It was the opening night in SoCon hoops. Here’s what we think we learned, or maybe not.
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| Clay Mounce dunks in the first half vs. Gardner-Webb |
Furman 70, Gardner-Webb 63
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.--Noah Gurley posted 18 points leading three in double figures, as Furman ended Gardner-Webb’s 14-game homecourt winning streak, as the Paladins opened the 2019-20 season with a 70-63 win Tuesday night at Paul Porter Arena.
Gurley posted 12 of his 18 points in the opening half of play, and connected on 6-of-8 shots from the field and 1-of-2 from three-point range, as well as connecting on 5-of-6 from the line and five boards, while Alex Hunter added 13 points, two assists and did not turn the ball over in the win. Clay Mounce, who had perhaps the biggest bucket of the night on a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 2:37 left, chipped in with 11.
What Did We Learn: We knew Furman would look like a different basketball team, we just weren’t necessarily what “different” would look like without Matt Rafferty. Now we know two things. We know the Paladins can play some pretty good defense, and from the looks of it, this might be the best defensive team Bob Richey has had in his third season at the helm. We also learned that Noah Gurley and Clay Mounce are going to be problems for teams this season. It was also impressive that Furman was able to find a way to win this one without start guard Jordan Lyons scoring in double figures, as he finished with nine points, however, his three assists, one steal and overall on-the-ball defending showed that he is more than just a scorer and shooter, he’s an overall outstanding hooper.
”What I saw tonight is that when the popcorn’s popping and the lights are on, we’ve got a whole group that will sit down and play connected defense,” said Furman head coach Bob Richey.
Georgia 91, Western Carolina 72
ATHENS, GA--Western Carolina held a 38-37 halftime, however, couldn’t hold off a young, but extremely talented Georgia team, dropping a 91-72 decision at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Catamounts got a team-high 21 points from redshirt junior Mason Faulkner in his debut, and Carlos Dotson posted his 14th-career double-double, with 17 points and 15 boards to lead Western. Dotson helped paced the Purple and Gold to a 38-37 lead courtesy of 14 points and eight board in the opening half alone from Dotson.
Georgia’s star recruit Anthony Edwards led all scorers 24 points. Following an Onno Steger layup with 6:44 left brining Western Carolina to within two (65-63), however, the Bulldogs went on a 14-2 run to close out the game.
What Did We Learn: What we learned is that indeed, at least after one game, that our preseason article tabbing Western Carolina to be a team to watch in the SoCon is valid. A look inside the numbers of this game will tell that the Catamounts struggled shooting the basketball. The Catamounts finished the nine 9-of-34 from three (26.5%)! When Bulldogs forced the ball away from Dotson, the Catamounts were forced to look to score in other ways, and they could not consistently knocked down the outside shot to open things up once again for Dotson in the second half, and that ultimately proved to be the difference. Teams are going to force the Catamounts to make shots from the perimeter until they can show the ability to do so consisently.
Wofford 86, Erskine 63
SPARTANBURG, S.C.--Jay McAuley picked up his first win as Wofford’s head coach, and the Terriers overcame a sluggish first-half to rout Division II Erskine College, 86-63, at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
Wofford led just 34-29 at the break, but saw guard Nathan Hoover and Chevez Goodwin combine to score 26 of Wofford’s 52 second-half points to get the win going away. Hoover led five Terriers in double figures with 18 points, while redshirt freshman Isaiah Bigelow and redshirt senior Chevez Goodwin added 14 points apiece to complete a solid opening win for Wofford.
What Did We Learn: We knew it would be different without Fletcher Magee, Cameron Jackson, Keve Aluma and head coach Mike Young. How was it different you might ask? Well, the Terriers are going to play more of an up-tempo style under McAuley, and be much less deliberate. It was really obvious, especially in the second half, the Terriers want to run and utilize their strength, which dare I say it, is athleticism. This is a more athletic team than the one that won 30 games last season.
UNC Greensboro 83, North Carolina A&T 50
GREENSBORO, N.C.--In a cross-town rivalry, UNC Greensboro opened the season by making easy work of an improving North Carolina A&T program, 83-50, at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Spartans held the Aggies to just 32.9% shooting from the field for the night, and got a solid all-around night from Isaiah Miller and one big-time highlight reel slam, as the senior preseason SoCon Player of the Year posted 13 points, six boards, three assists and three steals. Four Spartans posted double figure scoring performances, led by Kaleb Hunter’s 17 points.
What Did We Learn: Isaiah Miller is the real deal, but we kinda already knew that. The Spartans went 11-of-34 from three-point land, which converts to a 32.4% clip. That total number shot is a little high, as the Spartans shot on average of 22.2 threes-per-game last season, finishing the season with 818 attempts from long range. We learned that despite the fact that the Spartans lost such great shooters as Francis Alonso and Demetrius Troy, they lack no confidence when shooting from long-range. That’s not a suprise, but we’ll see how Alonso’s 98 threes that graduated from 2018-19 might be distributed through an extremely deep backcourt. UNCG’s much-ballyhooed freshman class saw only three freshmen draw minutes. Other notable absences included Kobe Langley, the top recruit from the 2018-19 signing class Mohammed Abdulsalam and Dericko Williams. Michael Hueitt Jr looked as good as advertised in his debut for the Spartans, however, scoring 10 points and connecting on 4-of-8 from the field, including 2-for-5 from three.
Morehead State 90, Samford 86 (20T)
MOREHEAD, KY,--Samford battled hard, but dropped a hard-fought, 90-86, double-overtime affair at Morehead State Tuesday night at Johnson Arena.
The stars showed out for the Bulldogs, which returned four of five starters from a year ago. Josh Sharkey led the Bulldogs with 24 points, six assists, and four steals, while forward Robert Allen finished with 17 points, while Sharkey’s backcourt mate Brandon Austin got the season off to a strong start. Neither team was setting things on fire from outside, connecting on a combined 12-of-55 from three (21.8%).
What We Learned: This was a game that Samford won in overtime last season at home, so we probably didn’t learn all that much from the result of it. Samford’s top three scorers took 54 shots, connecting on just 35.1% (19-of-54) and 24 of those shots came from Sharkey, who connected on just nine of them. Those numbers will have to change, and I am sure they will, but 29 threes with only six makes is probably a little high for head coach Scott Padgett’s liking. One of the names to get to know is Jalan Dupree, who transferred in from Murray State, made the most of his debut in the comfortable surroundings of an OVC arena, posting a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Bulldogs had 13 steals and forced 20 Morehead State turnovers. From night-to-night, there’s no denying that Samford is one of the most exciting teams to watch in mid-major hoops. They have now played in eight overtime games over the past two seasons, and are 3-5 in those games.
East Carolina 80, VMI 68
GREENVILLE, N.C.--VMI opened the season with a career-high 23 points from Greg Parham, but it wasn’t enough to overcome East Carolina on the road Tuesday night at Minges Coliseum.
Parham added four boards, three assists and a pair of steals in the loss, but was one of only one of two players in double figures, as forward Jake Stephens also chipped in 10 points. The Keydets struggled defensively, as the Pirates connected on 53.4% (31-of-58) and held a 45-33 advantage on the glass. The Keydets were out-scored 54-32 in the paint.
What We Learned: We kind of figured the Keydets might miss Bubba Parham and Sarju Patel, but we also didn’t expect them to be over-powered as they were in the paint by the ECU Pirates. However, there were some positives, and one of those was taking care of the basketball. The Keydets posted only 10 turnovers. VMI is going to have some second and third scoring options going forward, but it is still really early.
Eastern Kentucky 79, Chattanooga 68
RICHMOND, KY--Lamont Paris’ third season at the helm of the storied Chattanooga basketball program could have started much better than a 79-68 setback to Eastern Kentucky at Alumni Coliseum.
The Colonels, which won on a three at the buzzer by Nick Mayo at the buzzer last season at the Roundhouse, this time used a 12-0 run to start the second half to overcome a 38-33 halftime deficit and never looked back in getting the 11-point win. The Mocs shot just 27% in the second half and David Jean-Baptiste led three Mocs in double figures with 18 points. Matt Ryan, a transfer from Vanderbilt, added 15 points, while forward Rod Johnson chipped in with 12.
What We Learned: Chattanooga was plagued by many of the same things that have plagued it throughout the Lamont Paris era, and those are long scoring droughts, with the lack of a go-to-guy and those adverse moments of a game. The Mocs defense is still not good enough to survive those droughts, and it’s a bit much to ask even the best defensive teams in the country to endure extremely long scoring droughts. The Mocs will get better, but they have to find the leadership in adversity. They need Ramon Vila to step up and be that go-to-guy in the paint. He was solid offensively with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, but tallied just three boards.
Highlighting The Rest of the Week:
--Pre-season favorite East Tennessee State opens up its campaign tonight against Newberry.
--UNCG hopes that Kansas will turn it over just many times as it did vs. Duke Friday night in Lawrence
--Sister Jean comes to Timmons Arena when Furman takes on Loyola-Chicago Friday night at Timmons Arena. It’s an early-season mid-major blockbuster.
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