No. 1 ETSU, No. 7 UNCG advance to the SoCon semifinals

No. 1 ETSU, No. 7 UNCG advance to the SoCon semifinals

Bucs have strong second half in quarterfinal win; Spartans upset second-seeded Wofford Terriers

No. 1 ETSU 83, No. 9 The Citadel 76

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Top-seeded ETSU relied on hot shooting in the second half to break away from No. 9 seed The Citadel for an 83-76 victory in the opening quarterfinal game of the Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville on Saturday afternoon.

The Buccaneers, who held just a 36-32 lead after the opening half, shot 66.7 percent in the final 20 minutes on 16-of-24 shooting. ETSU finished at 56.4 percent for the game.

ETSU had a 77-61 lead with 1:19 remaining before The Citadel ended the game on a 15-6 run to bring the score back to within single digits.

Leading the way for the Bucs was redshirt sophomore forward Blake Barkley, who made 10-of-11 field-goal attempts on his way to a 24-point performance. Barkley dominated the paint throughout the game but also was perfect on three 3-point attempts for the Buccaneers.

The other ETSU players that finished in double figures were Jordan McCullum (13 points), Brian Taylor II (11) and Jaylen Smith (11).

Less than 24 hours after hitting a 3-point basket in the closing seconds to beat Chattanooga, Bulldogs forward Sola Adebisi made 10-of-15 field-goal attempts to lead The Citadel with 23 points. Braxton Williams added 19 points alongside Adebisi.

Taylor II scored six of his points late in the first half to spark a 9-2 run that enabled the Bucs to rally from a 30-27 deficit for a 36-32 lead by halftime.

Things to know:

- Adebisi finished the tournament with 49 points on 19-of-30 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-8 on 3-point attempts.

- In addition to scoring 11 points, ETSU's Taylor II led all players with seven assists.

- ETSU made 10-of-25 3-point attempts for 40 percent and shot a blistering 70 percent (21-of-30) from inside the arc.

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No. 7 UNCG 75, No. 2 Wofford 72

ASHEVILLE, N.C.-- No. 7 UNCG advanced to the semifinals of the Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship with a hard-fought, down to the wire 75-72 win over defending champion and No. 2 seed Wofford on Saturday at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville.

UNCG forward Valentino Pinedo broke a 70-70 tie when he scored on a tip-in for a 72-70 lead with 37.2 seconds left after teammate Donald Whitehead Jr. missed a layup.

Two possessions later, Whitehead made a free throw, moving UNCG ahead, 73-70, but missed the second as the ball was nearly tipped out of bounds. Wofford's Nils Machowski stole a pass and drove for a layup, cutting the Spartans' lead to one at 73-72 as the Terriers then called timeout with 12.4 seconds left.

Wofford tried to steal the inbounds and fouled Spartans forward Justin Neely with 8.3 seconds remaining. Neely, who grabbed a game-high 24 rebounds, then made two free throws for the last of his team-high 22 points.

Following a timeout, Machowski drove up the floor and before he reached halfcourt he launched a long shot, but it fell short as UNCG grabbed the miss as the buzzer sounded.

Wofford’s Kahmare Holmes had a game-high 24 points. Other players who scored in double figures were KJ Younger (19) and Noah Norgaard (17) of UNCG and Machowski (22) and Chace Watley (12) of Wofford.

Things to know 

-- Wofford finished with just two turnovers after not committing one in the first half. UNCG had nine turnovers, of which the Terriers turned into 10 points.

- Thanks to Neely's 24 boards, the Spartans held a 47-34 advantage in rebounds. Both teams grabbed 10 on the offensive end. 

- The Spartans advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2021, when they beat Mercer in the title game.

2026 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 6 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 1 - (9) The Citadel 88, (8) Chattanooga 85
Game 2 - (7) UNCG 84, (10) VMI 70
 
Saturday, March 7 (ESPN+/SCETV)
Game 3 - (1) ETSU 83, (9) The Citadel 76
Game 4 - (7) UNCG 75, (2) Wofford 72

Game 5 - (3) Samford vs. (6) Furman, 6 p.m.

Game 6 - (4) Mercer vs. (5) Western Carolina, 8:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 8 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - (1) ETSU vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 - (7) UNCG vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, March 9 (ESPN or ESPN2)
Championship game, 7 p.m.