Samford and Western Carolina provided a good national platform for SoCon Hoops
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| Rylan Jones drives vs Western Carolina (phoro courtesy of Samford athletics) |
When CBS Sports Network selected the game between Samford and Western Carolina to showcase as one of its Southern Conference games to air to a national audience, both the network and SoCon ended up coming out winners.
For a league battling for an elusive first-ever at-large bid, the atmosphere inside the Ramsey Center was electric, and that picked up not only if you were actually in attendance for the 6 p.m. EST tip-off, but also to the wider audience viewing the broadcast at home.
Much was made about Samford's style of play, leading the nation in scoring in the lead-up to the matchup, while WCU's Vonterius Woolbright was making headlines for his unique skillset that he brought to the backcourt, leading the nation in both double-doubles, while ranking second in rebounding average.
On the strength of a 35-point, 10-rebound performance from Achor Achor, Samford collected its nation-leading 16th-straight win on the college basketball hardwood, defeating Western Carolina 75-71 before the third-largest crowd in Ramsey Center history in a battle of SoCon unbeatens.
The win sees the Bulldogs improve to 16-2 overall and 5-0 in Southern Conference play, while Western Carolina falls to 15-3 overall and 4-1 in league action. The Bulldogs have now won 20 of their past 23 SoCon games, with the lone losses over that span coming against Furman (2) and Wofford.
Achor's career night came on a 12-of-22 shooting performance from the field, while connecting on a career-best 5-of-9 from three-point range. Achor had only connected on 17 three-pointers for the season entering the Tuesday night battle, while Rylan Jones added 18 points and Jaden Campbell finished with 10.
While it was Achor that somewhat surprisingly was the game's top performer, it was still another strong effort from Woolbright, who registered his 15th double-double of the season, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Also in double figures for the Catamounts were Russell Jones Jr., who finished with 22 points, while DJ Campbell rounded out the Catamounts in double figures with 12.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well, with the Bulldogs connecting on 43.1% (25-of-58) for the game, while connecting a slightly higher clip from three-point range, finishing 44.4% (8-of-18) from long range.
Western Carolina drops second-straight in Greenville
Needless to say that it was an especially tough week for Western Carolina's basketball team before any result was rendered, but after Tuesday night's loss at home to Samford, the Catamounts needed to rebound with a positive result the next time they took the floor in Greenville at Timmons Arena against the defending Southern Conference champion Furman Paladins.
However, it was Furman that would end up handing the Catamounts just their fourth loss of the season, as JP Pegues would knock down a three from the top of the key with eight-tenths of a second remaining, giving the Paladins a thrilling 65-62 win in the friendly confines of Timmons Arena.
The win would mark Furman's fourth-straight win and would see the Paladins improve to 10-9 overall and 4-2 in league play, while the Catamounts fell to 15-4 overall and 4-2 in league action.
Pegues' three-pointer with time winding down was part of what was a flurry of seven-straight points he scored down the stretch to lead the Paladins to the win. He was one of three Paladins in double figures, as Marcus Foster finished with 14 points, while Alex Williams registered his first-ever double-double, posting 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Vonterius Woolbright scored 16 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, while also adding a double-double with 16 rebounds. He rounded out his afternoon in Greenville by finishing the afternoon with six of the team's 11 assists in the loss.
Despite falling behind 5-0 on a three-pointer from Russell Jones Jr. and a Vonterius Woolbright, the Paladins would fight back to tie the game three times inside the opening 11:46 of the game before Alex Williams made a shot in the lane to give Furman its first lead of the game, at 18-17, with 8:14 left in the half.
The Paladins finished the half on an 18-9 run, and it was a JP Pegues three with just eight seconds remaining in the half, which allowed Furman a double-digit, 36-26, halftime lead. Pegues' shot to end the half would foreshadowing of his shot to come later, which would be the final points of the game. The Paladins had led by as many as 11 in the opening half of play.
While Furman had a 10-point lead at the half, most who follow Southern Conference basketball, know just how good and gritty Justin Gray's Western Carolina Catamounts are, and that the no lead Furman could have had in the game would have provided comfort. Just last season in Furman's 83-80 Southern Conference Tournament semifinal win in overtime against the Catamounts last March, Western Carolina had battled back from a 20-point deficit in the second half to take a late lead before Furman tied the game to send it into overtime.
The Catamounts came out of the locker room and were the aggressor, taking the game to the Paladins and used a 13-2 run to assume what was a 39-38 on a Vonterius Woolbright layup with 14:26 left in the game. In a scoring drought similar to the one near the end of the first half at VMI, which saw the Paladins go for more than five minutes without a basket in what would eventually wind up being a 40-point win (100-60), the Paladins would miss nine consecutive shots following Carter Whitt's second-chance layup inside the first minute of the second half.
All told, Furman ended up making only 2-of-16 shots from the field to open the second half, which almost spanned an entire 10 minutes, stretching from the 19:12 mark-9:40 mark of the second half, as Western Carolina eventually built a five-point, 53-48 lead following a Woolbright layup in the paint with 7:32 left.
Despite its struggles, Furman's defense kept it alive, as the Paladins had been outscored 27-12 to start the second half and found themselves on the brink of letting the game get away.
On the ensuing possession following Woolbright's layup, which gave the Catamounts a five-point lead, the Paladins faced maybe their most important possession of the game, and following a Marcus Foster missed shot, Alex Williams grabbed the rebound and put the layup back in and was fouled in the process, however, his missed foul shot opportunity left the Paladins still facing a three-point deficit, at 53-50.
After a miss by Western Carolina on the other end, the Paladins had a chance to get closer, however, Carter Whitt drew a two-shot foul and made the first, but Alex Williams was whistled for a lane violation on Whitt's second attempt, leaving Furman's deficit at two, 53-51, with 6:12 remaining.
A pair of Woolbright free throws put the Catamounts back up by four with 5:45 remaining, however, the Paladins weren't going anywhere. Williams again made a layup on Furman's next trip down the floor, getting Furman back to within two, at 55-53, with just under five minutes remaining.
Following missed threes by Tre Jackson for Western Carolina, and for Furman by Alex Williams and Marcus Foster, it was an offensive rebound by Williams off Foster's miss three-pointer and subsequent layup to follow that tied the contest, 55-55, with 3:22 left. That would be the score as the two teams headed to their respective benches for the final media timeout of the game, with just 2:56 left to play.
Just before the final media timeout, Woolbright drove the lane hard, however, it appeared Foster had forced a jump ball, but he was instead whistled for his first personal foul, sending Woolbright to the line for two shots. He knocked down both, restoring the Catamount lead, 57-55.
On Furman's next possession, Foster had his layup attempt blocked by Woolbright, however, he got his own rebound and passed to Pegues before Pegues gave the ball back to Foster, and then he knocked down Furman's first three of the second half to give the Paladins the 58-57 lead with 2:23 left.
Western Carolina would again put its fate in the hands of Woolbright, and after missing his first layup attempt, came up with his own rebound and put-back to help the Catamounts retake the lead, at 59-58, with 1:57 left.
Pegues answered by bursting past Russell Jones Jr. for a layup to give the Paladins at 60-59 lead with 1:38 remaining. When Woolbright drove the lane the next time down the floor, Foster got some help side defense from Carter Whitt, and allowed Foster to come up with the steal and the ball, putting Furman in excellent position with just over a minute remaining.
Furman head coach Bob Richey called a timeout with 51 seconds remaining. With the shot-clock winding down, Pegues drove hard down the lane guarded hard by Woolbright, flicking a layup high off the left glass before it spun around the front rim and down through the hoop to give Furman a 62-59 lead in acrobatic fashion with just 39 seconds left.
Catamount head coach Justin Gray then called a timeout of his own with 34 seconds left to set up a play to get an open look at a three, which he did successfully, and it would be DJ Campbell who would knock down the triple from the right elbow, tying the game, 62-62, and sending the WCU fans into a frenzy who made the short, two-hour and 15-minute trip from Cullowhee-to-Greenville.
Furman head coach Bob Richey quickly called timeout with 17 seconds remaining, and had a play drawn up that Furman has yet to run this season, as he detailed in the postgame press conference, however, he scrapped the idea and decided to let JP Pegues do his thing. Pegues crossed the timeline and then patiently waited. He stepped back once, and then twice, and then with just under four seconds left decided it was go time, stepping back one final time, as Bernard Pelote could only watch Pegues' high-arching shot ring true with 0.6 left to the sound of Furman fans going crazy.
After a discussion, 0.2 seconds were put back on the clock to make it 0.8 when WCU inbounded the ball again. The downtown effort by Pegues had given the Paladins their final lead of the day, 65-62, and after a WCU timeout, Furman intercepted the ensuing pass and celebrated one of its biggest wins of the season to firmly put themselves back in the Southern Conference regular-season title race.
Samford extends winning streak to 17
While Western Carolina lost a heartbreaker in Greenville, Samford extended its nation's best 17-game winning streak Saturday evening, improving to 17-2 overall and 6-0 in Southern Conference play, as the Bulldogs downed Mercer, 87-80, at the Pete Hanna Center Saturday evening in a gritty Southern Conference battle.
The loss by the Bears saw them fall to 8-11 overall and 1-5 in SoCon action. Samford got another strong evening from AJ Staton-McCray and Achor Achor, who posted 20 points apiece and both posted five rebounds apiece in the win.
Jaden Campbell finished the contest with 13 points, while Rylan Jones added 12 points and Josh Holloway rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Bulldogs with 10.
Mercer was led by freshman phenom Jake Davis, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, while big man Jayln McCreary added 14 points and Jalen Cobb and Alex Holt rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Bears, adding 11 and 10 points, respectively.
It looked as though Samford was headed for another league blowout win, getting out to a 10-0 lead with 17:17 left in the opening half of play, following a three-pointer by Rylan Jones. However, the Bears would get back into the game shortly thereafter, and would manage to hang around for much of the night from there. The Bears would score five of the next six points to get back into the contest, making it an 11-5 game when Jalyn McCreary converted a layup.
After AJ Staton-McCray's three-pointer made it a nine-point game the next trip down the floor, however, the Alex Holt answered with back-to-back buckets for the Bears to get them back into the game. Samford then answered with a 10-2 run and threatened to blow the game open again, taking a 24-11 lead with 10:38 left in the half.
Mercer then scored seven-straight points on a pair of Jake Davis foul shots, an Alex Holt layup and a three-pointer by Jalen Cobb, making it a 24-18 deficit for the Bears. Samford bounced right back with seven-straight points to push the lead back to 13, at 31-18, as Staton-McCray converted a pair of free throws, a layup, and Lukas Walls converted a layup to force Greg Gary to take a timeout.
From there, the Bulldogs would lead by as many 14 points in the opening half down the stretch before settling for a 46-33 halftime lead.
In the second half, Mercer would cut into the Samford lead to seven, 51-44, early in the second half following a jumper from McCreary with 14:42 remaining in the game. Samford then pushed the lead back to 11 points by scoring the next four points, with Achor Achor's hook shot in the lane restoring a double-digit lead for Samford with 13:18 left.
Mercer's grit and toughness continued to show, however, as the Bears posted a 14-4 run to cut Samford's lead to just a point, at 59-58, with just under 10 minutes remaining on a three-pointer by Jake Davis.
However, Samford would again create a little breathing room, as the Bulldogs would score the next five points on a jumper and a free throw by Achor and a pair of Rylan Jones charity shots to make it a 64-58 contest with 9:09 left. The Bulldogs eventually pushed the lead back to double digits, at 71-60, with just under six minutes left on a three-point play the old fashioned way for Campbell.
Mercer scored the next seven points to get right back into the game, getting a pair of free throws from Jalen Cobb, a jumper and free throw by Jah Quinones and a pair of David Thomas foul shots made a 71-67 game with just over four minutes left.
Samford then scored the next seven points to go back up by 11, which essentially capped the win, with Staton-McCray's layup with 1:31 left giving the Bulldogs a 78-67 lead.
The win sets up a huge matchup ahead for the Bulldogs, as Samford heads to Greenville, S.C. Wednesday night to take on defending champion Furman (10-9, 4-2 SoCon), who is suddenly hot and has won four-straight games. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m. EST at Timmons Arena.
Mercer returns to action Wednesday night, as the Bears will be in Charleston to face off against The Citadel in a 7 p.m. EST game.
VMI finishes the week by going 1-1
VMI had a unique week on the Southern Conference hardwood, as the Keydets went from a 40-point home loss in the midweek to Furman (L, 60-100) to claiming the Keydets' first Southern Conference win as well as the first win over a Division I opponent on the weekend, as the Keydets downed arch-rival The Citadel, 70-63, at Cameron Hall by the time the weekend arrived, which of course provided quite a big ending to the week for VMI.
The win over the Bulldogs helped VMI improve to 4-15 overall this season, which included a 1-5 mark in Southern Conference. The loss by The Citadel saw the Bulldogs fall to 8-11 overall and 0-6 in league play.
The Keydets fought their way to a 16-point lead midway through the opening half of play, and then fought to hold on to that lead in the second half to snap what was a five-game losing streak, as the Keydets improved to 4-15 overall and 1-5 in Southern Conference action.
Earlier in the week in the loss to Furman, the Paladins met a VMI team suffering from not only its on-the-court struggles, but also a few off the court, as the Keydets team was bitten by the flu bug, and had only eight players dressed out to face Furman. Needless to say that wasn't conducive to the up-tempo style which the Keydets liked to play and the Keydets also ran into a Furman team playing some of its best basketball of the season, and for the first time in over a month, had a fully healthy lineup.
Furman would hit 18 three-pointers, and Marcus Foster had a double-double, scoring all 18 of his points in the second half, and he also added 10 rebounds, and was one of four Paladins in double figures. Furman was led by Alex Williams, who posted 23 points while Carter Whitt added 21 points. PJay Smith Jr rounded out the Paladins in double figures, as he finished with 13.
VMI finished the contest with three players in double figures, as Tyran Cook and Stephen Olowoniyi both posted 14 points, while Devin Butler rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11.
In the win over The Citadel, VMI was able to notch its 60th win in the all-time series against the Bulldogs and did so by getting off to a fast start and never looking back. On the opening 10 minutes of the game, the Keydets were able to build a sizable, 16-point lead from beyond the arc, assuming what was a 25-9 lead. Taeshaud Jackson II, Devin Butler, Tyran Cook, and AJ Clark all connected on threes for VMI during the opening flurry. The Keydets eventually took what was a 35-29 lead to the break.
The Bulldogs battled back into the rivalry game like many expected they would, and eventually cut the Keydets lead to one, at 42-41, and then 46-45. On five separate possessions, the Bulldogs got to within one point, but VMI held on to the slimmest of leads, at 59-58, with 3:13 remaining. The Citadel tied the game, 59-59, with 2:45 left and took its first lead since the first basket of the game when Madison Durr knocked down the second of two free throws to give the Bulldogs a 60-59 lead.
Brennan Watkins helped the Keydets regain the lead with a three-pointer with 1:55 remaining, and after Quentin Millora-Brown tied the game with a dunk, a Stephen Olowoniyi layup restored the Keydets lead at 64-62, and it would a lead VMI wouldn't relinquish the rest of the game. A pair of Devin Butler foul shots would increase the VMI lead to four (66-62) with just 42 seconds remaining.
After a pair of missed three pointers and offensive rebounds by The Citadel, Millora-Brown would eventually be fouled by Olowoniyi with just 18 seconds remaining. Millora-Brown missed the first and made the second, leaving the Bulldogs down by three points.
On the next trip down the floor, VMI's Devin Butler turned the ball over, however, the Bulldogs couldn't capitalize, as Marcus Pigram missed a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining, and Butler grabbed the rebound and he was fouled by Durr with six seconds remaining. Butler's two foul shots would give the Keydets a 68-63 lead.
Then on The Citadel's next possession, Durr turned it over and the Bulldogs would be forced to foul Brennan Watkins. He knocked down a pair of foul shots with two seconds remaining, allowing the celebrations to start a bit early, as the Keydets increased their lead to 70-63, and that would ultimately prove to be the margin of victory.
VMI had five players finish in double figures, led by Brennan Watkins' 14 points, six assists and six rebounds in what was a complete all-around effort. Tyran Cook added 12 points, while Devin Butler chipped in 11. Stephen Olowoniyi and AJ Clark came off the bench to provide 10 points apiece.
The Citadel's Quentin Millora-Brown led all scorers with 18 points in the contest and added a double-double, as he also corralled 10 rebounds in the contest. Madison Durr and AJ Smith also joined Millora-Brown in double figures with 12 points apiece, while Kenyan Davis added 10 off the bench.
VMI will return to action on Wednesday night when it hosts East Tennessee State at Cameron Hall in a 6 p.m. EST tipoff.
The Citadel will head back to McAlister Field House where they will host Mercer in a 7 p.m. EST contest Wednesday night.
UNC Greensboro continues to creep back up the league standings
UNCG posted a pair of wins over The Citadel and Wofford at the Greensboro Coliseum this past week, as the Spartans improved to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in league action, and are now sitting all alone in second place in the Southern Conference standings behind only Samford.
The two wins over the Bulldogs and Terriers this week allowed the Spartans to improve their home record to 9-0 on the campaign, which marks the best start at home during a campaign since the 2004-05 season.
In Wednesday night's clash with The Citadel, the Spartans were able to get a huge night from Mikeal Brown-Jones, as he dropped a season-high for points for a Southern Conference player, as he dropped 39 points against The Citadel in what was a 73-67 mid-week win.
He would end up being the only Spartans player to finish the contest in double figures in the contest. The 39 points were also a career-high of course, for Brown-Jones, as he finished the contest going 14-of-21 from the field, including a going 3-for-4 from long range and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
Early in the second half, The Citadel took its second lead of the game after scoring 11-straight points to take the lead, 40-38, and then the teams traded baskets two more times and the score was tied a total of four times, with the final time seeing the score all tied, 51-51, with just under eight minutes remaining. Brown-Jones would connect on his third three-pointer of the game with 7:20 remaining, allowing the Spartans to take the 54-51 lead.
An Elijah Morgan three-pointer got the Bulldogs back to within two, at 60-58, with 4:23 remaining. That would be as close as the Bulldogs could manage to get the rest of the way, however, as Brown-Jones would close out the win at the free throw line, as he made four free throws in the final 13 seconds, allowing the Spartans to secure the six-point, 73-67 win.
Donovan Atwell was the next closest Spartan in double figures, posting nine points on hitting three of nine shots from long range in the contest.
The Citadel was led in the contest by Morgan's 20 points, knocking down 7-of-12 from the field, including going 6-for-10 from three-point range. Madison Durr and AJ Smith also finished with 18 points apiece to round out the Bulldogs players in double figures.
The Spartans would move to 3-0 against teams from the Palmetto State in the SoCon at the Greensboro Coliseum after dispatching of the Wofford Terriers, 82-59, Saturday evening.
Mikeal Brown-Jones picked up right where he left off after he posted 29 points to lead three Spartans players in double figures, as he connected on 8-of-12 shots from the field, including going 2-for-3 from three-point range and was 11-of-12 from the line, completing his week with 68 points in two games.
Brown-Jones was joined in double figures by Keyshaun Langley, who finished with 16 points, while Jalen Breath rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11.
Cory Tripp was one of three Terriers to finish in double figures in the game, as he posted 19 points on 8-of-16 and knocked down 3-of-6 from three-point land. Anthony Arrington and Belal El Shakery added 11 points apiece off the bench.
UNCG started the game with a 13-0 run and never really looked back en route to getting the 23-point win. The UNCG defense was stifling to start out the game, holding the Terriers without a basket for the first 4:35. A little over midway through the first half, the Terriers cut the Spartans lead to six, at 24-18, following a Jackson Sivills with 9:05 remaining in the half.
Brown-Jones then responded with a pair of threes to put the Spartans back up double digits, at 30-18, with 8:27 left in the opening frame. The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the opening half, and the Spartans took what was an 11-point, 41-30, lead into the halftime locker room. UNCG has won 13 of its 14 games this season when leading at the half.
In the second half, Donovan Atwell scored five-straight points, which included a three-point play the old fashioned way in just over a minute of action, allowing the Spartans to take a 20-point lead (62-42) and UNCG would never look back, taking as much as a 26-point lead in the second half before eventually settling for the 23-point win.
UNCG returns to action Wednesday night in what figures to be a huge league tilt, as the Spartans head to Cullowhee to tangle with a Western Carolina (15-4, 4-2 SoCon) team looking to put an end to a two-game skid. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m. EST at the Liston B. Ramsey Activity Center.
Wofford will also be in action Wednesday night, as the Terriers will host Chattanooga at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m. EST.
Chattanooga gets a pair of impressive wins
Chattanooga completed its week in impressive fashion, posting wins over both Mercer and East Tennessee State on Sunday, setting up a big matchup Wednesday night on the road at Wofford.
In the Southern Conference, life on the road is never easy, however, the Mocs are two-thirds through their three-game road trip and so far, so good, as UTC has posted a 2-0 record to this point.
In the first of the two road trip games last Wednesday night on the road at Mercer, the Mocs were able to pick up what was a 74-60 win over Mercer.
In that contest, Trey Bonham would lead the way for the Mocs, as he posted 27 points in helping the Mocs to a 14-point road win in the first game of the road trip. All told, Bonham finished the contest connecting on 11-of-16 shots from the field and went 3-for-6 from three-point land in the win. He also went a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, and posted a pair of steals and a block on the defensive end of the floor.
Joining Bonham in double figures in the contest were Honor Huff, who posted 15 points, while Sam Alexis got close to notching another double-double, posting 10 points and adding eight rebounds. The league's leading shot-blocker also added three swats to his totals.
Mercer finished the contest with three players in double figures, as David Thomas led the team with 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. He would be joined in double figures by Anthony Bernard and Jake Davis, who finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
It was Mercer that actually got off to the better start of the two teams, taking an 11-3 lead early in the contest, as UTC struggled shooting the basketball early on in the contest. The Mocs would awaken to find their shooting touch shortly after then three minute lull to open the game, and scored 14 of the next 16 points in the game to take a 17-15 lead when Bonham knocked down a jumper at the 8:11 mark of the opening half to give the Mocs the lead.
He scored 12-straight points to help the Mocs take a 24-21 lead with 3:08 left in the opening half of play. After holding what was a 31-23 lead at the half, Bonham scored the Mocs' first five points of the second half, helping Chattanooga to extend its lead to double digits, at 36-25, at the 18:53 mark of the second half.
Mercer responded quickly with a 9-0 run, which began with an Alex Holt dunk and ended with an Anthony Bernard layup, getting back to within two, at 36-34, with 16:17 remaining in the contest. The game went back-and-forth over the next four minutes, as the Bears vanquished the double-digit lead, tying the contest, 45-45, on a layup by Thomas with just under 12 minutes remaining.
The Mocs, however, slowly but surely worked their way back into the lead, building a two-possession advantage once again by scoring on five-straight possessions to reclaim a 56-51 lead following a Sam Alexis layup with 7:48 remaining. UTC put the clamps down on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Bears without a field goal for five minutes, and the lead swelled to its largest margin of the night, at 68-56, following a pair of Honor Huff free throws with 2:01 remaining.
From that point forward, Chattanooga was able to control things down the stretch en route to a 14-point, 74-60, road win. The Mocs stingy defense was able to limit Mercer to just 33.8% (22-of-65) from the charity stripe and just a 18.2% (4-of-22) effort from three-point range in securing the road win.
The Mocs had their streak of 52-straight games with six or more made threes snapped in the road win, as the Mocs finished just 5-of-20 (25%) from three-point range in the contest. The 52-game streak had been the longest such streak in the NCAA.
From the win over Mercer, the Mocs traveled to Johnson City to take on East Tennessee State in what was a standalone game on Sunday on the Southern Conference hoops hardwood. In a game that featured the SoCon's two most successful hoops programs, it was the Mocs that would leave the Tri-Cities with the upper hand, as Chattanooga earned an 81-74 win over the Bucs at Freedom Hall before a rowdy crowd of nearly 5,000 (4,896) fans.
The nationally-televised contest on ESPNU/ESPN2 saw Chattanooga get a huge performance from its bench, and namely, Jan Zedek, who came off the bench to lead four Mocs in double figures in the contest with 21 points. The son of former national champion George Zedek (UCLA 1995) would end the day by connecting on 8-of-11 shots from the field, which included an impressive 4-for-6 performance from beyond the arc.
Zedek was joined in double figures by UTC's diminutive backcourt duo of Trey Bonham and Honor Huff, as the two lightning-quick guards added 19 and 13 points, respectively, to Chattanooga's winning cause. Sam Alexis just missed a double-double, posting 10 points and adding nine rebounds.
ETSU finished the contest with three players finishing in double figures, led by Ebby Asamoah's game-high 22 points, while Quimari Peterson and Jaden Seymour added 18 points apiece. Asamoah finished the contest going 7-of-17 from the field, which included a 1-for-9 shooting effort from beyond the arc. He did finish a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
The win saw Chattanooga improve to 12-7 overall and 4-2 inside league action, while ETSU fell for the fifth-straight game, dropping to 9-10 overall and 1-5 in league action.
Like it had done in its road win at Mercer, Chattanooga got off to a fast start and held an 8-5 lead by the time the two teams headed to their respective benches for the first media timeout of the contest. Triples by Honor Huff and Trey Bonham and a two-handed hammer dunk by Tyler Millin had given the Mocs their first eight points of the tense road contest.
ETSU came right back with a 20-4 run over the next five minutes and change, taking a 28-23 lead after following a Jadyn Parker layup at the 6:41 mark of the opening half.
The Mocs would storm right back, however, using a 10-2 run to assume a 33-30 lead following a Noah Melson steal and one-handed flush on the other end with 3:21 remaining in the half. Then, Bonham's three at the halftime buzzer allowed ETSU to take all the momentum into the half, as his triple from the top of the key gave the Mocs a 36-32 halftime edge.
The Mocs would pick up right where the left off towards the end of the opening half of play, as the Mocs would quickly increase their lead to seven points (44-37), with Sam Alexis getting off to a fast start, using a jumper in the lane and a dunk to spark the Mocs' fast start.
ETSU came right back, however, cutting the UTC lead to just two (47-45) following a three-point play the old-fashioned way from Jaden Seymour with just over 13 minutes remaining.
Jan Zidek then hit one of the bigger shots of his UTC career to stem the ETSU mini-run, as his fourth three of the night allowed Chattanooga to increase its lead to a five-point cushion (52-47) at the under 12 media timeout. The Mocs would continue to slowly increase their lead over the next four-and-a-half minutes, eventually pushing the lead to 61-52 with 8:14 left following a Trey Bonham jumper in the lane.
The Bucs would mount one final charge late, getting to within 64-60 following a Quimari Peterson tear-drop effort in the paint with 6:28 left, prompting Dan Earl to take a timeout.
It turned out to be the right move by Earl, as Tyler Millin's corner three helped UTC push the lead back to seven, at 69-62, before the Bucs answered with a Peterson triple to cut the Mocs lead back to four. The Mocs eventually pushed the lead back to six (73-67) on a Sam Alexis layup, and the Mocs were able to convert their three final field goal attempts, while playing good defense on the other end, helping keep the Bucs at bay and were able to capture a fourth-straight win inside Freedom Hall.
SoCon Power Poll following Week 3
1. Samford--Nation's longest winning streak moves to 17-straight
2. UNCG--UNCG's performance last week and Mikeal Brown-Jones in particular sees them move up to No. 2
3. Western Carolina--Has a chance to get back up to No. 2 with a win Wed night at home vs. UNCG
4. Chattanooga--Chattanooga's defensive effort in league play has been impressive so far
T-4. Furman--Foster is back and apparently, so is Furman
6. Wofford--Terriers have been good at home against the lower tier of the league, but now the real tests begin to come
7. East Tennessee State--The Bucs are going to right the ship soon, and when they do, look out.
8. Mercer--The Bears have shown some of the best freshman talent in the league, but have yet to be very consistent
9. VMI--A win over The Citadel this past weekend has the Keydets showing signs of improvement
10. The Citadel--The Citadel needs a win in the worst way at home Wed. night against Mercer
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