Saturday, Feb. 28 marked the conclusion of the regular season.  For tournament seeding and matchups, click here.

 

Western Carolina 67, The Citadel 54

CHARLESTON, S.C. – After suffering their worst shooting performance of the season Thursday night at Furman, the Western Carolina men’s basketball team responded with their best shooting performance of the season Saturday at The Citadel in a 67-54 victory.

Four Catamounts reached double-figures in the game as WCU shot 58.7 percent from the field in the game including 60.9 percent in the opening half. Senior James Sinclair led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Juniors Mike Brown and Justin Browning each added 13 points. Brown added four rebounds and four assists while Browning had three rebounds and two steals. The final Catamount in double-figures was junior Torrion Brummitt who had 10 points and five rebounds in the game.

The Bulldogs never led in the game as the Catamounts held The Citadel, who came into the game with a SoCon leading 45.9 shooting percentage, to 35.6 percent shooting in the game. WCU dominated the paint, out-scoring the Bulldogs 34-6 inside while out-rebounding them 29-25.

Mike Brown hit the opening jumper of the game to give WCU a quick 2-0 lead. The Citadel tied the game at two on their next possession and that would be the only time the entire game that the Bulldogs would not trail.

The Catamounts would score on their opening five possessions which caused The Citadel to burn an early timeout. The Catamounts eventually extended their lead to 12 with 5:46 left in the first half on a layup by Browning. The Citadel was able to cut the lead to eight late in the opening stanza but that would be as close as they would get as the Catamounts took a 34-25 lead into the locker room. 

In the second half the Catamounts led by double-digits almost the entire way. The Catamounts largest lead was 16 which happened on four separate occasions. A 3-pointer by The Citadel with less than five seconds left on the clock cut the Catamounts final 16-point lead to 13 as WCU went on to win, 67-54. 

Samford 80, VMI 69

LEXINGTON, Va. - Brian Brown had 17 points in his final home game, but the Samford Bulldogs turned back a VMI rally with a 9-2 run late in the second half and went on to a victory, 80-69, over the Keydets in Southern Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Cameron Hall in Lexington, Va.

In Saturday's game, Samford (13-18, 6-12 SoCon) had led by as many as 14 in the first half, and still led by 12 with 11:53 to play. VMI mounted a fierce rally, posting a 12-0 run that tied the game, 52-52, with 8:58 to go. Moments later, however, Samford used a 9-2 run of its own, including two three-pointers by Tyler Hood, to go ahead by eight and VMI (11-18, 7-11) got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Christen Cunningham of Samford led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, while Hood had 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Brown and Eleby had 17 points apiece to pace the Keydets, but VMI had 22 turnovers in the contest, just two days after having just seven miscues in a double overtime loss to Chattanooga. VMI did outscore Samford, 40-20, in bench points on the afternoon.

There were eight ties and five lead changes early, and after Julian Eleby converted a three-point play with 8:50 left in the half, Samford (13-18, 6-12 SoCon) led 24-22. The Keydets would not score another field goal for nearly seven minutes, as Samford scored 12 of the game's next 13 points to take a 14-point lead. The Bulldogs would lead by 12 at halftime, helped by VMI shooting just 1 for 12 from three-point range.

It was more of the same early in the second half, as Cunningham scored 10 points in the first 5:56 of the period to help the visitors maintain their 12-point edge. An Eleby three started VMI's answer, a 12-0 run that saw the Keydets score 10 of those points in just 1:09, and Trey Chapman scored with 8:58 left to tie the game, 52-all.

Samford scored the next four points, but a Tim Marshall three made it 56-55, Bulldogs, and set the stage for the game-turning 9-2 run, fueled by Hood's three-point shooting. The Samford forward also scored seven points in the game's final 2:47, helping quell any chance for a Keydet rally as the Bulldogs salvaged a season split in the series between the teams.

For the game, VMI finished shooting 26-of-55 overall and 7-of-27 from three-point range. The Keydets, however, were just 10-of-20 at the foul line, where Samford went 13-of-18. The Bulldogs were 30-of-59 overall and 7-of-17 from three-point range.

 

Mercer 69, ETSU 64

MACON, Ga. – For the second game in a row, the ETSU men’s basketball team had to watch an opposing player hit a game-winning shot in the fleeting moments of regulation.

With Saturday’s game against Mercer tied at 64, the Bears Jibri Bryan sank a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and the Buccaneers were unable to get a good shot off on their final possession, as ETSU dropped a 69-64 loss to the Bears in Southern Conference basketball play at the University Center.

With the regular season now at a close, the Bucs (16-13 overall, 8-10 SoCon) will begin preparations for the Southern Conference Tournament, which will be played next weekend in Asheville, N.C.

ETSU finished the game hitting 12 3-pointers and getting a game-high 24 points from senior guard Jalen Riley, while junior forward Lester Wilson netted 18 points after collecting 17 in the first half on five made 3-pointers. Mercer had five players reach double figures led by senior Darious Moten’s 16 points.

Following Bryan’s game-winning shot, the Bucs did have a possession in the final seconds, but Riley took an off-balanced 3-point attempt. While ETSU’s A.J. Merriweather grabbed the offensive rebound, he lost control of the ball to Mercer. The Bears’ Ike Nwamu was then fouled with .9 seconds left and hit two free throws to ice the win.

In the first half, the Bucs were deadly from 3-point range, hitting eight threes before the break and shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc. Those numbers helped the Bucs build a lead of as many as 13 points at 27-14 with 8:19 left in the first half.

However, at that point Mercer used a 14-0 run to take its only lead of the half at 28-27, but Wilson and Riley regained the advantage for the Bucs with back-to-back 3-pointers that made it 33-28. ETSU ultimately led 38-34 at halftime thanks mainly to Wilson’s fifth 3-pointer of the first half, which closed out the team’s scoring with less than 30 seconds left before the intermission.

After the break, the Bucs hit a pair of early 3-pointers to lead by seven at 46-39, but Mercer responded with a 17-4 run to take its largest lead of the game at 56-50 with 6:48 left on the clock. ETSU answered that run with a 9-1 spurt of its own – powered by a pair of 3-pointers from Riley and three free throws from Rembert – taking the lead back at 59-57 with 3:51 remaining in regulation.

The game was back and forth at that point until Mercer had the ball with 21.4 seconds left on the game clock and eight left on the shot clock. Bears’ head coach Bob Hoffman called timeout to set a play, and ultimately Bryan found himself open from beyond the arc, hitting the shot with 16 seconds left.

For the game, ETSU held its own on the glass, only being out-rebounded 42-41. The Bucs shot just 32.8 percent from the floor but did shoot 35.3 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line. Mercer shot 40 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range.

Wofford 62, Furman 60

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Senior Lee Skinner scored a season-high 17 points and pulled in a game-high seven rebounds as the Wofford men’s basketball team held off a Furman rally to take the outright Southern Conference Regular Season Championship, 62-60, Saturday evening at Timmons Arena.

The Terriers conclude the regular season 25-6 overall and 16-2 in Southern Conference play. Wofford’s 25 regular season wins and 16 SoCon wins are both new school records, surpassing the 2009-10 team’s 23 wins and 15-3 league mark.

Furman certainly didn’t make Saturday’s win easy. The Paladins trailed by just a point at the half after shooting 56 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Wofford responded out of the locker room with an 18-6 run to take a 13-point lead, and was in front by eight after a Karl Cochran 3-pointer with 1:29 to go.

Back came the Paladins. Devin Sibley hit from three with the shot clock winding down and John Davis drained another triple on the next possession. It cut Wofford’s lead to three and, after fouling the Terriers over the next several possessions, Furman was within two with 30 seconds remaining.

A big call followed. C.J. Neumann drove the lane as Wofford was trying to avoid being fouled. The Terriers found the 6-foot-7 junior, who went up and was fouled hard by Geoff Beans. The officials ruled the foul intentional, giving Neumann two free throws and Wofford the ball. Neumann connected on both, got fouled again and went 1-of-2 the second time, pushing the Terriers back in front by five.

Sibley put up a 3-point attempt that was off the mark and Wofford went back to the line. It all but wrapped up the victory. A triple by John Davis at the buzzer made the final margin just two points.

Skinner led the Terriers with 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Maybe more importantly, he knocked down 9 of 10 at the foul line and finished with a game-high seven rebounds. Cochran joined his fellow senior in double figures with 11 points and added five boards. Junior Spencer Collins had nine points and Neumann had seven to go with five boards.

For Furman, freshman John Davis scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from long range. He averaged just 3.0 points heading into the game and blew away his previous career-high of 14. Freshman Devin Sibley scored 15 and junior Kendrec Ferrara added 13.

Wofford was outshot 41 percent to Furman’s 50 percent. The Paladins were also 9-of-22 (41 percent) from three, while the Terriers missed their first seven before finishing the game 3 for 14 (21 percent). A big Terrier advantage was at the foul line, going 19-of-28 to Furman’s 5-of-12 showing. Both teams were dead even on the glass with 31 rebounds apiece.

 

Chattanooga 61, UNCG 58

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 61-58 loss to Southern Conference rival Chattanooga Saturday evening at the Greensboro Coliseum as Ronrico White hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer giving the Mocs the victory. 
 
The final play was reviewed by the officials to make a final ruling on the call, confirming their initial call of a good 3-pointer. The Mocs got the ball with 35.9 seconds remaining in the game and held for the final shot. White rose up and hit a 3-pointer as time expired for the game-winning shot with the referees ruling it was off before the shot clock had expired. 
 
Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White led the Spartans with 14 points off the bench as seven different players scored at least five points in the balanced scoring attack. White connected on 5-of-7 from the field and hit just 4-of-9 from the free throw line while grabbing eight rebounds. He was also strong on the defensive end posting four blocked shots and three steals in 24 minutes.
 
Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin added nine points and five steals, including the game-tying free throws with 35.9 seconds remaining. Sophomore Tevon Saddler finished with seven points, seven rebounds and five assists as he continued his all-around play.
 
UNCG (10-21, 6-12) saw its two-game winning streak come to an end as the Spartans connected on 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the field and hit 3-of-9 from distance. The Spartans were off from the free throw line in the loss, hitting just 48.1 percent (13-of-27), including just 8-of-19 in the second half.
 
Senior guard Nicholas Paulos played in his final game at the Greensboro Coliseum and finished with seven points. Paulos was playing in his 123rd career game for the Spartans, the second-most all-time in program history. He and fellow senior Jamal Mitchell were recognized pregame with senior day festivities.
 
Chattanooga (22-8, 15-3) finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament and has a bye in the first round. The Mocs connected on 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field, 6-of-18 from 3-point land and 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the free throw line. White finished with 15 points off the bench while Casey Jones added 12 points and nine rebounds in the victory.
 
The teams traded baskets in the early going with the game tied at 13-13 with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half. The Spartans had the game’s first run, scoring eight straight points to take a 21-13 lead. Junior guard Asad Lamot came off the bench and scored five straight points to ignite the offense, including the game’s first 3-pointer.
 
Chattanooga answered back with seven straight points to narrow the gap to 25-23. Casey Jones was the spark for the Mocs, scoring four points in the run. The teams traded free throws in the final two minutes as the Spartans carried a 27-25 lead into the locker room.
 
UNCG came out of the break and scored the first six points off the game as Saddler converted an old-fashioned 3-point play while freshman Marvin Smith hit a 3-pointer. The Spartans maintained their seven-point lead before scoring five straight to take their largest lead of the game at 41-29. White started the spurt with a 3-point play before junior Kayel Locke added a basket off an offensive rebound.
 
The Mocs battled right back and posted a 13-2 run to narrow the gap to 43-42 with 12:18 remaining. Eric Robertson gave Chattanooga a lift as he hit a pair of 3-pointers before White hit a long-range shot to make it a one possession game. The Mocs took their first lead of the second half as Jones hit a pair of free throws and extended their lead to five at 53-48 with 6:19 remaining.
 
The Spartans chipped away at the deficit and took a 55-53 lead by scoring seven straight points. Baldwin scored four points in the run and his defensive play led to the go ahead basket by Paulos with 2:18 remaining.
 
The Mocs too a 56-55 lead with 1:15 left as White hit two free throws before the Spartans’ White scored in the paint with 1:04 remaining for a 57-56 lead. Ronrico answered back hitting a pull up jumper with 54 seconds left for the one-point lead. Baldwin was fouled and hit the first free throw to tie the game but the second was off the mark setting the stage for the game’s final play.
 
Locke finished the game with eight points and six rebounds in 28 minutes of play while Smith chipped in the same stat line with eight points and six assists in 33 minutes of action. Lamot rounded out the Spartans’ scoring with five points in 17 minutes as UNCG was limited to just seven players due to injuries.