With the win, Furman improved to 16-7 overall and 7-3 in Southern Conference play, while Mercer dropped 10-13 overall and 3-7 in league play. The win over the Bears marked the fifth-straight in the series for the Paladins. The win gave Furman its second-straight regular-season sweep of the Bears, having defeated Mercer, 74-71, at Timmons Arena last month.
Sibley was one of five Paladins in double figures, and his 21-point outburst marked his tenth 20-point game of the season. The Knoxville, TN., native finished the contest 7-of-13 from the field, including going 4-for-6 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Additionally, Sibley added five rebounds. With his performance, Sibley moved into the top 10 all-time in scoring for the Paladins, surpassing for Paladin George Singleton's 1,690 career points. Sibley's 21 point effort puts him at 1,707 points for his career.
Sibley was joined in double figures for the Paladins by senior guard John Davis III, who added 14 points and dished out a team-high seven assists, while sophomore and Peach State native and sophomore guard Jordan Lyons added 12 off the bench. Junior guard Andrew Brown added 11 points and junior forward Matt Rafferty finished with 10 and five boards to round out the double figure scorers for the Paladins.
Furman was red-hot from three-point range for most of the night, connecting on 50% (15-of-30) from three-point land in the contest, and it also marked the fifth time this season the Paladins have hit at least 15 triples in a game. In the past two outings against Western Carolina and Mercer, the Paladins have connected on 45.5% (30-of-66) from three-point range. Furman connected on 15-of-36 from long-range in a 100-66 win over Western Carolina this past Saturday.
Both teams came out shooting the ball well, but it was senior forward Geoff Beans, who came off the bench to ignite an 11-2 run for the Paladins with a pair of threes during the run to stake Furman to a 25-18 lead eight minutes into the contest. The Paladins' lead would grow to as many as nine points before the Bears trimmed that deficit to six by the half, as Furman carried a 41-35 lead into the halftime locker room.
Beans' third three of the half helped the Paladins extend their lead from 38-35 to 41-35, as well as helping Furman carry all the momentum to the break. All Beans' nine points came on those three triples in the opeming frame.
Early in the second half, the Bears trimmed Furman's lead to two (43-41) following a Demetre Rivers jumper. It would be as close as the Bears would be able to get the remainder of the game even though Mercer was able to keep Furman's lead under double-digits for the first 10 minutes of the opening half until a Lyons three gave the Paladins a 62-52 with 9:52 left.
Meanwhile, Furman's defensive effort was excellent for nearly a six-minute span, holding the Bears without a field goal from the 11:49 mark to the six minute mark, allowing the Paladins to extend their lead to their largest of the night, at 70-54, following a Sibley three with 7:11 left. Furman's lead would only dip below double-digits once the rest of the way, as the Paladins improved to 4-5 on the season in true road games.
The Paladins finished the contest shooting 50.9% (28-of-55) from the field and connected on 77.8% (14-of-18) from the charity stripe. Mercer finished the contest hitting on 45.5% (30-of-66) from the field, but Furman's stingy perimeter defense made it tough on the Bears, who hit on just 19.2% (5-for-26) from three-point range, including going just 1-for-12 in the second half. The Bears completed the contest 57.1% (8-for-14) from the free throw line.
Furman scored 28 baskets on 18 assists, while Mercer scored 30 buckets on nine assists. Mercer held substantial advantages in points in the paint (40-20), fast-break points (6-2) and second chance points (11-2), as well as holding a 37-31 edge on the backboards. The Paladins finished the contest holding advantages bench points (21-17) and points off turnovers (13-12).
Mercer placed four players in double figures, with Jordan Strawberry, who went over 1,000 points for his career in the loss, leading the way with 18 points and had six of the team's nine assists. He was joined in double figures by Ross Cummings (15 pts), Stephon Jelks (11 pts) and Desmond Ringer (19 pts). Rivers led the Bears on the glass, finishing with six boards.
The Bears were once again without leading scorer Ria'n Holland, who remains sidelined with an injury, while a late scratch to the starting lineup was Ethan Stair, who also missed the game with a foot injury.
Furman returns to the court at 1 p.m. Saturday, traveling to McAlister Field House in Charleston to face a much-improved Citadel team, which is coming off a win over Wofford. Mercer returns to the hardwood Saturday, when the Bears host Wofford in a 4:30 p.m tip at Hawkins Arena.
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| The Citadel gets signature win over Wofford/Photo courtesy of Charleston Post and Courier |
In what was the upset of the night in Southetrn Conference play, Duggar Baucom recorded one of his signature wins in his time at The Citadel, posting an 80-78 win over Wofford Thursday night at McAlister Field House. The win came on the heels of the Bulldogs' first win over Mercer since 1927 last week, and a heartbreaking 73-71 home loss to league unbeaten East Tennessee State Monday night.
With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 8-14 overall and 3-7 in the Southern Conference, while the Terriers fall to 16-7 overall and 7-3 in league play.
The Bulldogs continued to big-time play out of 6-7 forward/center Zane Najdawi, who finished the night with 16 points, seven boards, four blocks and a steal to lead three Bulldogs in double figures in the win. He was joined in double digits by Matt Frierson, who added 15 points, while Kaelon Harris finished with a double-double, posting 11 points and 11 boards.
It was a milestone night for Najdawi, who had a SoCon-high 37 points in a league game a few weeks ago, as he became just the second Bulldog in school history to score 1,000 points, grab 400 rebounds, and block 100 shots in a career, joining former Citadel great Matt Newman (1994-98) in that elite company.
The game was what you would expect a rivalry game to be. It went back-and-forth much of the night, and featured seven ties and seven lead changes. The Bulldogs had a narrow 42-41 lead into the halftime locker room, with a Frierson three with seven seconds remaining in the half.
It looked as though Wofford might take control of the game in the second half, as consecutive threes from Fletcher Magee helped the Terriers open up a 64-54 lead with 11:15 remaining. However, the Bulldogs showed their resillience, mounting a 7-0 run to cut the Terriers' lead to just three, at 64-61.
After The Citadel tied it on a three-pointer from Harris, 70-70, with 4:23 left, and with four minutes remaining, a pair of foul shots by Nathan Hoover allowed the Terriers to take the lead back. Frierson answered with a pair of foul shots of his own, tying the game once again, 72-72. Johnson would follow Frierson's foul shots with a layup with 2:10 remaining, giving the Bulldogs a 74-72 lead. That layup would give the Bulldogs the lead for good, and despite a late triple from Storm Murphy with just 10 seconds remaining to cut The Citadel's lead to one, the Bulldogs were able to hold on for the upset win in Charleston.
Wofford, who had three players in double figures, was led by Fletcher Magee, who scored a game-high 21 points--his 14th twenty-point game of the season. Trevor Stumpe added 13 points, while Storm Murphy finished with 12 to round out the double-figure scorers for the Terriers. In his first game back from injury, Cameron Jackson finished with six points, four boards and blocked a pair of shots.
The Citadel's Najdawi was joined in double figures by both Quayson Williams (15 pts) and Harris (11 pts). Both The Citadel and Wofford will be back in action Saturday afternoon, with the Bulldogs hosting Furman at McAlister Field House in a 1 p.m. tip-off, while Wofford will be in Macon, GA for a 4 p.m. tip-off with Mercer at Hawkins Arena.
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| Senior guard Desonta Bradford scores a career-high 31 points in win over Samford/Photo courtesy of ETSU athletics |
East Tennessee State continued to roll through Southern Conference play Thursday night, using a career-high 31 points from senior guard Desonta Bradford to coast to a 96-76 win over Samford, completing the season-sweep of the Bulldogs in the friendly confines of Freedom Hall.
With its 14th-straight win, the Bucs improved to 20-4 overall and remained unblemished in SoCon play, improving to 11-0. The Bulldogs dropped to 8-15 overall and 4-7 in league play.
The 20th win for the Bucs marked the 20th time in its 100-year, rich history of basketball that the Bucs have found their way to 20 wins in a single season. It also marked the 18th win in the last 19 games for ETSU.
Another impressive crowd of 5,019 fans piled into Freedom Hall to watch the Bucs once again put on a dominant performance against Southern Conference competition, and it was Bradford leading the way with arguably the best game of his ETSU career, as he connected on 12-of-16 shots from the field, including going 5-for-9 from three-point range.
After hitting only 2-for-23 shots from three-point range on the road in a narrow win at The Citadel last time out, the Bucs were simply on fire against Samford, canning 14-of-31 (45.2%) from long range in the win.
The Bucs looked like a juggernaut in the opening 10 minutes of play, overwhelming Samford and jumping out to a 30-8 lead and never looked back en route to the 20-point win. Bradford was joined in double figures by Devontavius Payne, who came off the bench to pour in 15 points, while Jalan McCloud added 11.
Samford was led by a pair of players posting 20-point efforts, with Demetrius Denzel-Dyson finishing with 23 points, while center Eric Adams narrowly missed a double-double with 21 points and nine boards.
Both teams return to the SoCon hardwood Saturday afternoon with ETSU hosting arch-rival Chattanooga in a 4 p.m. contest at Freedom Hall, while Samford will be just down the road at the Ramsey Center to take on Western Carolina in a 7:30 p.m Southern Conference contest.
The final two games of the night saw one lopsided score line and the other was a game that came down to the wire. UNC Greensboro was able to the friendly confines of the Greensboro Coliseum and get a blowout, 73-51, win over VMI to rebound from a double-overtime loss Monday night at Chattanooga Monday night, while Western Carolina had to hold on for dear life, and used a pair of Mike Amius free throws late, to get a 70-68 win over Chattanooga and defend its homecourt--the Ramsey Center--to keep itself alive for a potential bye in next month's Southern Conference Tournament.
For UNCG, the game was not much of a story, however, the milestone accomplished by senior forward Marvin Smith was one, becoming the 25th player in Spartan history to reach the 1,000-point mark in a career, and finished the game with 13 points and four assists. He was one of four Spartans in double figures, as he was joined by forward James Dickey, who posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards, while center Jordy Kuiper and freshman guard Isaiah Miller chipped in 10 and 11 points, respectively.
VMI posted three players in double digits, with Austin Vereen finishing the contest with 14 points and talented freshman guard Bubba Parham finishing with 13. Forward Tyler Creammer posted a solid performance with 10 points, five boards, two steals, an assist and a block.
The win saw the Spartans improve to 17-6 overall and 8-2 in Southern Conference play, while VMI dropped to 7-15 overall and 2-9 in SoCon play. Both UNCG and VMI will have Saturday afternoon off before returning to league play in the middle of next week.
In the final matchup of the night, Western Carolina was able to complete the season sweep of Chattanooga, with an, 80-78, Southern Conference win inside the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center.
With just 16 seconds remaining, Western Carolina junior forward Mike Amius knocked down a pair of foul shots to give the Catamounts a 70-68 lead, and the Western Carolina defense was able to hold Chattanooga on its final possession to end what was a two-game losing streak in the Upstate of South Carolina.
Senior guard Deriece Parks led four Catamount players in double figures, posing 17 points--all of which came in the second half--and he was joined in double figures by Marc Gosselin (14 pts), Amius (12 pts) and freshman guard Matt Halvorsen (11 pts). Gosselin also added six boards and four steals to what was an impressive all-around performance.
Amius two game-winning foul shots were part of what was an 80% performance from the free throw line by the Catamounts, who finished 13-for-16 from the line. Western also finished shooting the ball at a 48.0% (24-of-50) clip from the field for the game, while hitting on 47.2% (9-of-19) shots from beyond the arc.
The game featured 20 lead changes, with Chattanooga's final lead of the game--66-65--coming after a three-pointer by Nat Dixon with 1:22 remaining. Dixon led five Mocs in double figures by scoring a game-high 21 points. Makale Foreman (12 pts), Makinde London (12 pts), David Jean-Baptiste (11 pts) and Rodney Chatman (11 pts) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Mocs. Chattanooga connected on 47.9% (23-of-48) from the field, including 47.8% (11-of-23) from long range.
Western Carolina returns to action Saturday, hosting Samford in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at the Ramsey Center, while Chattanooga will be just up the road to face East Tennessee State in a 4 p.m. contest in what should be a packed Freedom Hall.
Updated Power Rankings After Feb. 1 Results:
1. East Tennessee State (20-4, 11-0 SoCon)
2. Furman (16-7, 7-3 SoCon)
T-2. UNC Greensboro (17-6, 8-2 SoCon)
4. Wofford (16-7, 7-3 SoCon)
5. Western Carolina (10-13, 5-5 SoCon)
6. The Citadel (8-14, 3-7 SoCon)
7. Mercer (10-13, 3-7 SoCon)
8. Samford (8-16, 4-7 SoCon)
9, Chattanooga (8-16, 2-9 SoCon)
10. VMI (7-15, 2-9 SoCon)
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