mocs came on the boards in the second half. They limited their visitors to just two offensive rebounds with no second chance points after the Spartans rang up 11 in the opening 20 minutes.
UNCG led by three, 35-32, with just over four minutes to go in the first half. The Mocs went on a 9-2 run capped by a Robertson three at 2:10 for a 42-35 advantage before heading into intermission up 44-37. Bareika (12) and Robertson (11) kept the Mocs in the game, Tuoyo and Pryor finished it off.
Wofford 72, ETSU 64
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The ETSU men’s basketball team overcame a large second half deficit, but the rally fell short as Wofford held off the Buccaneers 72-64 in Southern Conference play Saturday evening inside Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Trailing by as many as 21 midway through the second half, the Bucs (12-7, 6-4 SoCon) cut the Terriers’ lead to four twice in the final 1:38 of regulation. However, Wofford (16-5, 7-1) made plays down the stretch to secure the win, holding the Bucs to just three made 3-pointers on the night and out-rebounding ETSU, 39-25.
It was indeed a rough night for Rembert and Lester Wilson, who combined for just five points. Meanwhile, senior guard Jalen Riley scored most of his game-high 25 points during the Bucs’ rally and was joined by only one other Buccaneer in double figures, as sophomore forward A.J. Merriweather pitched in 12 points.
While the first 30 minutes of play did not look good for the Bucs, the final 10 minutes looked like a game between two of the contenders in the SoCon standings. The rally ultimately had everything, including a double technical foul on Bartow and Wofford head coach Mike Young.
The technical came as Wofford was shooting a pair of free throws and Bartow attempted to talk to Rembert on the sidelines in front of the ETSU bench. Wofford’s Spender Collins came to stand right next to Rembert and listen in on the conversation. When Bartow attempted to stand between Rembert and Collins, Young then came down the floor, leaving the coaching box to see what was happening at the ETSU bench. The officials then administered a technical to each coach.
As for the game itself, both teams struggled offensively in the early going, but the Terriers ultimately used some relentless rebounding to outscore the Bucs 9-0 on second chance points and lead 30-23 at the break. Wofford was led by senior forward Lee Skinner, who netted nine points and grabbed five rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, ETSU’s Rembert, Riley and Wilson struggled to get going offensively, combining to score just five points before the intermission. While the Bucs shot a respectable 42 percent from the floor in the first half, they were just 1-of-5 from 3-point range and had just one offensive rebound in the first half – and that was a team rebound on a loose ball out of bounds.
The second half could not have started worse for the Bucs, as the Terriers heated up from the outside and went on a 14-2 run to build a 44-25 lead with 15:53 left in regulation. The lead eventually grew to 21 at 49-28 with 13:14 left in regulation, but the Bucs didn’t go away.
An 11-2 run followed by an 11-0 spurt helped the Bucs get it to six at 56-50, and they eventually got to within four at 60-56 following another 6-0 run. However, after trading a pair of buckets, ETSU came up empty on back-to-back possessions, while Wofford’s all-conference guard Karl Cochran hit a pair of free throws and dunk one home to help spur a 6-0 run and make it a 10-point game with less than a minute left.
For the Terriers, Cochran finished with a game-high 14 points, while Skinner finished with a double-double on 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Samford 78, Western Carolina 72
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Western Carolina men’s basketball team trailed for most of the game Saturday night in Birmingham, Ala., as the Samford Bulldogs took advantage of 20 WCU turnovers and a strong performance at the free throw line to take a 78-72 victory at home. Senior James Sinclair led all scorers with 26 points against the Bulldogs but it was not enough as Samford went 26-28 at the free throw line including 21-22 in the second half to keep the Catamounts at bay.
Sinclair was 12-20 from the field including just 2-8 from 3-point range. He grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists as well. Junior Justin Browning, who was returning to his home state, came off the bench to score 12 points for the Catamounts as he grabbed five rebounds and led the team with four steals.
Junior Mike Brown added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists while junior Rhett Harrelson, who also calls Alabama home, chipped in 10 points and three assists.
The Catamounts were able to handle Samford’s press early in the game but as the night wore on the pressure began to force mistakes on the WCU end as the five Catamount starters combined for 15 turnovers. The Bulldogs took advantage of the Catamount mistakes as they scored 24 of their 78 points off turnovers.
The win is just the second for Samford in league play this season. The Bulldogs improved their record to 9-14 overall and 2-8 in conference play. The Catamounts fall to 9-12 overall and 4-5 in SoCon action.
Both teams came up empty on their opening three possessions. Harrelson ended the scoreless game with a 3-pointer at the 18:17 mark. The Bulldogs immediately answered with a three of their own and the back-and-forth action began. The score would remain within one possession until a 3-pointer by Christen Cunningham gave the Bulldogs a four-point lead with 7:23 left in the first. A 4-0 run by the Catamounts tied the game at 22 with 3:50 left on the clock but that would spark a 9-0 run by the Bulldogs which opened up the game for Samford just before halftime. Browning hit a layup with 50 seconds left in the period and the Catamounts forced a missed 3-pointer by the Bulldogs with under 15 seconds on the scoreboard. Harrelson hit his second 3-pointer of the game to close out the half as the buzzer sounded. The Catamounts entered the locker room trailing 35-30.
The Bulldogs were able to hold off the Catamounts the entire second half but the lead only reached double-figures on one occasion, 61-51. Trailing by eight with a minute to play, the Catamounts began a comeback. Sinclair hit a jumper to cut the lead to six and he was fouled. He missed the free throw but Browning was able to steal the ball away from the Bulldog rebounder and was fouled. Browning went 1-2 at the charity stripe to cut the lead to five. After a timeout, the WCU defense forced the Bulldogs to lose the ball out of bounds and Sinclair nailed another jumper to make it a one possession game with 39 ticks on the clock.
After a pair of Samford free throws, Sinclair again answered the call with a jumper. Samford again went 2-2 at the charity stripe and Sinclair knocked down a three to cut the lead to just a pair of points with 19 seconds remaining. As they did the entire night, the Bulldogs nailed two more free throws and Sinclair was unable to connect from outside. Two more Bulldog free throws pushed the lead to six with seven seconds left and WCU turned over the in-bounds play as time expired.
Samford was led by Darius Jones-Gibson who scored 19 points. Michael Bradley added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Three other Bulldogs scored in double-figures including Cunningham, Marcus Johnson and Tyler Hood.
Furman 82, Allen University 46
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Stephen Croone poured in 20 points and 11 different Paladins scored as Furman rolled to an 82-46 victory over NAIA member Allen University in non-conference men’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Croone scored the first nine points of the game and Furman (6-13) opened the contest on a 13-0 run to take control. The Paladins shot 51.7 percent in the opening period and connected on 7-of-17 three-point opportunities to ride a 45-22 lead into the halftime break.
Allen trimmed the lead to 48-30 in the opening minutes of the second half, but Furman answered with another 13-0 spurt to push the margin to 61-30 on Larry Wideman’s free throw with 11:44 remaining. The Paladins extended the run to 18-2 to claim a 66-32 advantage when Croone drained a pair of attempts from the foul line with 10:45 left.
Furman shot 46.6 percent for the game and limited the Yellow Jackets to 25.8 percent shooting from the field. The Paladins fashioned a 49-36 edge in rebounding that led to a 32-14 scoring edge in the paint. Croone registered four assists and three steals as the Paladins posted 19 assists and a season-high 12 steals.
A native of Covington, Ga., Croone hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 free throws for his game-high 20 points. Geoff Beans connected on 4-of-8 threes to tally 12 points, while Kendrec Ferrara came off of the bench to total 10 points and nine rebounds. Kris Acox contributed nine points and nine rebounds with Daniel Fowler adding eight points and eight boards.
T.K. Hayes scored a career-best six points to go with two assists in just three minutes of action, while Gene Langan added four rebounds.
Johnny Ellis netted 13 points to lead Allen and Emaray Johnson reached double digits with 11 points. The Yellow Jackets made 7-of-26 shots from behind the arc.