UNCG 79, The Citadel 63
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team picked up its second-straight Southern Conference road win Saturday afternoon as the Spartans pulled away from The Citadel 79-63 at McAlister Field House. The Spartans closed the game on a 38-18 run, holding the Bulldogs to only four field goals over the final 16:31 of the game.
Junior forward Kayel Locke became the 20th player in UNCG basketball history to reach the 1,000-career point mark during the victory as five different Spartans scored nine or more points. Locke reached the mark with 5:44 left in the second half as he converted an old-fashioned 3-point play during the Spartans’ decisive run. He has scored 1,001 career points in his first three seasons, playing in his 88th career game Saturday and his 73rd career start.
Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin led four in double figures in the victory with a game-high 17 points, while also dishing out a game-high eight assists. Baldwin scored 14 of his points in the second half as he was 5-of-13 from the field and hit all five of his free throws. Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White added 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes of action. White connected on 7-of-10 from the field in the victory as UNCG out-scored the Bulldogs 30-14 in the paint.
Sophomore guard Tevon Saddler added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists while battling foul trouble. Senior guard Nicholas Paulos added 14 points as he was 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from long range.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 56.6 percent (30-of-53) from the field and 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from 3-point land in the victory. UNCG also won the rebounding battle by a 32-30 margin and out-scored The Citadel 43-26 in the second half.
The Spartans held the Bulldogs to 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from the field and 89.4 percent (5-of-17) from long range. Ashton Moore led The Citadel with a game-high 32 points, 20 in the first half, on 7-of-17 shooting from the field and 15-of-16 from the free throw line.
The Spartans opened up to an early 7-2 lead as Saddler scored the first four points of the game and Baldwin hit a 3-pointer. The Spartans kept attacking and forced The Citadel into a timeout when they took a 19-12 lead just over eight minutes into the game.
White came off the bench and provided a spark with four straight points while Paulos nailed a 3-pointer. The Spartans held a 24-16 lead with 7:35 left as White continued to dominate in the paint with nine points in the early going.
The Citadel posted an 11-5 run to narrow the gap to 29-27 as Ashton Moore got going and the Bulldogs took advantage of UNCG foul trouble by converting at the free throw line. The Citadel took its first lead at 35-33 and went into the locker room with a 37-36 lead despite the Spartans holding the lead for 16:46 of the half. UNCG was called for 12 fouls in the first half and had five different players with at least two fouls. The Citadel took advantage, converting 10-of-12 from the charity stripe (83.3%), including 10-of-10 from Moore.
UNCG connected on 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field and 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from long range in the opening half. White led the way with 11 points as UNCG out-scored The Citadel 16-2 in the paint while Saddler added seven points and Locke chipped in six points. The Citadel hit 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from the field and did its damage at the free throw line. Moore led the way with 20 points in 20 minutes as he was 4-of-6 from the field to go along with his perfect half at the line.
After Baldwin hit a 3-pointer to open the second half scoring, the Bulldogs scored six straight points to take a 43-39 lead. Jake Wright hit a 3-pointer from the wing while Brian White converted an old-fashioned 3-point play.
The Spartans answered back with 10 unanswered points to take a 51-45 lead. Saddler and Paulos started the run hitting jumpers on consecutive possessions before Paulos and sophomore Clay Byrd hit consecutive 3-pointers.
After The Citadel hit a pair of free throws, Paulos hit another 3-pointer as the Spartans turned their 10-0 spurt into a 21-5 run to take a 62-50 lead. Paulos scored eight points during the run while Saddler added six points as UNCG turned a four-point deficit into a 12-point lead over a 9:15 stretch of the second half.
The Citadel tried to make a run as it scored five straight points off of Moore’s play to pull within nine at 58-67. UNCG ended any doubt in the game with a 14-3 run to take a 79-61 lead. Baldwin slammed the door shut on the Bulldogs with seven points during the stretch while Paulos had the dagger with his fourth 3-pointer.
Wofford 65, VMI 62
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford became the 13th team in Division I basketball to reach the 20-win plateau, surviving a furious rally from VMI to escape with the victory, 65-62, Saturday afternoon inside Cameron Hall.
The Terriers led by as many as 20 in the second half and still held a 14-point lead with 8:57 to play. VMI went on a 16-2 run and tied the game at 60 on a 3-pointer from Brian Brown with 1:15 remaining.
The Keydets never took the lead. After junior Spencer Collins put the Terriers back on top, senior Karl Cochran came up with the play of the game. He stole a pass from Julian Eleby and went down the floor all alone for the finger roll, pushing Wofford back in front by three.
Eleby turned the ball over again on VMI’s next possession and the Keydets fouled junior C.J. Neumann. A 62-percent free throw shooter, Neumann stepped up knocked down both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it a two-possession game and seal the win.
Neumann’s clutch free throws helped Wofford (20-5, 11-1 SoCon) earn it seventh straight win and 11th in the last 12 games. It also earned the Terriers’ their fourth 20-win season of the Division I era and 12th in program history. All three times Wofford has won 20 games as a member of the Southern Conference, the Terriers have gone on to win the tournament crown.
Not to get lost in the victory was some history for Cochran, who had four steals to tie Drew Gibson for the program’s Division I career record. Gibson, who currently serves as the team’s Director of Basketball Operations, had 213 in his career. He and Cochran now rank No. 3 all-time.
Cochran also had a good game everywhere else, securing his third double-double of the season. The senior guard scored a game-high 18 points and to go with 12 rebounds, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-5 from three. He hit six of his first nine shots and had 14 of the team’s first 24 points.
Collins had 10 points to mark his ninth straight game in double figures. Senior Lee Skinner had nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Jaylen Allen earned a season-high three steals.
For VMI, Brian Brown scored a team-high 14 points, followed by Jordan Weethee with 11. Phillip Anglade, who scored 22 points and had seven blocks in the meeting between the two teams on January 8, finished with nine points, nine boards and four rejections.
The Terriers finished the afternoon shooting 41 percent, but almost gave it away with a 31-percent second half. Fortunately, they built an 18-point halftime lead by shooting 16-of-32 in the opening 20 minutes. A 12-4 run to close the half put Wofford in ahead 42-24.
VMI was just as bad from the field in the first half as Wofford was in the second. Both teams swapped 8-for-26 marks.
Wofford did not hit a three in the second half (0-5), but the long-range shots were falling for the Keydets. After taking just seven attempts in the first half and making three, the NCAA leaders in 3-pointers made and taken turned up the heat, going 7-for-17 in the second half to spark a rally.
VMI’s seven second-half threes accounted for over half of its second-half points. Weethee and Tim Marshall started the onslaught, helping to chop Wofford’s 20-point lead to 10 in a matter of five minutes.
The Terriers built it back up to as many as 14. Two good free throws by freshman Derrick Brooks put Wofford ahead 58-44 with 8:57 left.
The Keydets outscored the Terriers 18-7 the rest of the way, hitting a trio of 3-pointers. It would not be enough; however, as Wofford joined the ranks of the nation’s 20-win teams.
Samford 71, ETSU 68
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Samford University basketball team extended its winning streak to five-consecutive games Saturday as the Bulldogs rallied past the ETSU Buccaneers in a thrilling 71-68 triumph held at Freedom Hall.
With the victory, Samford (12-14, 5-8 SoCon) earned its first five-game winning streak since the 2005-06 season when the Bulldogs were members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Samford’s current winning streak includes triumphs against UNCG, Western Carolina twice, Furman and ETSU (13-10, 6-7 SoCon). Nine years ago, the Bulldogs’ six-game streak included victories over Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Murray State, UT Martin, Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.
On Saturday, Samford also defeated ETSU for the first time in school history and earned its first two-game road winning streak since January of 2013 when the Bulldogs defeated both College of Charleston and The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.
Junior Marcus Johnson proved to be the hero for Samford on Saturday as the Bulldogs’ native of Washington, D.C., drained the game-winning 3-pointer with just four seconds remaining in the game. Johnson’s key basket from the right flank gave Samford’s its momentous 71-68 victory.
On the Bulldogs’ final possession, Christen Cunningham gathered the ball at the top of the key with approximately 10 seconds remaining in the game.
Cunningham, Samford’s talented 6-foot-2 point guard, took a few dribbles and then darted down the right side of the lane drawing a pair of defenders. Once he started to meet resistance, Cunningham neatly kicked out a pass to the right side where Johnson was waiting with a wide-open shot.
Johnson perfectly collected the ball, stepped right into the shot and drained it, nothing but net.
Johnson finished Saturday’s contest with 12 points, all of which occurred in the second half and came off 3-point baskets. After going 0-for-2 from long range in the opening period, Johnson closed out the contest 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Samford used a 14-0 run in the first half and garnered a nine-point lead, 29-20, with 6:35 left to play in the opening period. ETSU would battle back late in the half as the teams were knotted at 34-34 heading into the locker rooms.
Early in the second period, the Buccaneers used an 18-2 run and saw the momentum switch back to the homestanding ETSU squad.
Despite trailing 55-43 with 13:21 left in the game, Samford started to chip away at the Buccaneers’ lead and eventually trimmed the advantage to 60-56 following a pair of free throws from Cunningham at 7:40.
In the last few minutes of play, the Bulldogs received three 3-point baskets from Johnson, a key 3 from Tyler Hood, as well as three free throws from Darius Jones-Gibson.
Jones-Gibson led Samford’s well-balanced attack with 13 points and six rebounds, while finishing 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. It was his free throw that evened the score at 68-68 with 40 seconds left to play.
The Bulldogs finished with five players scoring in double figures for the third time this season.
Following Jones-Gibson’s 13, Johnson tallied 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Additionally, Hood, Cunningham and Evan Taylor all finished with 11 points apiece. Nnamdi Enechionyia also chipped in with six, while Michael Bradley added four points, five rebounds, a steal and an assist.
Samford outscored ETSU, 22-8, down the stretch and out-rebounded the Buccaneers, 35-25, including a 9-3 marking on the offensive end of the court.
Winners of five straight, the Bulldogs now find themselves in sixth place in the SoCon standings. The top six teams will receive a first-round bye in the upcoming SoCon Tournament.
Mercer 74, Furman 68
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mercer men’s basketball seniors T.J. Hallice and Darious Moten combined for 36 points and 16 rebounds to fuel a come-from-behind 74-68 victory at Furman on Saturday.
Hallice finished with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double while Moten tied for the team scoring lead with 19 points. Juniors Ike Nwamu and Jibri Bryan netted 19 and 16 points, respectively.
Mercer won its second-straight Southern Conference road game and improved to 14-11 (9-3 SoCon). The Paladins lost their third-straight and fell to 7-16 (4-8 SoCon).
Furman owned a 36-31 lead at intermission, but Mercer exploded for a 10-2 run out of the break to erase the deficit by the 16:16 juncture. Moten and Hallice were the catalysts of the charge, scoring eight of the 10 points to earn Mercer’s first tie in over 14 minutes.
After a cutting Bryan layup knotted the game at 41, Nwamu squared up for a wing 3 with 15:19 to go that gave the Bears a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The game stayed tight until the 5:44 mark, when Nwamu drilled another trey that gave the Bears a 62-55 advantage.
Mercer pushed the margin to nine inside the final media timeout, but the Paladins continued to fight and pulled within four on a Stephen Croone free throw with 35 seconds left. Croone misfired on the second of two attempts, and Moten grabbed the rebound and threw it ahead to Hallice for a game-sealing dunk.
Hallice’s double-double was the first of his career and also featured four assists and two rebounds. Moten’s 19 points were earned on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
Nwamu was 4-of-8 from downtown and 5-of-6 at the free throw stripe. Bryan scored all 10 of his points in the second half and also totaled four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Mercer forced Furman into 12 turnovers and converted those miscues into 17 points. On the other hand, the Bears collected a season-high 20 assists with only six turnovers.
In the first half, Paladin fans were ignited when a block led to a fast-break 3, sparking an overall 9-2 run that put Furman up 19-13. The lead grew to 11 before the Bears outscored the Paladins 13-5 down the stretch to trim the margin to five at the break.
Western Carolina 73, Chattanooga 70
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Coming off a heartbreaking loss to Samford on Thursday, the Western Carolina men’s basketball team had little time to dwell on one that got away as they faced the second-ranked team in the Southern Conference Saturday afternoon. Chattanooga had beaten Western Carolina by six earlier this season in Tennessee and the Catamounts were determined to not let that happen again. WCU never trailed in the game but the win would not come easily as a jumper by senior James Sinclair with just over 35 seconds left in the game broke a 70-70 tie and eventually proved to be the game-winner.
Sinclair finished with a game-high 21 points. He also tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Junior Mike Brown added 16 points and nine boards while junior Torrion Brummitt finished with 14 points, two rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Brummitt was 6-8 from the field and 2-4 at the free throw line.
The Catamounts improved their record to 12-13 overall and 7-6 in Southern Conference play. The Mocs dropped to 16-9 overall and 9-3 in conference action.
WCU held Chattanooga to 29.6 percent shooting in the first half as the Catamounts built up a 14-point lead at the break. The Mocs struggled from all parts of the court as they shot just 23.1 percent from three in the period and 54.5 percent from the free throw line.
The second half saw the Mocs improve their shooting to 55.6 percent including 40.0 percent from three. They also shot 68.8 percent from the free throw line. The Catamounts were able to hang on as they never allowed the Mocs to take the lead despite the score being tied late.
Chattanooga slowly worked its way back into the game in the second half eventually cutting the Catamount lead to one with 6:42 to play on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Greg Pryor. Junior Justin Browning was able to draw a foul on the next possession and knocked down a pair of free throws to push WCU’s lead back to three.
After Chattanooga missed a 3-pointer for the tie, the Mocs were able to get the offensive board but they quickly turned it over when junior Rhett Harrelson stole the ball. Harrelson would race down the court and hit a 3-pointer that was originally ruled a two and push the Catamount lead to six. Chattanooga came up empty on the offensive end and Brown tried to bury the Mocs with a 3-pointer but the shot was off the mark and Sinclair collected the offensive board. Sinclair was fouled and connected on one of two free throws to push the lead to seven with 5:29 to play.
The lead would remain around the seven-point mark until a 7-0 run by the Mocs would tie the game at 70 with 1:53 left on the clock. The Catamounts turned the ball over on their next possession but the Mocs missed a three that would have given them the lead and Brown collected the rebound. The Catamounts ran down the shot clock and left the ball in Sinclair’s hands. Sinclair dribbled into the lane before turning and launching a shot that gave WCU back the lead with 35.5 seconds remaining.
Chattanooga eventually called timeout with seven seconds left to set-up one final play. The Mocs found Eric Robertson at the top of the key but three feet beyond the 3-point arc. His shot did not hit anything and landed out of bounds with five second left. WCU inbounded the ball into senior Kenneth Hall who was immediately fouled. Hall hit one of two free throws and Chattanooga’s desperation three was off the mark.