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| Jalan McCloud posted 22 points in ETSU's quarterfinal win over arch-rival Chattanooga |
In the opening game of the day, the Spartans used a staunch defensive effort in the early moments of the second half to open up what was a close, 29-28, game at the half, leading by as many as 14 late, and cruised to a 72-58 win over No. 8 The Citadel.
The Spartans were buoyed by a defensive effort that saw them limit the Bulldogs to just limited the Bulldogs to just 35% shooting for the game.
“It’s challenging to prepare for any team, then its challenging to get your kids to execute what you want to do. It makes you look at basketball differently. Defensively, it took us a minute to get adjusted, but I thought our zone really helped us cover the three-point line,” UNCG head coach Wes Miller said.
Offensively, UNCG had five players finish in double figures, led by 14 points from junior guard Demetrius Troy, who connected on 5-of-11 shots from the field, including going 4-for-7 from three-point land. Additionally, Troy added three assists and three rebounds to his overall stat line.
Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year James Dickey started out the 2018 league tournament in grand fashion, posting a double-double, with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Rounding out the Spartans in double figures were All-SoCon performers Francis Alonso, Marvin Smith and Isaiah Miller. Alonso, a first-team all-league pick, finished with 12 points, while second-teamer Smith added 10, as did all-freshman performer Miller.
The Citadel finished with four in double figures, led by all-league performer Zane Najdawi, who finished with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point range. He also added five boards and a steal to his overall afternoon at the office.
The win by the Spartans matches a school record for wins, as UNCG improves to 25-7. Last year’s NIT participants also amassed 25 wins. The Citadel concludes its 2017-18 season at 11-21.
The Spartans move on to face Wofford in Sunday’s first semifinal clash, slated for 4 p.m. at the US Cellular Center.
In the second game of the day, it was a much anticipated rematch between No. 4 Mercer and No.5 Wofford—a game which the Bears claimed 69-68 last Sunday at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg.
But the Bears, winners of eight-straight, were out of rhythm most of the afternoon, thanks in large part to Mike Young’s Terriers stout defensive effort of their own, as Wofford claimed a 73-53 win in the second quarterfinal of the afternoon.
The Terriers held the Bears to just 38.6% (17-of-44) shooting from the field, including just 26.1% (6-for-23) from three-point land.
The key was a first half that saw the Terriers force 13 of the Bears 18 turnovers for the game. The Bears, who normally take very good care of the basketball, ranking fourth among 10 teams in the SoCon in assist-turnover-ratio (1:2). However, the Bears dished out just nine assists compared to their 18 miscues.
Meanwhile, Wofford turned the ball over just five times, while issuing 11 helpers as a team in the win.
Nathan Hoover continued his strong play over the latter half of the season, leading the Terriers with 22 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field, including 4-of-11 from long range.
The only other player in double figures for the Terriers was Second Team All-SoCon performer Cameron Jackson, who added 18 points and 10 boards. Jackson also swatted away three shots and recored a pair of steals.
Mercer had three in double figures, led by Jordan Strawberry’s 18 points, while all-league performer Stephon Jelks added a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Desmond Ringer finished out his Mercer career with 11 points and nine boards.
With the win, Wofford improves to 21-11 overall, while Mercer concludes its season at 18-14.
In the night session of General Shale Southern Conference Quarterfinal action, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds East Tennessee State and Furman advanced to face each other in tomorrow night’s in front, Saturday night in the second tournament semifinal to tip-off at approximately 6:30 at the US Cellular Center.
The matchup between ETSU and Furman comes just a week after a Paladin, 79-76, win at Freedom Hall last Sunday. It will also mark the second time in a three-year span that the Paladins and Bucs have met in the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament in Asheville, with ETSU claiming a 84-76 win back in 2016.
It was a typical rowdy, loud fan-bases for Saturday night’s contests, with many of the 5.431 listed attendance in support of both the nearby programs of East Tennessee State and Western Carolina.
Jalan McCloud poured in 22 points to lead four Bucs in double figures, connecting on 10-of-16 shots from the field, including 2-for-5 from three-point range to complete his game-high scoring night, leading the second-seeded Bucs to a convincing 77-59 win over arch-rival and No. 10 seed Chattanooga in the opening game of the night session.
McCloud also added added five assists, two steals and a block in the win. Additionally, McCloud was joined in double figures SoCon Player of the Year Desonta Bradford (14 pts) and SoCon Freshman of the Year Bo Hodges (12 pts, 3 blks, 1 stl) and Peter Jurkin (12 pts, 4 rebs, 1 blk).
Though ETSU connected on just 2-for-13 from three-point range in the contest, the Bucs posted an overwhelming, 62-28 advantage in points in the paint. The Bucs shot a blistering 58.3% (35-of-60) from the field for the game, while limiting the Mocs to just 41.2% (21-of-51) for the game.
After leading 38-31 at the break, the Bucs used an 8-0 run to take a 46-33 lead after the Mocs scored the first bucket of the second half, and ETSU would never really be threatened again.
With the win, the Bucs snap a three-game losing streak, which it was saddled with when opening the 98th edition of the Southern Conference Tournament, and improve to 24-8 overall, while Chattanooga concludes its 2017-18 season with a 10-23 overall record.
The Mocs were led in the contest by 13 points apiece from Makinde London and Makale Foreman.
In the second game of the night session, No. 3 Furman poured it on, as it blasted No. 6 Western Carolina, 97-73, in the nightcap.
With the win, which was the Paladins’ seventh-straight, Furman matched a school record established in both 1980 and 2017 with its 23 victory of the season, improving to 23-9 overall. Western Carolina finished its season at 13-19.
The game was close in the opening minutes, and with Furman trailing by a point (12-13) prior to the opening up a 14-0 run to take a commanding 26-13 lead following a Clay Mounce follow-up dunk with 9:13 remaining in the game. A Geoff Beans four-point play started the run with 13:18 remaining in the half.
From that point, the Catamount deficit never got inside double digits again, and the Paladins’ lead would grow to as much as 29 points twice inside the 1:10 in the game before posting the 24-point win.
The Paladins had five players in double figures and shot 55.6% (33-of-59) from the field for the game. Senior swingman Daniel Fowler led the way with 18 points, which included going 6-of-7 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point land, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The Paladins connected on 64.3% (18-of-28) of their shots in the opening half to take a 50-31 lead into the halftime locker room.
Fowler, a native of Kennesaw, GA, also finished with five boards and an assist to complete his impressive stat line for the evening. He was joined in double figures by Jordan Lyons (15 pts), Matt Rafferty (14 pts, 9 rebs, 5 stls, 5 asts), John Davis III (12 pts, 5 asts) and Alex Hunter (10 pts) rounded out the double-figure scorers. Devin Sibley came off the bench to add seven points, five boards and a steal. Furman generated 26 buckets on 16 assists.
The Catamounts were paced by Marcus Thomas, who came off the bench to score 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, including 1-for-3 from beyond the arc and was 4-for-6 from the charity stripe. Thomas was joined in double digits by Mike Amius (14 pts, 3 asts, 2 stls, 1 blk), Deriece Parks (12 pts, 2 blks), and Ashley Williams (10 pts, 6 rebs).
“I really liked our kids demeanor from the outset of this game, and you never how that’s going to go because now it’s tournament play,” Furman head coach Bob Richey said.
Stay Tuned for all the semifinal recaps tomorrow on mid-major madness. No.1 seed UNC Greensboro opens the proceedings by taking on No. 5 Wofford at 4 p.m. followed by the No. 2 vs. No. 3 clash between ETSU and Furman.
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