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| Wofford senior foward Cam Jackson/Photo courtesy of Wofford Athletics |
Wofford keeps at-large hopes alive with tough road win
In what was arguably the Southern Conference game of the year, the game that had been much anticipated for both fanbases since the SoCon schedules came out last summer, lived up to its billing, as Wofford remained perfect in the Southern Conference, with a thrilling, 78-76, win over East Tennessee State in Johnson City.
The game had it all, and it would be Wofford's two big guns--senior guard Fletcher Magee and senior forward Cameron Jackson--that seemingly responded to each haymaker and potential knockout punch the Bucs could throw at them Thursday night before sold out crowd of 5,911 fans at Freedom Hall. The duo combined to score 52 of the Terriers' 78 points in the contest.
The win saw the Terriers improve to 20-4 overall for the season, while improving their Southern Conference mark to 12-0. ETSU fell to 19-6 overall and 9-3 in league action. The loss likely took ETSU out of the SoCon regular-season race, with just six games in conference play remaining.
The regular-season championship will now likely be decided on Feb. 16, when Wofford hosts UNC Greensboro at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Terriers have now won 11 games in a row. The win also gave Wofford the rare regular-season sweep of East Tennessee State, as the Terriers claimed a 79-62 win over the Bucs back on Dec. 1 in Spartanburg.
The last time the Terriers swept ETSU in the regular-season was 2015, defeating the Bucs 72-64 in Spartanburg and 74-64 in Johnson City. The 2014-15 season, of course, marks the last time the Terriers went dancing. Maybe that's a good omen for head coach Mike Young and his Wofford Terriers.
Magee posted 32 points came on 9-of-20 shooting from the field, including going 7-for-15 from three-point range. Magee was also 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. With his performance from three-point land, Magee moved into third place all-time in NCAA Division I basketball history, and now has knocked down 452 three-pointers.
Jackson added 20 points on 7-for-12 from the field, and went 6-of-12 from the charity stripe, while also adding eight rebounds and four assists to the Terrier cause.
The game was nip-and-tuck most of the way, with neither team holding more than a six-point lead the entire night. The Bucs took a narrow 38-37 lead into the halftime locker room.
ETSU led for much of the opening frame, and extended that into the second half, and Wofford wouldn't assume its first lead since the 13:07 mark in the first half until a Nathan Hoover three from the corner, which was followed up by a Jackson layup, which gave Wofford a 51-50 lead with 8:31 remaining in the game.
The lead would change hands four times over the next seven minutes, and it would be an electrifying dunk by Bo Hodges off an alley-oop that would tie the game, 60-60, with 1:46 left in regulation. A pair of Magee foul shots gave Wofford a 62-60 lead with 1:22 remaining. After Jeromy Rodriguez connected on 1-of-2 foul shots on the other end, a Keve Aluma layup gave the Terriers a 64-61 lead with just 37 seconds remaining.
That set the stage for Hodges. His three pointer from the left elbow with 22 seconds remaining tied the game, 64-64, and after a missed jumper by Magee with two seconds remaining, the game headed for overtime.
In the extra session, most ETSU might have had some flashbacks. Flashbacks? Yes flashbacks to the 2017-18 season and Furman. Devin Sibley hit a three-pointer and was fouled with 1:25 remaining in the regular-season finale, completing the rare four-point play to help Furman to a 79-76 road win.
Now cue Magee. Like Sibley last season, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year provided the ultimate dagger, as with just eight seconds remaining and the game tied, 73-73, Magee connected on a three-pointer from the right elbow and was fouled. He connected on the free throw to give Wofford a two-possession lead, at 77-73. That play came on the heels of another three-pointer for the senior marksmen, and he would score the final seven points of the night for Wofford, which was of little surprise.
Following a Patrick Good triple with two seconds left, Magee was fouled following a long pass down court with 1.1 seconds remaining. He converted 1-of-2 foul shots to give Wofford the 78-76 lead, and ultimately, the win. Jackson rebounded the second missed free throw by Magee and time expired on a memorable game and win for Wofford basketball.
The Bucs were led in the contest by Good's 18 points, while Rodriguez continued his strong play this season with 15 points and 17 boards. Bo Hodges and Mladen Armus rounded out the double-figure scorers with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Paladins grind one out in Cullowhee
Matt Rafferty scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while also tying the school’s single-season steals record, as Furman defeated Western Carolina, 64-45, in Southern Conference action Thursday night at the Liston B. Ramsey Center.
With the win, Furman improved to 19-5 overall and 8-4 in Southern Conference action, while Western Carolina dropped to 6-19 and 3-9 in Southern Conference. For the Paladins, it was their ninth true road win of the season.
Rafferty finished the night connecting on 6-of-10 shots from the field and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.
In addition to his scoring night, the senior from Hinsdale, Ill, also added two assists,a block and a steal. Rafferty’s one steal gave him 64 for the season, which tied Guillherme Da Luz’s 64 thefts during the 2001-02 season for the school-record for single-season steals. With one steal vs. East Tennessee State Saturday, Rafferty will be the single-season record holder.
It also marked Rafferty’s 11th double-double of the season, which is second-most in the Southern Conference this season. Furman’s defense has been noticeably improved during its past five games, holding opponents to just 59.4 PPG over that stretch.
One of Thursday night’s goals for the Paladins collectively as a defensive unit was to make sure Carlos Dotson, who posted 27 points and 14 boards against Furman in the first meeting between the two teams back in December, was to make sure a game like that didn’t happen again for the talented junior college transfer.
“We kinda modeled what we wanted to do against him after the first half at our place,“ senior forward Matt Rafferty said. “He didn’t have a great first half there [in the game at Furman] and then we started letting the ball get into him in the second half and that’s when he really started cooking.”
“So today was all about limiting his touches and shrinking the floor when he got it in there .He’s a great offensive rebounder, but others helped me and Noah on the boards by crashing down. Our guards also did a great job shutting down their shooters,” Rafferty added.
Dotson finished the contest with just seven points, but did counter with 14 rebounds, including six offensive boards, showing his overall strength as a rebounder. Furman also forced Dotson into committing five turnovers.
The Paladins were able to force 22 Western Carolina turnovers, and held the Catamounts to just 31.4% shooting from the field, and in doing so, polished off another win heading into Saturday’s showdown with East Tennessee State.
Furman set the defensive tone from the outside, and it was Rafferty on the offensive end, posting eight of Furman’s first 11 points of the game, and helping the Paladins to an early 11-2 lead following a layup on a fast break, forcing Western Carolina head coach Mark Prosser to take a timeout with 12:08 remaining in the opening half.
Noah Gurley, a redshirt freshman forward, who finished with a team-leading 14 points, added a triple moments later to stretch Furman’s early advantage to 14-2 with 10:44 remaining in the opening frame.
From there, Furman never looked back, taking as much as a 15-point lead in the opening half before eventually taking a 26-13 lead into the halftime locker room.
The 13 points in a half were the lowest point total for the Catamounts in a half this season, and were the lowest total a SoCon opponent has scored in a half vs. Furman in a half in 40 years. The Paladins also held the Catamounts to just 19.2% from the field and just 14.3% from beyond the arc.
The second half would see the Paladins grow their lead to as many as 25 points, before settling for the 19-point road triumph.
Gurley finished the night by connecting on 5-of-10 shots from the field, including a pair of thunderous dunks, with one coming in traffic as he drove straight down the middle of the lane in the opening half.
The redshirt freshman from Fayetteville, GA, was also 2-of-5 from three-point range and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe, while also adding four rebounds, two blocks and an assist.
Joining Gurley and Rafferty in double figures for the Paladins was point guard Alex Hunter, who finished with 10 points.
Western Carolina was led in scoring by Marcus Thomas, who finished with a game-high 16 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. The only other Catamount to reach double figures in the contest was talented freshman guard Kameron Gibson, who posted 10 points.
The Paladins will back in action Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. before a sold-out crowd, when the Paladins square off against East Tennessee State (19-6, 9-3 SoCon) at Timmons Arena. The Bucs claimed a 79-56 win over Furman back on Dec. 29, and are coming off a heartbreaking, 78-76, overtime loss to Wofford in Johnson City. Western Carolina will be on the road at Wofford, facing the Terriers at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m.
Quotables from Western Carolina:
Mark Prosser on his first year at WCU:
"There have been some exciting things that have happened along the way and I mean it's a lot of fun. We work at a really great institution with a great administration and athletic department so they make it fun to come to work every day. We have good kids that do very well academically and they come in and give effort every day. The ups and downs of any season are hard. We're going through some transistion and learning a brand new style of play offensively and defensively. You know any win at the Division I level is hard and understanding how to win and that's something we have to expect from one another on a day-to-day basis because winning is hard. "
Onno Steger on his recent SoCon Player of the Week honor
"The player of the week honor is pretty special and I have been working my butt off and I am seeing its paying off and I think Carlos Dotson put it really well earlier in the season when he said you'd rather trade in your personal accolades for team accolades and I would much rather win games than get those personal awards."
Other SoCon Action Thursday Night:
UNC Greensboro improved to 21-3 overall and 10-1 in the SoCon with a 75-67 win over the Samford Bulldogs at the Greensboro Coliseum Thursday night. It's the best start for the Spartans in school history through 24 games. The 10 Southern Conference wins for the Spartans marks the third season in a row which UNCG has accomplished the feat.
The Spartans held the Bulldogs to just 38% shooting for the game en route to the season sweep of Samford, and sophomore guard Isaiah Miller led four Spartans in double figures with 22 points, three steals, an assist and a block. Miller was joined in double figures Kyrin Galloway (13 pts), Kaleb Hunter (12 pts) and Demetrius Troy (11 pts).
Samford, which fell to 14-11 overall and 4-8 in SoCon action, was led by point guard Josh Sharkey, who scored a game-high 24 points and added seven assists, but also turned it over 11 times. Sharkey was joined in double figures by freshman forward Robert Allen, who continued his strong play of late, with a double-double of 16 points and 14 boards, while Deandre Thomas rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures with 11.
UNCG returns to action Saturday at Chattanooga, with tipoff time slated for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. Samford will be in Lexington, VA to face Samford for a 1 p.m. game with the Keydets at Cameron Hall Saturday afternoon.
The final game of the night to recap is Chattanooga and VMI, which was also an exciting affair. While most had their eyes trained on what was happening in Johnson City, they might have missed the Mocs' thrilling 71-70 win at VMI Thursday night.
That win saw Lamont Paris' club get to 11 wins on the season, which officially eclipsed last year's 10-win campaign. It also helped the Mocs improve to 6-6 in SoCon action, taking a firm grip on fifth place in the league standings, which at this point, would guarantee Chattanooga an opening-round bye in the SoCon Tournament next month in Asheville. Meanwhile, VMI fell to 7-16 overall and 1-10 in SoCon action.
Thomas Smallwood led four Mocs in double figures with 16 points, including connecting on all four of his three-point attempts, while David Jean-Baptiste, Ramon Vila and Donovann Toatley all added 11 points to the UTC cause.
SoCon leading scorer Bubba Parham paced four Keydets in double figures with 21 points. Myles Lewis (15 pts), Sarju Patel (14 pts) and Jake Stephens (12 pts) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Keydets.
Updated Power Rankings Following Thursday's Action:
1. Wofford (20-4, 12-0 SoCon)
2. UNCG (21-3, 10-1 SoCon)
3. ETSU (19-6, 9-3 SoCon)
4. Furman (19-5, 8-4 SoCon)
5. Samford (14-11, 4-8 SoCon)
6. Chattanooga (11-14, 6-6 SoCon)
7. Mercer (8-15, 3-8 SoCon)
8. Western Carolina (6-19, 3-9 SoCon)\
9. The Citadel (10-12, 2-9 SoCon)
10. VMI (7-16, 1-10 SoCon)
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