The Citadel 62, Furman 56 (OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Citadel held Furman to 37.7 percent shooting and Ashton Moore totaled 20 points as the Bulldogs escaped Timmons Arena with a 62-56 overtime victory over the Paladins in Southern Conference men’s basketball action on Thursday night.
Furman’s Stephen Croone hit a driving layup with 25.5 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, but The Citadel scored the first seven points of the extra period to hold off the Paladins and improve to 10-16 overall and 5-10 in the SoCon. With The Citadel leading 48-46, Croone split two defenders to bank in a layup and draw a foul. Croone’s potential go-ahead free throw attempt missed and the Bulldogs failed on two attempts to grab the win in regulation.
In the overtime period, Furman missed the front end of a one-and-one on its first possession before Moore found P.J. Horgan for the go-ahead layup. Moore registered a steal and scored on a breakaway to up The Citadel lead to 52-48 and then drained a three on the Bulldogs’ next possession to up the margin to 55-48 with 2:43 left. The Citadel managed to connect on 5-of-8 free throws in the final 2:30 to secure the win and regular season split between the rivals.
Moore made 7-of-13 field goal attempts to finish with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, while Horgan buried 6-of-8 shots to add 15 points. The Citadel shot 56.8% from the floor and compiled a 31-26 edge on the glass.
Croone, who moved into 24th on Furman’s career scoring list, paced the Paladins with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Freshman Daniel Fowler added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Furman made just 20-of-53 field goal attempts, including only 8-of-28 beyond the arc. The Paladins were just 8-of-16 at the foul line.
The Paladins rallied from a five-point deficit early in the second half to claim a four-point lead after holding the Bulldogs without a field goal for over six minutes. The Citadel answered by holding Furman without a basket for over five minutes and the Bulldogs held a 46-42 lead with three minutes left in regulation. Furman held the visitors to just one basket during the rest of regulation to force overtime.
Chattanooga 74, Mercer 61
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---The Chattanooga Mocs broke open a close game in the second half to run away with a 74-61 win over visiting Mercer in front of a raucous crowd in McKenzie Arena. The win gets the Mocs to 19-9 for the season, 12-3 in the Southern Conference. The Bears drop to 15-13, 10-5 in the league.
Ronrico White started a 10-2 run with a three-pointer with 13:17 to play. That turned a one-point deficit into a 51-44 lead after he book-ended the spurt with another trey at 10:25.
Mercer responded with five straight points to get back within two, but White drained another three with just over eight minutes to go to stretch it to five. White hit three of his four treys and scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.
The Bears cut the Mocs margin to three twice, but they could not get defensive stops down the stretch. Phillip Leonard’s two free throws with 7:17 to play gave the hosts a 54-51 lead. Chattanooga scored on 10 of its final 11 possessions over the last six minutes beginning with Tuoyo’s layup off a great look from White.
A Greg Pryor three, a Tuoyo jumper and a nice Pryor mid-range basket over the Bears defense was followed by Casey Jones’ baseline shot on a nice feed from Pryor for a 65-57 advantage with 2:18 left. Mercer sent a parade of Mocs to the free throw line in last 1:33, and they were up to the task. The squad made nine for 10 including a perfect 8-8 for Pryor to net the 74-61 win.
Pryor had one of his best all-around games with 16 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists. The seven boards tied his career high. Tuoyo added 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks, while Eric Robertson came off the bench for 11 points.
Jibri Bryan led Mercer with 15 points. T.J. Hallice had 13 points and five rebounds, as Darious Moten and Phillip Leonard chipped 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Chattanooga shot 53.5 percent from the floor, while limiting the Bears to just 39.3 percent. Mercer started hot, but made 15 of their final 44 (.341). The Mocs out-rebounded their guests by 11, 38-27, but it was 22-9 in the pivotal second half.
Mercer got off to a quick start making their first four threes to lead by 11, 20-9, on Hallice’s layup at 12:48. The Mocs weathered the storm. Robertson sparked an 8-0 run with three free throws after getting fouled in the left corner. Chuck Ester nailed a three and Duke Ethridge had a tip in to turn a four-point deficit into a 33-29 lead.
Jordan Strawberry ended the three-and-a-half minute drought to start a 6-0 spurt. Down two now, Robertson drew another foul and his free tosses with 10 seconds to go leveled the score at 35-all at the break.
The game was played in front of the third-largest crowd of the season, 4,043.
Wofford 77, UNCG 62
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team held a 10-point halftime lead at Southern Conference leader Wofford Thursday night but the Terriers out-scored the Spartans 52-27 in the second half as UNCG dropped a 77-62 contest at the Benjamin Johnson Arena. Wofford closed the game on a 19-4 run over the final 3:39 of the contest after tying the game at 58-58.
The Spartans will close out the regular season with three straight home games, beginning Sunday afternoon as they host Furman. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum and will be televised on the American Sports Network.
Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White scored a team-high 16 points off the bench in 25 minutes of action. White was 5-of-10 from the field and hit 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Freshman forward Marvin Smith added 12 points on the strength of four first half 3-pointers while sophomore Tevon Saddler scored 13 points.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 46 percent (23-of-50) from the field and hit 6-of-15 from 3-point land in the loss. Wofford conversely connected on 46 percent (23-of-50) from the field and hit 8-of-18 from distance but went to the free throw line 29 times compared to just 13 attempts for the Spartans.
Karl Cochran led the way with 18 points, 16 in the second half, to lead the Terriers to a 22-6 overall record and a 13-2 mark in SoCon play. Lee Skinner chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds while Eric Garcia added 13 points.
The Spartans and Terriers traded points in the early going of the first half with UNCG taking a 16-15 lead just over eight minutes into the game as White scored in the paint. INCG extended its lead to 24-17 as it recorded an 8-2 run as Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers surrounding a White basket in the paint.
After Wofford narrowed the gap to 24-20 at the free throw line, the Spartans closed the half on an 11-5 run to take a 35-25 lead into the locker room. Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin and White scored four points each during the run while Smith hit his four 3-pointer of the first half to lift the Spartans to a double-digit lead.
The Spartans connected on 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the field in the first 20 minutes and hit 6-of-10 from 3-point land. Smith led the way with 12 points as he hit 4-of-5 from distance after entering the game hitting just seven 3-pointers in his first 15 career games. White added 10 points and the Spartans only committed two turnovers in the half while forcing Wofford into seven miscues, which they turned into 16 points off of miscues.
Wofford was held to 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) shooting from the field and 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from long range in the half but hit 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Lee Skinner led with six points while Jaylen Allen added four points. Karl Cochran only played 11 minutes in the half and finished with two points on just three shots from the field.
Wofford came out of the halftime break and posted an 11-2 run to pull within one at. 37-36. Cochran and Skinner scored all 11 of the Terriers first points in the second half and continued to score as Wofford took a 45-41 lead as Cochran hit another 3-pointer.
The Spartans kept battling and tied the game at 50-50 as junior forward Kayel Locke scored in the paint. The Terriers extended their lead to 57-52 before the Spartans posted a 6-1 run to tie the game at 58-58. White scored to start the run and Saddler drove down the lane to tie the game at 58-58.
Eric Garcia hit an open 3-pointer to give Wofford the lead back for good and Cochran gave the Terriers extra room hitting a 3-pointer for a 66-58 lead with 2:02 left. The Terriers sealed the game at the free throw line as they closed on a 19-4 run to post the 77-62 victory.