 |
| Furman sophomore guard Mike Bothwell |
It appears that it is going to be a crazy year in Southern Conference basketball, and who would have been able to guess that through the first two weeks of SoCon Hoops Western Carolina would be the lone unbeaten team in the Southern Conference basketball standings.
With Saturday's results, the top four predicted finishers all have at least one loss, while Western Carolina stands as the lone undefeated in conference play. That's because the Catamounts got a 79-71 win over Mercer. Furman had its seven-game Southern Conference winning streak snapped with an 86-73 loss at its downtown arena--Bon Secours Wellness Arena--in a game that was a 'must have' for UNC Greensboro to avoid dropping almost completely out of the regular-season race altogether with a third-straight loss.
East Tennessee State won its second-straight game without the services of Jeromy Rodriguez, claiming a hard-fought 61-55 win over VMI. Chattanooga provided the biggest blowout win of the day with a 105-67 win over Samford, and Wofford protected its home floor with a win over its Palmetto State rival, with a 73-71 squeaker of a win over The Citadel.
Here's a brief look back at the second full Saturday of Southern Conference hoops action and what's ahead for Wednesday night.
UNCG 86, Furman 73 (Bon Secours Wellness Arena)
The second of the three Weekends at the Well series of games didn't exactly go according to planned for Bob Richey's Furman Paladins, while it couldn't have gone much better for Wes Miller's UNC Greensboro club, who left Greenville with an impressive 86-73 win over the Paladins in a key Southern Conference matchup at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in front of a rowdy 4,646 fans.
The win saw the Spartans avoid a rare three-game losing streak and improve to 13-5 overall and 3-2 in league play, while the Paladins had their seven-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 14-4 overall and 4-1 in SoCon play, suffering their first loss since a Dec. 5 overtime loss at then-No. 13 Auburn.
The win marked UNCG's sixth in its last seven showdowns with Furman, as the Spartans pressured Furman into an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers, outscoring the Paladins 15-8 on points off turnovers in the process. The Spartans recorded an impressive 16 steals in the win.
The Spartans had five players scoring in double figures, led by SoCon preseason Player of the Year Isaiah Miller, who poured in 18 points, dished out five assists, recorded six steals and collected four rebounds en route to leading the Spartans to the win. Miller connected on 8-of-17 shots from the field, which included going 0-for-4 from three-point range. He was also 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
Kaleb Hunter put in one of the strongest all around performances of his UNCG career, and his timely three-pointers proved to be daggers, which were similar to how Furman's Jordan Lyons' triples were last week against East Tennessee State. Hunter finished the night by connecting on 6-of-10 shots from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point land. He got the tone set early for the Spartans, as he caught an alley-oop from center James Dickey for the Spartans' first points of the game. Hunter also contributed six rebounds and four steals to the UNCG cause.
Like Hunter, sophomore guard Micheal Hueitt Jr hit a dagger three when Furman was trying to get back into the game in the second half, and he was one off his career-high 14 points vs. William Peace, finishing with 13 points against the Paladins, as he went 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three. Angelo Allegri knocked down some key threes and played well once again in the absence of Kyrin Galloway, who did not dress for the game once again remaining sidelined with an ankle injury, and it was Allegri who picked up the slack, with 11 points.
Mohammad Abdulsalam chipped in a career-high 10 points and had two steals, an assist and a rebound. Abdulsalam was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in what was his most effective and efficient performance as a Spartan. Abdulsalam's front court mate James Dickey had probably the best stat line of any player on the UNCG roster, posting eight points, seven assists and 12 boards, as he put up a night similar to what Furman fans were so accustomed to seeing Matt Rafferty put up for the Paladins during the 2018-19 season.
Furman placed three in double figures, led by Noah Gurley, who scored a game-high 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including 1-for-2 from three. Gurley was just two off his career-high 29 points established last month vs USC Upstate. The one area Gurley really struggled was at the charity stripe, where he was 8-of-15 shooting from the line. Gurley also added eight boards and four assists.
Mike Bothwell added 13 points off the bench, with 10 coming in the second half. Clay Mounce rounded out the Paladins in double figures, as he also added 13.
Turning Point For UNCG:
UNCG took control of the game in the middle portion of the game, using a 25-7 run spanning two halves to increase its lead to 16 points, 48-32, following an Isaiah Miller layup off a steal with 16:49 left.
The run started late in the opening have of play. After Jalen Slawson's dunk in traffic gave Furman a 25-23 lead with 3:31 left in the half, the Spartans would close the half on an 11-2 run, starting with a Miller jumper and ending with a big three-pointer from Hueitt Jr. with four seconds remaining, giving the Spartans all the momentum entering the halftime locker room with a 34-27 lead.
UNCG opened the second half using a 14-5 run to take control of the game, and forcing the Paladins to chase it from that point forward. During the spurt by the Spartans to open the second half, Miller had six of those points to get UNCG started off on the right foot.
Dagger Threes by UNCG:
Each time the Paladins looked to close the game in the second half, the Spartans seemingly had the right answer each time, mostly coming in the form of a dagger three from either Hueitt, Hunter, Keyshaun Langley or Allegri.
The first of those dagger threes from Hueitt came with four seconds remaining in the opening half of play, as he gave the Spartans a seven-point lead heading into the locker room. His second dagger delivery came after a Mounce triple had cut the Paladin deficit to 10, at 52-42, with 12:40 left, as the Paladins looked to chip away.
However, Huiett's three from the opposite corner just 10 seconds later canceled out Mounce's triple and extended UNCG's lead back to 13.
Furman once again looked as if it was going to mount a furious rally after Bothwell's jumper got the Paladins to within nine, at 64-55 with 8:42 remaining, however, that potential momentum-gaining bucket for Furman was canceled out the other way, as Langley's triple from the left elbow hit nothing but net to extend UNCG's lead back to double digits, at 67-55, with 8:27 remaining.
Furman kept charging, however, and would get to within five, at 69-64, following a Bothwell high-arching three from the top of the key with 4:54 left, however, UNCG found the right elixir once again in the form of a long-range triple. This time the three came in transition just in front of the UNCG bench in the opposite corner, as Allegri's three-point offering splashed through the net to help keep Furman's run at eight, extending UNCG's back to eight, at 72-64, with 4:44 left.
The final dagger came when the Paladins closed to within their closest deficit since the waning moments of the opening half of play. Gurley's driving layup cut UNCG's lead to 72-68 with 2:55 remaining, however, Hunter's left elbow three was again a demoralizing answer for the Paladins, stretching UNCG's lead back to seven, at 75-68, with 2:41 left.
On the ensuing possession, a moment of hesitation by Bothwell proved to be decisive, as he saw Hunter break on his pass just as he let the ball go, however, it was too late and Hunter intercepted, charged in for a layup and then was subsequently fouled by Bothwell for a three-point play the old-fashioned way for Hunter.
It was a 6-0 run by Hunter within a 16-second span, giving the Spartans a double-digit lead once again, at 78-68, with 2:25 remaining. It would be the final blow to Furman's comeback hopes.
Odds and Ends:
Interestingly enough, the Spartans entered the blockbuster SoCon matchup with Furman ranking last in the SoCon in team field goal percentage (42.9%), three-point field goal percentage (31.8%) and free throw percentage (62.8%), sixth in assists-turnover ration (1.1) and last in assists (12.5 APG).
On Saturday night, UNCG finished the game with its most points in regulation vs. an NCAA Division I opponent this season (86 pts), connected nearly 10-percentage points higher from the field (52.4%), matched its three-point field goal percentage of 31.8% coming into (7-of-22), shot almost 20-percentage points higher in free throw percentage (81.3%/13-for-16), had 20 assists and turned it over only 11 times.
Furman, meanwhile entered the contest leading the league in field goal percentage (48.3%), third in free throw percentage (71.5%), third in assists (15.2), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (36.7%) and second in assist-turnover ratio (1.3).
The Paladins shot a little above their average coming in (49.3%), a percentage point higher from three-point range (37.5%), 12-percentage points lower from the charity stripe (59.3%/16-of-27) and had 14 assists and 17 turnovers. The Paladins were also out-rebounded 29-26 in the contest.
The Spartans owned advantages in points in the paint (24-18), points off turnovers (15-8), second-chance points (8-2), fast-break points (8-0) and bench scoring (15-13). Furman star senior guard Jordan Lyons was held to nine points, marking the first time in eight games he has been held below double figures and just the third time in the first 18 games of the campaign.
Postgame Pressers:
Mike Bothwell--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtTuqHL59oM&feature=emb_logo
Furman head coach Bob Richey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC3eUr6B0bQ
How About Western Carolina!
The Catamounts are the lone SoCon unbeaten and off to the program's best start since the 2009-10 season. With their hard-fought 79-71 win over Mercer yesterday, Western Carolina improved to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in the SoCon and in sole possession of first-place of the SoCon. It's Western's best start to SoCon since a 4-0 start to league play in the 2012-13 campaign.
The Catamounts will be in Greenville on Wednesday night, taking on a Furman team that had its seven-game winning streak snapped against UNCG Saturday night, and as a result, are now a half-game back of the Catamounts in the standings.
It will truly a battle of Purple Supremacy on the hard wood this time, with top spot in mid-January when the two teams do battle. Furman took both meetings last year, needing two overtimes to down the Catamounts 90-88 last season. Jordan Lyons led Furman with 29 points, while Matt Rafferty chipped in with 21. Western Carolina's all-conference forward had a career day, nearly helping the Catamounts spring the upset, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
In Saturday's Catamounts win over Mercer, point guard Mason Faulkner continued to look like one of the leading candidates for SoCon Player of the Year honors, as he paced Western with 18 points to go along with six boards, two assists and a steal. Faulkner had a triple-double earlier this season in a win over North Carolina A&T, which is also believed to be the first in school history.
Wednesday night's game at Timmons Arena figures to be a good one.
East Tennessee State downs pesky VMI in front of 4,740 at Freedom Hall
Another impressive crowd turned out for the ETSU, and despite the students not being back from Christmas break yet, nearly 5,000 fans showed up to see the Bucs at Freedom Hall.
Despite struggling shooting the basketball once again, hitting just 34.6% from the field, ETSU used another outstanding defensive performance to overcome a much improved VMI club under fifth-year head coach Dan Earl, 61-55. ETSU turned 19 Keydet turnovers into 14 points, helping off-set the shooting struggles.
Four Bucs found their way into double figures in the win, with Patrick Good leading the way with 12 points, while Vonnie Patterson, Lucas N'Guessan and Tray Boyd chipped in with 11 points apiece.
The defensive performances by the Bucs has been something special as of late, as in their last eight games combined, opponents are averaging just 54 PPG and just 23% shooting from the field. The win improved ETSU to 15-3 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon, which is tied with Furman. Wofford remains a half-game back of second place, with a 3-1 record in league play.
It was the sixth-straight loss for VMI, who dropped to 5-13 overall and 0-5 in SoCon play. The Keydets, The Citadel Bulldogs and Mercer Bears remain the lone winless teams in the SoCon to this point in the season. VMI guard Travis Evee led all scorers with 13 points, while guard Greg Parham added 12 off the bench.
ETSU returns to action Wednesday night when it hosts Samford at 7 p.m., while VMI will be in action at Mercer for a 7 p.m . contest.
Wofford survives The Citadel
The Terriers can breathe a little easier today after surviving The Citadel with a 73-71 win Saturday night at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
Four Wofford players scored in double figures, as the Terriers improved to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in league play, while The Citadel dropped to 6-9 overall and 0-4 in the SoCon.
The Terriers led 30-29 at the break, and extended that lead to 40-34 in the early moments of the second half Isaiah Bigelow's layup on a fast-break gave the Terriers a little bit of a cushion. After Tyson Batiste answered with a triple for The Citadel to make it a 40-37 game, the Terriers put together a 13-3 run to put some distance in the score, at 53-40, following a Tray Hollowell triple with 10:22 left.
The Citadel used its pressure to cut the Terrier lead to just three, at 71-68, following a Batiste layup with six seconds left. After being forced to foul, Nathan Hoover made it academic by knocking down both charity shots to extend Wofford's lead to five.
Hoover led four Terriers in double figures with 19 points, while Hollowell had 12 points. Chavez Goodwin and Isaiah Bigelow added 11 points apiece to round out the double-figure scorers for Wofford.
The Citadel was led in the contest by a game-high 32 points from Kaelon Harris. Harris finished the night by going 11-of-19 from the field, including 2-of-8 from three-point land, and went 8-for-10 from the stripe.
Chattanooga rocks Samford
Easily the most bizarre score of the day was the one between Chattanooga and Samford, as the Mocs demolished the Bulldogs, 105-67, at McKenzie Arena.
Along with Western Carolina, Chattanooga can make a serious claim to being the most-improved team in the SoCon and one of the most improved teams in all of mid-major basketball under third-year head coach Lamont Paris.
The win saw the Mocs improve to 11-6 overall and 2-2 in SoCon play, while Samford fell to 8-10 overall and 2-2 in SoCon action.
The Mocs spread the wealth with career afternoons from several players in different statistical categories, with Ramon Vila scoring a career-high 24 points, David Jean-Bapiste dishing out a career-high eight assists, Matt Ryan a career-high six helpers, and Cleveland State transfer Stefan Kenic knocking down a career-high five triples.
The 38-point loss by Samford was its worst loss in league play since Feb. 1, 2016, as the Bulldogs dropped an 81-43 decision to Wofford. After leading by 11 at the half (41-30), the Mocs scored on eight of its first nine possessions of the second half to extend its lead to 23 following a pair of Vila foul shots. Samford would never recover. Chattanooga would extend its lead to as many as 40 on a layup by Trey Doomes with 30 seconds left to play.
Three Takeways from Saturday:
1. UNCG officially introduced itself back into the SoCon regular-season championship chase with its performance at Bon Secours Wellness Arena Saturday night in what amounted to a must-win game for Wes Miller's club.
2. Chattanooga looks like a team that will be as dangerous as any team in the SoCon come March, and one that no one will want to face if they are playing this well come March in Asheville.
3. The bottom tier of the SoCon continues to show its improvement, while Samford's struggles are baffling considering what they returned to the fold.
Schedule for Wed. Jan. 15, 2020
Western Carolina at Furman, 7 p.m. EST
Wofford at Chattanooga, 7 p.m. EST
VMI at Mercer, 7 p.m. EST
UNCG at The Citadel, 7 p.m. EST
Samford at ETSU, 7 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment