VMI 113, Western Carolina 111 (2OT)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Senior James Sinclair of the Western Carolina men’s basketball team saved his best performance for his final game inside the Ramsey Center as he scored a career-high 40 points as the Catamounts fell to the VMI Keydets 113-111 in double overtime Saturday afternoon. Sinclair had 40 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals in the game and according to ESPN’s stat researchers he is the first Division-I player to have at least 40 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game this season.
VMI’s Julian Eleby went shot-for-shot with Sinclair and finished with 43 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Eleby scored 17 of his 43 points in the two overtime periods. Eleby and Sinclair are the only two players in the Southern Conference to score over 33 points in a game this season.
Sinclair led a group of five Catamounts who scored in double-figures. Junior Torrion Brummitt also had a career day as he scored 31 points while grabbing eight rebounds. He was 11-15 from the field and 9-13 at the free throw line. His previous career-high was 17 points which he had achieved on two occasions.
Junior Mike Brown added 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists while junior Rhett Harrelson scored 11 points while dishing out four assists. The final double-digit scorer was junior Justin Browning who had 10 points and nine rebounds in the game. Browning, Brummitt and Sinclair were the only three Catamounts to play over 40 minutes in the game while VMI had two players go over the full 40 minutes.
The loss drops the Catamounts’ record to 13-15 overall and 8-8 in Southern Conference play. VMI improved to 11-16 overall and 7-10 in SoCon action.
WCU shot 50.6 percent from the field compared to VMI’s 45.9 percent, the Catamounts out-rebounded the Keydets 46-40 and won the turnover battled 18-17 but it was not enough to overcome VMI’s 20 3-pointers in the game.
The Catamounts controlled the interior, out-scoring VMI 60-26 in the paint but the Keydets out-scored WCU 60-21 from 3-point range. VMI was also able to take advantage of WCU’s mistakes as the Keydets won the points off turnover battle 27-10 despite having one more turnover than the Catamounts.
Trailing 46-39 at the half, WCU was able to tie the game and take the lead on old-fashioned 3-point play with 13:31 left in the game. Brummitt was able power his way through a VMI foul as he dunked the ball and made the ensuing free throw to give WCU a 58-57 lead. VMI quickly responded and eventually built up an eight point lead with 9:04 to play.
The Keydets held onto the lead until a 7-0 run powered by Sinclair and Brown put the Catamounts back on top with 1:19 left in regulation. Sinclair buried a jumper then Brown sank a 3-pointer after VMI missed on the offensive end. The final basket of the run came off a Brummitt block. Sinclair collected the rebound and drove the lane where he sank a fastbreak jumper to give WCU an 84-83 lead.
VMI’s Eleby nailed a 3-pointer with 23 ticks on the clock to give VMI a two-point advantage. After a VMI timeout, Sinclair missed a jumper which would have tied the game and Eleby collected the rebound. Brown quickly fouled Eleby as eight seconds remained on the clock. Eleby missed the front end of a one-and-one and Browning collected the rebound and found Harrelson. Harrelson brought the ball up the court and fed it to Brummitt who hit a spinning layup to tie the game at 86 with three seconds left on the clock. Eleby was able to get off a last second 3-pointer but it was off the mark as the two teams headed to overtime.
VMI won the jump ball but missed its opening shot. Harrelson was able to drive to the basket and get fouled as he made an acrobatic shot. He knocked down the free throw to give WCU an early three-point lead. The Catamounts eventually extended their lead to five on a Peterson layup with 21 seconds left in the first overtime period. Eleby answered with a 3-pointer on VMI’s offensive end with 11 seconds left to cut the lead to two. VMI fouled Peterson on the in-bound and the freshman was able to knock down one of the two free throws to put the Catamounts ahead by three. With three seconds remaining, Peterson went for a steal on Eleby and was called for the foul. The officials determined Eleby was in the act of shooting a 3-pointer which sent the sophomore to the line for three free throws and a chance to tie the game. Eleby nailed all three shots and a halfcourt heave by Harrelson was off the mark as the two teams headed into a second overtime period.
The second overtime started much like the first as Peterson was able to convert a monster and-one dunk to give WCU an early 102-99 lead. Eleby quickly ended that momentum as he hit a 3-pointer to tie the game back up on VMI’s first possession. WCU missed three layups on their next possession and sent VMI to the free throw line with a foul. The Keydets sank a pair of free throws to take their first lead of the period. After a WCU turnover, VMI’s Brian Brown nailed a 3-pointer to give the Keydets a five-point advantage.
The Keydets would hold the lead until Brummitt converted on another old-fashioned 3-point play with 1:59 left in the second overtime that tied the game at 108. The 3-point play was the start of a 6-2 run by Brummitt which gave the Catamounts a 111-110 lead with 32 seconds left. Eleby was fouled with 12 seconds remaining and knocked down two free throws to swing the one-point advantage back to VMI’s side. WCU had one final possession and was unable to get a clean look as Browning tossed up a shot as he was falling that missed the mark and VMI was able to control the rebound with 0.4 seconds left. WCU committed the foul and VMI made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second to end the game, 113-111.
Eleby led the Keydets with 43 points, Tim Marshall added 18 points while Jordan Weethee had 15.
Wofford 78 The Citadel 52
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Spencer Collins scored 15 while Lee Skinner and Karl Cochran added 13 points each as Wofford posted a 78-52 victory over The Citadel on Senior Night at Benjamin Johnson Arena on Saturday evening.
The Terriers (23-6, 14-2 SoCon) were efficient throughout the night on offense as they hit 31-of-55 from the floor and 6-of 19 from 3-point range. Wofford also added 10-of-12 at the free throw line as it moved to 8-1 at home on the season.
Collins led the Terriers by virtue of hitting 5-of-8 from the floor, knocking down two treys along the way. Meanwhile, Skinner finished 6-of-7 from the field, to go along with seven rebounds, and Cochran capped off the game hitting 6-of-13 from the floor and snagging a game-high nine boards.
Jaylen Allen came off the bench to finish with 10 points, knocking down three field goals, and forced a game-high three steals.
Facing a 15-point deficit coming into the second half, The Citadel (10-17, 5-11 SoCon) remained within striking distance with five points by Ashton Moore and four from P.J. Horgan to make for a 45-31 contest with 12:59 left.
Wofford countered with a 19-9 outburst that took 7:39 off the clock and included five points from Collins.
Leading 64-40, Wofford surrendered a jumper to Brian White and free throws to Marshall Harris III and Tim Broom before closing out the game by scoring 13 of the final 21 points to make for a 26-point win.
White led The Citadel in scoring for the second time this season closing out the game with 19 points (8-11) and pulled down five rebounds (two offensive). He was joined in double figures by Ashton Moore who finished with 12 points due in large part to 5-of-6 shooting at the free throw line.
Horgan added five points and tied White with five rebounds as The Citadel struggled throughout the game, hitting 18-of-43 from the floor. The biggest issue came from 3-point range where the Dogs hit only 3-of-12.
Wofford's surgically precise offense finished with a 46-18 advantage in points in the paint and a 32-10 edge in bench points.
The Bulldogs endured one of their most difficult shooting performances of the first half all season as they converted only 6-of-18 from the floor.
White led The Citadel in scoring with eight points, knocking down 3-of-5 from the field.
Wofford streaked out to an early 8-2 advantage, but a 3-pointer by Wright coupled with a series of free throws by White allowed The Citadel to pull within one.
After a 10-all tie, following a jumper by Bray, Wofford put together a 20-6 run that took 8:31 off the clock to forge in front 30-16. The Terriers were led in the stretch by the combination of Collins and Allen who contributed seven and six points, respectively.
The Dogs closed out the half by scoring four of the final nine points, including a 15-foot jumper by White, to trail by 15 points at the break..
Chattanooga 67, ETSU 59
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Shooting just over 13 percent for the first 16 minutes of the second half, the ETSU men’s basketball team relinquished an eight-point halftime lead and ultimately fell to Chattanooga 67-59 in Southern Conference play Saturday night inside McKenzie Arena.
With the loss, the Bucs dropped to 16-11 overall and 8-8 in SoCon play, and are now out of the running for third place in the league standings with Mercer’s win at Samford. Meanwhile, Chattanooga improves to 20-9, 13-3, and remains one game back of Wofford for the top spot in the SoCon.
Senior guard Jalen Riley led ETSU with a game-high 31 points and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career on a 3-pointer with just 32 seconds left in the game, becoming the second ETSU transfer player to reach 1,000 points. Former Buc great Kevin Tiggs was the first to accomplish that feat from 2007-2009.
Unfortunately for the Bucs, Riley did not get much help in the scoring column. Sophomore guard A.J. Merriweather was the only other Buccaneer player to reach double figures with 12 points and finished with a double-double thanks to 10 rebounds. However, senior guard Rashawn Rembert and junior forward Lester Wilson combined to score just two points, as Rembert was playing in the game despite struggling with an illness over the last several days.
Riley looked ready to play from the outset, scoring 11 of ETSU’s first 17 points as the Bucs built a 17-11 advantage over the first eight minutes of game action. Later on – with the score 21-14 – ETSU went on a four-minute offensive drought and the Mocs capitalized, going on an 8-0 run to take a 22-21 lead thanks to a pair of free throws by Ronrico White with 4:05 left in the first half.
Fortunately for the Bucs, a 3-pointer by freshman guard Desonta Bradford finally ignited the Bucs’ offense, which finished the half on a 9-0 run to take a 30-22 lead into the locker room.
Despite the solid first half, the second half was an offensive disaster for the Bucs. Scoring just 12 points over the first 16 minutes of game play after the break, ETSU looked on as Chattanooga took a 52-42 lead and never looked back.
For the game, ETSU shot just 30 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3-point range. Lost in the effort was the Bucs’ defensive play, as UTC shot just 39 percent from the floor and committed 19 turnovers.
UTC was led by White’s team-high 20 points, while teammates Casey Jones and Greg Pryor scored 17 and 11 points, respectively. The Mocs also got a game-high 12 rebounds from Justin Tuoyo.
Mercer 62, Samford 61
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mercer men’s basketball team found itself trailing for the first time Saturday with 26.2 seconds remaining, but junior Phillip Leonard drove for a go-ahead layup and senior Darious Moten blocked Samford’s Tyler Hood at the buzzer to preserve a 62-61 victory at the Pete Hanna Center.
Mercer’s fifth Southern Conference road win lifted the team to 16-13 (11-5 SoCon) while Samford lost its second straight and fell to 12-17 (5-11 SoCon).
The Bears jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first half and maintained a sizeable advantage until the Bulldogs rallied to cut their deficit to one 11:29 to play. Mercer managed to stay in front, thwarting four Samford chances to take the lead down the stretch.
The Bulldogs finally converted an opportunity to go ahead with 26.2 seconds to go, as a Marcus Johnson dished to Tyler Hood for a 61-60 Samford lead. Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman called a timeout and drew up a play for Leonard, who benefitted from a seal underneath by big man T.J. Hallice that allowed him to get to the rim with 6.2 seconds on the clock for the eventual game winner.
On the other end, Samford had a great chance to steal it back as a baseline drive left Hood open for a point-blank shot. Moten rushed to help and elevated for a game-saving block as time expired.
Moten got it done offensively, as well, scoring a game-high 15 points to go along with eight rebounds. Junior Jibri Bryan reached double figures for the fifth consecutive time, scoring all 10 of his points in the first half.
Leonard, who was limited to 20 minutes of action due to foul trouble, finished with eight points and three rebounds. Junior Jestin Lewis chipped in eight points off the bench, while Hallice filled the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Bryan got Mercer going at the outset, drilling two 3’s before the first media timeout to help the Bears mount an 8-4 lead. The Bulldogs closed to within one at 8-7 before an Ike Nwamu trey and a Hallice reserve layup pushed the margin back to five.
The buckets marked the start of a 13-0 run that saw the Bears hold the Bulldogs without a point for over six minutes of game time. The stretch was capped by a Leonard put-back layup that established the 21-7 advantage.
The Bulldogs cut their deficit to 10 by halftime, and scored nine unanswered in the second half to make it 46-45 with 11:29 on the clock.