SoCon League Play Recaps and Notes
Furman (13-1, 1-0 SoCon) 90, Western Carolina (5-7,
0-1 SoCon) 61
Jan. 1, 2025/Cullowhee, N.C.
Liston B. Ramsey Center (1,276)
Series Following
Result: Furman now leads the all-time
series between the two, 57-31/The Paladins have won 18 of the past 20 meetings
in the series
Furman had six players finish in double figures,
as Nick Anderson led the way with 20 points, while Charles Johnston added 17
off the bench and the Paladins recorded what was their largest win ever in Cullowhee
in 41 all-time meetings with the Catamounts. Furman got off to a strong start,
scoring the game’s first 13 points and never looked back in getting the win.
The win saw the Paladins improve to 13-1
overall, marking their best start to a season since the 1931-32 season. The
Catamounts finished with three players in double figures in the setback, with Bernard
Pelote leading the way with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Brandon Morgan added 14 points, while Chevalier Ice Emery finished with 13. WCU
fell to 4-8 overall and 0-1 in league play.
East Tennessee State (8-6, 1-0 SoCon) 84, VMI (6-8,
0-1 SoCon) 69
Jan. 1, 2025/Johnson City, TN
Freedom Hall (3,302 Attn)
Series Following Result: ETSU leads 60-15/The
Bucs have now won 29 of the past 31 between the two in the series
--John Buggs III posted a career-high 33 points
and made 10 of the Bucs’ school-record 17 three-point field goals, while Jaden
Seymour became just the third Buccaneer to ever record a triple-double, as ETSU
outlasted VMI, 84-69, in Johnson City to open the New Year and conference play
in style.
The Bucs, who lost four out of their final five
to close non-conference play, were without the services of Karon Boyd, who missed
the game with an injury, and improved to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in league play.
The Keydets fell to 6-8 overall and 0-1 in league action.
Buggs finished as the highest scoring Bucs
player in a game since Jordan King scored 44 points back during the 2022-23
season in an early league win at The Citadel. The North Texas graduate finished
11-of-18 shooting from the field, which included a 10-for-16 from three-point
range. His 10 three-point field goals were one of the school record of 11 previously
set back in a late season league win over Western Carolina, which clinched the
2019-20 regular-season title for the Bucs.
Meanwhile, Seymour posted his triple double on
18 points, 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. His triple-double performance
joins former Bucs Courtney Pigram and Tim Smith as the only players to
accomplish the rare feat in program history. The win marked the 29th
win in the last 31 meetings by the Bucs against VMI, as ETSU ran its series
advantage to 60-15 all-time against the Keydets.
ETSU assumed what appeared to be a comfortable 35-19
lead before the Keydets made a 19-3 surge, tying the game 38-38 at the half. The
Keydets took their only lead of the game at 40-38 after making the most of
having the most of having the opening possession of the second half. Leading,
52-49, the Bucs would eventually assume the upper hand in the game by scoring
11 of the
next 14 points to assume a 63-52 lead with 9:11
remaining. The Bucs were never really threatened again, as they would never let
the Keydets get within nine the rest of the way.
The Keydets were paced in the game by guards Rickey
Bradley and Linus Holmstrom, who both finished with 14 points. The Bucs shot a sizzling
56% in the second half and 48.4% for the game. ETSU’s 17-of-40 mark from
three-point range to end the day shooting 42.5% from three. VMI finished the
day connecting on 42.3% from the field and 41.2% from three-point land. The
Bucs outscored the Keydets 51-21 from long range.
Mercer (8-6, 1-0 SoCon) 99, Chattanooga (8-6,
0-1 SoCon) 94 (OT)
Jan. 1, 2025/Macon, GA
Hawkins Arena (1,544 ATN)
Series Following Result: Chattanooga leads 47-42/The
Mercer win snapped a six-game winning streak in the series by Chattanooga; It
was Mercer’s first win over Chattanooga since an 81-77 overtime victory over
the Mocs at Hawkins Arena on Feb. 24, 2021
In the most thrilling game of the opening
afternoon of SoCon Hoops on New Year’s Day, Mercer produced the minor upset by
outlasting visiting Chattanooga, 99-94, in overtime, as Bears head coach Ryan
Ridder notched his first Southern Conference win as the Mercer head coach.
For much of the afternoon, it was the Tyler “Chip”
Johnson and Ahmad Robinson show, as the star guard tandem combined to score 51
of the Bears’ 99 points in the win. Johnson would lead the way with 26 points,
while Ahmad Robinson finished the afternoon with 25. Also registering
double-figure scoring performances in the win for the Bears were both Cam Bryant
and Alex Holt, who finished with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
The Mocs finished the contest with four in double
figures to match the Bears, as Frank Champion led the way for Chattanooga with
24 points, while Bash Wieland added 19 and Jack Kostel and Trey Bonham both
added 11 points apiece.
Champion would tie the game with 0.9 seconds
remaining after connecting on a driving layup to tie the score, 85-85, sending
the game into the extra five minutes of basketball. It was part of what had
been a near-miraculous come-from-behind win for the Mocs, who trailed 85-81,
with only 11 seconds remaining in the contest. Trey Bonham made a layup to get
the Mocs to within a pair, and after helping force a jump-ball situation with
the possession arrow favoring the Mocs, it would set the stage for some UTC
late-game heroics. Champion would then tie the game on a running layup with
under a second left, taking the game into an extra session.
In the extra five minutes, however, it would be
Mercer that would end up having the last laugh, as the Bears were able to outscore
the Mocs 14-9 in the extra five minutes of basketball to escape with the win.
The opening half of basketball would see-saw
back-and-forth, with the Bears taking a 42-37 lead into the half, using a late
10-0 run to go ahead by five, and then were able to hold that lead steady going
into the break.
The Mocs got off to a strong start in the
second half, eventually retaking the lead when Garrison Kesslar converted a
layup with 15:33 remaining, giving UTC the 54-52 lead.
However, Mercer would respond and battle back
to take a 57-56 lead on an Ahmad Robinson triple at the 12:54 mark. The lead
would change hands three times over the next nine minutes before a Robinson
foul shot gave the Bears a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
The Bears would extend their lead to seven, at 81-74, after a Tyler Johnson triple
and two more Ahmad Robinson charity shots, giving Mercer the seven-point lead
with just 71 seconds left.
Wieland made a layup and Champion converted a
pair of foul shots to get the Mocs to within three, at 81-78, with 48 seconds
remaining. And after Ahmad Robinson knocked down a pair of foul shots with 37
second left, the Bears were seemingly comfortably ahead by five once more, but
a Bonham three just 14 seconds later kept the Mocs too close for complete
comfort. Johnson was fouled with 11 seconds left and pushed the Mercer lead
back to four, at 85-81.
However, Bonham made a layup, forced a jump
ball and then Champion tied the game on a running layup in the lane to tie the
game, 85-85.
Early in overtime, Johnson connected on a pair
of foul shots to put the Bears back on top, 89-87, however, Chattanooga would
pull even when Champion connected on a jumper in the paint on the ensuing
offensive trip down the floor.
A three-pointer by Cam Bryant was followed by a
Trey Bonham missed three for UTC. Alex Holt then connected on a jumper on his
next trip down the floor, giving the Bears a five-point lead, at 94-89, with
1:22 left. After Champion answered with a layup for the Mocs to cut the Mercer
lead to three, the Mocs would get a stop, however, Champion missed a layup and
Jah Quinones was immediately fouled on the rebound. Quinones knocked down 1-of-2
from the line, leaving the score 95-91 in favor of the Bears.
From there, Champion would continue his strong
day at the office, as his three with 13 seconds left hit nothing but the bottom
of the net to bring UTC within a single point, at 95-94. However, the Bears were
able to hit their final four free throws, while holding the Mocs scoreless the
rest of the way to hold on for the thrilling win.
In what was the 48th all-time league opener for
the gold standard program Chattanooga (12 SoCon Titles), the Mocs fell to 27-21
in league openers, including 10-14 in league road openers. The Mocs have now
lost their last five road opener in SoCon play. The Mocs extended their streak of
games with five or made three-pointers to 82 under Dan Earl, which is the
second-longest active streak in the NCAA.
Samford (11-3, 1-0 SoCon) 86, The Citadel (5-7,
0-1 SoCon) 56
Jan. 1, 2025/Homewood, AL
Pete Hanna Center (1,048 ATN)
Series Following Result: Samford now leads 19-14/The
Samford Bulldogs have now six-straight in the series
The only game to be as anticlimactic as Furman’s
trip to Cullowhee to take on Western Carolina to open Southern Conference play
was when Samford hosted The Citadel at the Pete Hanna Center in the league’s
lone night game on the opening day of league play, as the Bulldogs racked up a
26th-straight win at the Pete with a convincing 86-56 win over The Citadel.
Leading another comprehensive display for
Samford was talented transfer portal addition Trey Fort, as he led the way for
the hometown Bulldogs by finishing with 19 points, leading three Samford
players in double figures in the contest. Fort was on fire out of the gates,
connecting on his first five shots from the field before finishing the game by
totaling his 19 on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, which included a 5-for-10
effort from three-point land.
Fort would be joined in double figures by senior
point guard Rylan Jones, who posted 18 points in 21 minutes of floor action,
while also dishing out a team-high six assists to go with three rebounds. All
18 of Jones’ points came from long range, as he finished the night against The Citadel
connected on 6-of-9 shots from beyond the arc. Jaden Brownell rounded out
Samford’s double-figure scorers with 13 points.
The Bulldogs shot a solid 46.8% (29-of-62),
which included connecting on an impressive 42.9% (18-of-41) from three-point
range in the win. Meanwhile, Samford was also excellent on the defensive end of
the floor, holding The Citadel to just 39.1% (18-of-46) from the field, including
just 31.8% (7-of-22) from three-point range.
The Citadel was led in scoring in the contest by
two players in double figures, as Colby McCalister came off the bench to score
12 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-for-7 shooting from three-point
range. He also connected on 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. Brody Fox was the
only other Bulldogs player in double figures, adding 10.
After holding a 41-27 lead at the half, Samford
would connect on 10-of-18 three-pointers in the second half, outscoring the
visiting Bulldogs 45-29 in the second half to equal what was the SoCon’s most lopsided
game on the opening night of league play. It was exactly how Bucky McMillan and
the defending Southern Conference Champions would have drawn it up.
UNCG (8-6, 1-0 SoCon) 68, Wofford (6-8, 0-1
SoCon) 66
Jan. 1, 2025/Spartanburg, S.C.
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (918 ATN)
Series Following
Result: Wofford leads 32-25/The Spartans
have won three-straight and five of the past six in the series
A game that would have certainly rivaled that
of the Chattanooga-Mercer contest on the opening day of SoCon Hoops play in 2025
is the one between Wofford and UNCG, which would see the Spartans edge the Terriers,
68-66, on a key late three-pointer by Ronald Polite III to open up league play
in strong fashion.
Trailing 66-65, Polite found himself wide open
on the wing with 10 seconds left and the George Mason transfer would connect
from downtown, as his shot would put the Spartans on top 68-66 with 10 seconds
remaining. Following a timeout for Wofford head coach Dwight Perry to set up a
play, Corey Tripp, who surpassed the 1,000-point milestone for his career
during the contest, couldn’t convert a contested layup and the a wild scramble
for the loose ball would eventually run out the remaining time on the clock, as
the Spartans closed out a big SoCon road win.
The Spartans were led in the contest by both Polite
III and Demetrius Davis, who paced the Spartans with 16 points apiece, while Radford
transfer Kenyon Giles added 12. Wofford would be paced by Tripp’s 17 points en
route to reaching the 1,000-point milestone, while Kyler Filewich continued his
strong play of late, adding a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Tripp finished the contest connecting on
6-of-16 shots from the field, which included a 4-for-6 effort from three-point
range. Polite finished his first afternoon of the 2025 calendar year by
connecting on 6-of-9 shots from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 from long range.
Teammate Demetrius Davis, who is a graduate transfer from Chattanooga, finished
the evening connecting on 6-of-12 shots from the field and connected on 3-of-7
shots from beyond the arch.
For the game, Wofford connected on 44.1% (24-of-54)
from the field and 39.1% (9-of-23) from long range. UNCG, which shot a season-worst
29.1% in the opening half, rebounded to finish the game by connecting on 38.6% (22-of-57)
from the field and also connected on 37.5% (9-of-24) from three-point land.
Despite struggling to find their range in the opening half of play, the Spartans
went to the half trailing by only seven, as Wofford held a 28-21 advantage at
the intermission. The second half of the contest would be reserved for the most
drama, as the final 10 minutes of the game would see 10 lead changes.
Gameday 2: Jan. 4, 2025
UNCG (9-6, 2-0 SoCon) 84, Furman (13-2, 1-1
SoCon) 66
Jan. 4, 2025/Greensboro, N.C.
First North Coliseum (1,006 ATN)
Series Following
Result: UNCG leads 26-21/Have now won five of the last six games against
Paladins
UNC Greensboro’s Kenyon Giles scored a
game-high 25 points, and the Spartans shot a blistering 57.4% (31-for-54) for
the game, including 52.2% (12-of-23) from three-point range, cooling off
red-hot Furman, 84-66, Saturday afternoon in the Spartans’ SoCon home opener at
the First North Coliseum.
UNCG went from its worst shooting half on the
road at Wofford in the SoCon opening win over the Terriers (shot 29.1%) to
shooting its top percentage in the opening half of a game at home against
Furman (shot 60.1%), as the Spartans took what was a 43-32 lead into the
halftime locker room.
En route to his game-high 25 points, Giles reached
a milestone for his career, surpassing the 1,000-plateau en route to leading
the Spartans to their fifth win in the last six meetings with the Paladins. Giles
powered a UNCG offense that shot the ball at a 57.4% (31-of-54) clip for the
game, which included a 52.2% effort from three-point range (12-of-23), as well
as outscoring the Paladins 36-27 from beyond the arc—a stat that Furman rarely
if ever loses in a game. The Paladins have given up 80 or more points this
season on two occasions this season, with both of those resulting in losses.
The 84 points scored by UNCG were a season-high against an NCAA Division I
foe.
Individually for Giles, he showed why he is one
of the SoCon’s top players and newcomers, as he finished the connecting on
10-of-13 shots from the field, including making 5-of-6 from three-point range.
He also added five rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded a steal.
Giles was joined in double figures by fellow
transfer portal addition Ronald Polite III, who contributed 18 points on 5-of-9
shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from long range. In addition,
Polite III knocked down 5-of-7 shots from the charity stripe. All told, Giles
and Polite combined to go 8-of-10 from three-point range, while the rest of the
team connected on 4-for-13 from long range.
For a second-straight season, Joryam Saizonou
came off the bench to provide the Spartans with 11 points, as he posted a
season-high 13 points against Furman last season in UNCG’s early-January
11-point win over the Paladins at the First Horizon Coliseum.
The Paladins had just one player reach double
figures in the contest, as senior guard PJay Smith Jr. notched his sixth
20-plus scoring performance of the season, as well as his 10th double-figure
scoring outing in 13 games so far this season, finishing with 24 points. In the
loss, Smith Jr. connected 8-of-16 shots from the field and went 4-for-11 from
three-point land. He made all four of his free throws and contributed a rebound
and an assist.
While for much of the night it seemed like the
Spartans couldn’t miss open looks, and even made some contested ones, the
Paladins struggled to find their shooting rhythm from any range, as the
Paladins finished the contest connecting on just 39.3% (22-of-56) from the
field for the game, while making only
For much of the season, Furman has had answers
in games when it seemingly shouldn’t have, however, on Saturday evening when it
needed answers, it couldn’t find the ammo to load its guns effectively. In the
first half, Furman got the shots it wanted, however, the problem was when they
fired them, they were blanks.
The second half saw UNCG step up its defensive
grit and effort, however, even at that, the Paladins trimmed it to eight points
on two but failed on four attempts to cut into that deficit even further,
however. The Paladins came away only with empty possessions with chances to cut
into that UNCG lead and make things interesting. Mike Jones’ teams have a knack
for holding their own in those moments, never letting the hard-charging foe
faced with a deficit get completely back into the game, and in those moments,
UNCG’s defensive acumen was top-notch.
In the opening few minutes, it appeared that
both PJay Smith Jr and Kenyon Giles were playing with each other one-on-one, as
Smith scored Furman’s first eight, while Giles would tally UNCG’s first four.
From there, others would settle into the scoring for the Spartans, while
Furman, which has found scoring from a lot of different places this season,
couldn’t find that scoring outside of Smith all evening.
In fact, Furman, which came into the game with
11 different double-figure scorers this season, had only one in a game for the
first time season, and finished a game with only one. Even in its loss at
Kansas earlier this season, both Eddrin Bronson (14 pts) and Garrett Hien (12
pts) both scratched out double-figure scoring performances. In stark
contrast to its second SoCon game, the Paladins had six players finish in
double figures in their 29-point road-opening win at Western Carolina.
The Paladins were leading 9-7 after a Garrett
Hien made foul shot before the Spartans would commence a 10-0 run to completely
take control of the game, with the scoring run beginning with a pair of Malik
Henry foul shots and end with a Giles three-pointer at the 13:09 mark of the
opening frame to prompt a Bob Richey timeout.
The Spartans would eventually head into the
halftime locker room with a 43-32, marking the third time the Paladins had
trailed by 11 this season. The Paladins trailed games to both Kansas and
Florida Gulf-Coast by 11 points at the half, going 1-1 in those games. This
game would trend towards the Kansas game rather than the FGCU contest.
Early in the second half, the Paladins sliced
the UNCG lead to eight after Hien converted a layup in the paint, however,
while the Spartans’ response was not immediate, it was a swift and decisive and
just over a minute later a Giles layup in the paint extended the UNCG lead back
to double digits, at 49-39, at the 15:39 mark. From there, the Spartans would
fatten their lead to 19 points over roughly the next three minutes, with a
Saizonou layup in the paint extending the UNCG lead to 19, at 61-42, with 12:41
remaining in the game.
The Paladins would never get closer than 12
points the rest of the way, with the Spartans extending their lead to as many
as 21 points on two occasions, with the latest of those coming following a
Roland Polite III three-pointer with 4:16 remaining, which gave the Blue and
Gold a 78-57 lead.
Wofford (7-8, 1-1 SoCon) 81, ETSU (8-7, 1-1
SoCon) 78
Jan. 4, 2025/Johnson City, TN
Freedom Hall (4,107 /Attn)
Series Following Result: ETSU now leads the series
42-19/The Bucs are now 6-5 in the last 11 meetings with the Terriers, and prior
to Saturday’s loss to the Terriers, had won 13 of the past 18 and four of the
past five over Wofford in Johnson City.
Wofford was able to hold off a furious rally
from East Tennessee State late in the contest and took home a key SoCon road
win with an 81-78 verdict in front of better than 4,100 fans on-hand at Freedom
Hall.
The result sees the Terriers improve to 7-8 overall
and 1-1 in Southern Conference action, while the Bucs dropped to 8-7 overall
and 1-1 in league action.
A key 20-4 run to open the second half was what
helped fuel the Terriers win on the road in one of the league’s toughest road
venues, as the Terriers were able to overcome what was a five-point, 39-34, halftime
deficit to come away with the win. The key run to open the second half saw
Wofford connect on its first nine shots from the field to take what was a
double-digit lead, as the Terriers overturned what was a five-point deficit at
the break to assume a 54-43 lead following a Jackson Sivills three-pointer with
15:39 remaining in the game.
Wofford would maintain a healthy 7–12-point lead
over roughly the next 14 minutes of game time, and after Corey Tripp’s foul
shot with 1:50 remaining, it looked as though the Terriers would be able to
coast to the win. That’s when, much like the SoCon semifinal win over
Chattanooga last March in Asheville, the Bucs would turn up the pressure and
would make things interesting down the stretch, as ETSU would commence to go on
an 8-1 run over the next 1:28 to get within 79-78 following a Gabe Sisk made
foul shot.
During the run, the Bucs got a pair of free
throws from Quimari Peterson, a made jumper from John Buggs III, and a made
foul foul shots from Peterson and Sisk on two different trips to the charity
stripe, getting ETSU to within 79-78 with just 22 seconds remaining. The lone
point from Wofford during the 1:28 stretch came on a Jeremy Lorenz foul shot
with 31 seconds remaining.
With the Terriers clinging to a 79-78 lead and
struggling to get the ball inbounds against the Bucs feisty press, the Bucs fouled
Lorenz again with 21 seconds left. He missed both shots of the double-bonus,
leaving the door open for ETSU. Following a timeout with 11 seconds left, ETSU
had a play set up in the paint for Jaden Seymour, however, he couldn’t convert
the half-hook in the lane from about 12-feet out and Sivills came up with the
rebound with six seconds remaining. Sivills would make the first to push the Wofford
lead to two, however, he missed the second, but thankfully for the Terriers, Tripp
was “Johnny on the Spot” for the offensive rebound and the ball was quickly passed
to Luke Flynn in an attempt to run the remaining seconds off the clock.
Flynn was fouled by Buggs and he would go to
the stripe and knock down his second free throw on the two-shot bonus, giving
the Terriers an 81-78 lead with just 1.2 seconds remaining. The Bucs were
unable to get off a shot to try and tie the game, as Karon Boyd’s inbounds pass
was deflected, and the final second ran off the clock and the Terriers celebrated
in unison the big SoCon road win. It was the second loss of the season on the
home hardwood for the Bucs, who also fell on their home floor in the
non-conference to Eastern Kentucky by a similar scoreline on that occasion, dropping
an 82-78 contest to the Colonels.
Wofford finished the game with four players
finishing in double figures, with guard Dillion Bailey finishing the contest with
a team-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a 3-for-5 effort
from long-range. Forward Kyler Filewich chipped in with 16 points and eight
boards, while Jackson Sivills added 15 off the bench. Rounding out the Terriers
in double figures in the road win was Corey Tripp, who posted 11 points and
dished out a team-high five assists.
The Bucs finished the contest with three tallying
double-figure scoring efforts, with Quimari Peterson’s 18 points leading the
way for ETSU, while John Buggs III added 16 and Jaden Seymour added 14 points.
Peterson connected on 5-of-8 shots from the field and 2-for-4 from long-range,
while also going 6-for-11 from the free throw line. Peterson and Buggs led ETSU
with four assists apiece, while Seymour led ETSU on the backboards with seven
rebounds.
Wofford would outscore the Bucs 47-39 in the second
half on the strength of shooting an impressive 65% (15-of-23) from the field,
and that helped the Terriers end the game with an impressive 61.7% (29-of-47)
shooting clip.
The two teams will return to SoCon action on Wednesday
night, with ETSU set to head to Hawkins Arena in Macon, GA., to take on former
Atlantic Sun rival Mercer (9-6, 2-0 SoCon), with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Wofford
returns to the hardwood on Wednesday evening, hosting Western Carolina (4-9,
0-2 SoCon) in a 7 p.m. EST contest at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
Samford (12-3, 2-0 SoCon) 88, Western Carolina
(4-9, 0-2 SoCon) 69
Jan. 4, 2025/Cullowhee, N.C.
Liston B. Ramsey Center (2,798 ATN)
Series Following Result: Samford now holds a
19-14 all-time series edge and increased its series winning streak to eight
games against the Catamounts.
Samford was able to get off to a 2-0 start in
Southern Conference play by notching its second lopsided win in as many league
games, posting a convincing 88-69 win over Western Carolina at the Liston B.
Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts played well early on in the
contest, and were the clear aggressors and took a five-point lead midway through
the frame, as Cord Stansberry’s triple would give the Purple and Gold a 22-17
lead at the 10:17 mark of the opening half of play. However, the Bulldogs had
recovered quickly, a quick 10-0 run would give Samford the lead back by five,
as a Jaden Brownell layup at the 8:07 mark of the half would give the Bulldogs
a 27-22 lead.
The Bulldogs’ lead would see-saw from 2-6
points over the next three minutes until WCU’s Vernon Collins would cut the
Catamount deficit to a single point when on a tip-in with just under five
minutes remaining in the opening frame. Then, the Bulldogs used a quick 7-0
run, which was bookended by Mississippi State transfer guard Trey Fort, who start
the Samford mini-spurt by connecting on one of his three triples in the game
and then would end the Bulldogs’ run by converting a layup in the paint to give
Samford a 38-30 lead with 3:45 left in the opening half.
A minute later Samford took its first double-digit
lead of the half when Julian Brown knocked down a pair of foul shots to give
the Bulldogs a 40-30 lead, and that
would remain the advantage, as the defending SoCon Champions went to half owner’s
of a 44-34 lead. And the Bulldogs would go to the half with the momentum much
like Furman had in WCU’s SoCon opener following a PJay Smith Jr. banked in
three-pointer, as this time the Bulldogs used a layup by Josh Holloway at the
buzzer to take old “Mo” into the locker room.
By the time the two teams went to their
respective benches for the first media timeout of the second half, however,
Samford had grown its lead 14 points and less than four minutes in, Samford
assumed what was a 61-40 lead following a three-pointer on a fast-break from Fort
with 16:58 left. The Bulldogs would never look back the rest of the way, leading
by as many as 26 and would never let the Catamounts get closer than 16 points
the rest of the way.
For the game, Samford connected on a blistering
52.8% (28-for-53) from the field, including shooting a solid 40.0% (10-for-25)
from three-point land in the game. The Catamounts, who shot the ball well early
in the game, finished the night shooting just 39.3% (24-of-61) from the field
and 39.3% (11-for-28) from three-point range. The Bulldogs finished the night connecting
at a 81.5% (22-of-27) clip from the free throw line, while the Catamounts
connected on 71.4% (10-for-14) of their charity shots in the game.
The Bulldogs had two players finish the game in
double figures, with Jaden Brownell with game-high scoring honors, finishing with
23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point land.
The other Bulldogs player finishing the night in double figures for the night
was Trey Fort, who added 18 points, as he connected on 6-of-9 shots from the
field and was 3-for-5 from three-point range. Fort was also solid once again at
the charity stripe, connecting on 4-of-5 shots from the line.
The Catamounts finished the contest led by another
strong performance from senior forward Bernard Pelote, who finished 22 points
on 9-of-13 from the field and 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range. Cord
Stansberry added 11 points, while CJ Hyland chipped in with 10 to round out the
double figure scorers for WCU on the night.
Samford returns to action on Wednesday evening,
as the Bulldogs will look to run their home winning streak at the Pete Hanna Center
to 27-straight when they host VMI (6-9, 0-2 SoCon) in an 8 p.m. EST contest at
the Pete Hanna Center. Western Carolina will be in the Upstate of South
Carolina, facing off against the Wofford (7-8, 1-1 SoCon) in a key Southern
Conference tilt at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Tip-off for that game
is set for 7 p.m. EST
Mercer (9-6, 2-0 SoCon) 70, VMI (6-9, 0-2 SoCon)
67
Jan. 4, 2025/Lexington, VA
Cameron Hall (546 ATN)
Series Following Result: Mercer now leads the
series 20-4 and have won the past five meetings against the Keydets
Mercer continued its strong start to a new era
of Southern Conference Basketball under first-year head coach Ryan Ridder, as
the Bears went on the road for the first time in league play in a tough environment
and were able to pull out what was a 70-67 win over VMI at Saturday afternoon
at Cameron Hall before a sparse crowd.
The Bears were paced in the contest by North
Florida transfer Jah Nze, who scored a career-high 25 points to help lead the Bears
improve to a 2-0 start to league play for the first time since their first
season as a league member back in 2014-15. The win also marked the milestone
200th win for first-year head coach Ryan Ridder over the span of his career.
Mercer appeared as if it was in cruise control in
the second half when Alex Holt’s layup in the paint gave the Bears a 46-29 lead
with 16:29 remaining in the game. However, the Bears would get too comfortable
as the Keydets got back into the game over the next eight minutes of the game,
using a 28-7 to take their first lead of the afternoon when an AJ Clark layup
would give the Keydets their first lead of the afternoon, at 55-53, with 8:44
left. The game had an eerily strange vibe to their road opener at ETSU, only
this time the big run covered more of the middle portions of the second half
rather than to close the first half, as it had done in Johnson City.
A couple of minutes later, Turkish National
Team member Tan Yildizoglu gave the the Keydets a six-point, 62-56, lead with 6:26
remaining. The Bears would chip away at the Keydets lead over the next four
minutes, eventually tying the game, 63-63, on a Holt tip-in with 3:03 remaining,
and then after Rickey Bradley Jr. missed a three-pointer on the other end for
the Keydets, took the lead for good when Jah Nze connected on one of his five
three-pointers in the contest, as it gave the Bears a 66-63 advantage with just
2:37 remaining.
With Mercer clinging to a 68-67 lead with just
15 seconds remaining, the Keydets had a chance to snatch the win after the Bears
turned it over inbounding the basketball with 15 seconds remaining. On the
ensuing offensive possession, Keydets forward Augustinas Kiudulas lost control
of the basketball and Mercer’s Laurynas Vaistaras picked up the loose ball and
was immediately fouled. He would knock down both foul shots and the Keydets missed
a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Bears held on for their second SoCon
win.
Nze was joined in double figures in the contest
by Alex Holt and Ahmad Robinson, who added 11 points apiece. Holt’s
team-leading nine rebounds saw him just the miss the opportunity for a
double-double contest.
VMI’s lone double-figure scorer in the contest
was Rickey Bradley, who finished with a game-high 30 points. Bradley would
connect on 8-of-17 shots from the field and went 5-for-11 from three-point
range. He also knocked down 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
The Bears shot the ball at a slightly higher clip
from the field, knocking down 44.6% (25-of-56) for the game, while connecting
on 37.5% (9-of-24) from long-range. Mercer shot just 57.9% (11-of-19) from the
charity stripe.
VMI finished the night connecting on 40%
(22-of-55) from the field and connected on 33.3% (9-of-27) from three-point
land. The Keydets finished the game connecting on 70% (14-of-20) from the free
throw line.
Both teams are slated to return to the floor
Wednesday night, with Mercer hosting ETSU in a 7 p.m. contest at Hawkins Arena.
VMI will be on the road to face Samford at the Pete Hanna Center in a game
slated for an 8 p.m. EST tip-off time.
Chattanooga (9-6, 1-1 SoCon) 81, The Citadel
(5-8, 0-2 SoCon)
Jan. 4, 2025/Charleston, S.C.
McAlister Field House (1,029 ATN)
Series Following The Result: In what was the
95th all-time meeting between the two programs, the Mocs increased their
overall lead in the series to 72-23. The Mocs have now won eight of the last 11
games in the series between the two.
SoCon preseason No. 2 pick Chattanooga
rebounded from its hiccup in the opener at Mercer to come away with an 81-68 league
triumph on the road at The Citadel before a little over 1,000 fans Saturday
afternoon at McAlister Field House.
The Mocs would grow their lead to as many as 15
points in the opening half of play when Trey Bonham connected on a
three-pointer in transition to give the visitor’s a 42-27 lead, however, UTC would
have to settle for a 12-point halftime advantage, as Sola Adebisi connected on
a triple with 36 seconds left in the opening frame, as the Mocs would to the
half with a 42-30 lead.
Chattanooga would come out just as strong as it
had started the game in the opening minutes of the second half, using a 7-0 run
to increase the lead to 51-34 on a Jack Kostel layup as the two teams headed to
their respective benches for the first media timeout of the second half with
15:38 to play.
The Bulldogs would off a swift response out of
that first media timeout of the second half, as Ed Conroy’s words were given life
in the way of a 9-0 response by the hometown Bulldogs, with the run beginning
with a four-straight free throws from Brody Fox and ending with a triple from Cam
Glover, getting the Bulldogs to within 51-43 with 12:22 remaining in the game.
However, the Mocs came right back with a free
throw by Kostel and a jumper by Bash Wieland to push the lead back to 11 with
10:27 remaining, and the Bulldogs were never able to get than eight the rest of
the way, as the Mocs held off the pesky home squad to escape Charleston with
what was an 81-68 win. All told, the
score doesn’t indicate just how dominant the Mocs were in the contest, leading
for 37-and-a-half minutes of the 40 en route to the win.
In the win for Chattanooga, the Mocs put forth
a solid offensive effort, connecting on 51.7% (30-of-58) for the game, including
a 39.1% (9-of-23) from long range, as all 11 Mocs that saw action in the contest
scored at least one field goal in the win. The Mocs also shot a strong 75.0%
(12-of-16) from the free throw line, as Chattanooga continues to top the league
in team free throw shooting percentage (76.9%).
The Citadel ended the night by connecting on
44.2% (23-of-52) for the game, including 38.1% (8-of-21) from three-point land.
The Bulldogs were also 60.9% (14-of-23) from the charity stripe for the game.
The Mocs finished with three players in double
figures, with Bash Wieland’s 21 points pacing the team, while Trey Bonham and
Sean Cusano closed out Chattanooga’s double-figure scorers in the contest with
12 and 11 points, respectively. Wieland was sizzling hot all evening,
connecting on 10-of-15 shots from the field and finished 1-for-3 from long
range. Wieland and Bonham also added five rebounds, while Garrison Kesslar led
Chattanooga with six boards.
The Citadel was led by a game-high tying 21
points from Brody Fox, while Sola Adebisi chipped in with 12. Fox, a transfer from
the University of Wisconsin-Stout, connected on 7-of-16 shots from the field
and was 7-for-11 from the charity stripe.
Both teams return to action this week, with The
Citadel hosting arch-rival Furman (13-2, 1-1 SoCon) in a 7 p.m. EST contest at
McAlister Field House on Wednesday, Jan. 8, while Chattanooga will return to
the floor on Thursday, Jan. 9, hosting UNC Greensboro (9-6, 2-0 SoCon) in a 5
p.m. EST contest at McKenzie Arena, as the game will be televised before a
national viewing audience by CBS Sports Network.
Gameday 3: Jan 8-9, 2025
Furman (14-2, 2-1 SoCon) 67, The Citadel (5-11,
0-3 SoCon) 63
Jan. 8, 2025/Charleston, S.C.
McAlister Field House (4,117 ATN)
Series Following Result: Furman leads 134-88/The
Paladins have won 20 of the past 24 meetings between the two
Furman got back on the winning track in Southern
Conference play, as the Paladins went on the road into hostile territory to
pick up what was a solid 67-63 road win over The Citadel Bulldogs. It was the
second-straight season in which the Paladins needed overtime to overcome the
Bulldogs at McAlister Field House, as the Paladins prevailed on that occasion,
82-79.
In similar fashion to last season's win, the
Paladins once again found their magic mojo down the stretch in in one of the
SoCon's most hostile road venues--McAlister Field House--which housed a rowdy
crowd of 4,117 fans that was made up mostly by cadets dressed in military
fatigues, but Furman's defense and rebounding traveled to the Low Country, and
those two areas translated in a major way to help the Paladins pull out a tough
67-63 SoCon road win.
As head coach Bob Richey noted postgame, the
Paladins might be the only team in the country that had to play eight of their
last 11 on the road. Furman is the only team in the Southern Conference to have
had to go on the road for their first three league tilts.
With the win, the Paladins improved to 14-2
overall and 2-1 in SoCon play, while the Bulldogs fell to 5-9 overall and 0-3
Southern Conference play. The win was Furman’s 71st true road win since the
start of the 2016-17 season, as well as being the sixth true road win of the
2024-25 campaign, including being the seventh away from Greenville. The
Paladins have now won 20 of the past 24 meetings with the Bulldogs and ran
their series tally lead to 134-88 following the 222nd meeting in the oldest and
most-played Southern Conference Hoops rivalry.
In case you were wondering about the 2024 clash
between the Paladins and Bulldogs at McAlister Field House, Furman had to
overcome a big deficit in the opening half, and would eventually force overtime
on a three-pointer by JP Pegues with eight-tenths of a second left to tie the
game, 72-72, as Furman found its second wind and were able to close out the
win, 82-79.
There were some similarities to last season’s
win by the Paladins in the Port City and the game on Jan. 8, 2025, with the
most obvious being both needed an extra five minutes of basketball to decide a
victor. However, unlike last year’s clash in Charleston, this one was a
struggle on both ends to consistently make shots for both teams. In the Jan.
31, 2024 meeting, Furman benefitted from a couple of late misses at the line in
overtime by the Bulldogs on the front end of two different 1-and-1s allowed Furman,
which trailed by as many as 18 points late in the opening half, one too many
opportunities. The past three meetings in Charleston have not been decided by
more than four points.
The main difference this time around was Furman
held a 30-19 lead at the break, holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the final
4:52 of the opening 20 minutes and were seemingly in complete control of the
proceedings. However, the Bulldogs put together some of their best work on the
offensive end of the floor over the first 11:44 of the second half, however,
the remaining 8:16 saw the Paladins do some of their best work on the defensive
end by limiting the Bulldogs to just seven points the remainder of the game and
a drought of 6:40, as the Paladins went to a 1-3-1 zone and started to apply
full-court pressure to force the tempo.
All seven points by the Bulldogs came on
three-straight trips over the final 1:36, as he scored a tip-in, connected on a
three-pointer and converted a layup to account for the final seven points of
the game, and eventually, was enough to help the Bulldogs make it to overtime.
Furman wouldn’t issue the final verdict once
again this season until the end of five minutes of extra basketball, and the
game-winning shot wasn’t delivered by a JP Pegues or PJay Smith Jr. that
delivered the most devastating blow of the night, but rather the red-headed
Garrett Hien, who broke in a new haircut in an appropriate venue for short
hair, as his left wing three-pointer gave with 1:10 remaining gave the Paladins
a 65-60 lead and finally some breathing room on a night that had been tenuous
throughout, especially in the second half.
Hien’s triple would be his lone points of the
night, however, his shot was no doubt the most clutch one of the night with
1:10 left in OT, extending the Paladin lead to two possessions. The senior from
Charlotte, N.C., connected on just 1-of-5 from the field for the game,
including 1-for-3 from long range. Hien filled out a solid night of work on the
final stats sheet, posting six rebounds, three assists, one block and one
steal.
“This year I’ve put so much more work into my
three-pointer and with coach Khyle [Marshall] shooting and even when I have
missed some shots this season my teammates just keep encouraging me by saying
‘keep shooting…keep shooting’ …and so it’s been different this season because
I’ve worked on it constantly where as in past seasons I would be in the gym one
day and not be in the gym one day and so I am in the gym every day and I know
they are going to start falling eventually and they have confidence in me to
take shots so it’s all thanks to them for believing in me to make that,”
Garrett Hien said of his game-changing triple with just over a minute left.
Furman’s shots were falling with relative ease
through the first 14 games of the season, however, over the final two games of
this current road stretch, the Paladins have seen their share of missed open
looks, empty possessions, and turnovers. Evidence of the Paladins’ offensive
struggles on the road at The Citadel can be found in one stat, which was that
Furman finished the night with more turnovers (13) than it had assists (12).
However, the Paladins once again seemingly
lived up to their calling card this season, which is “Find-a-way-Furman.” The
Paladins connected on just 36.7% (22-of-60) of their shots from the field,
including just 27.6% (8-of-29) from three-point range en route to picking up a
big Southern Conference road win. Furman did manage to limit the Bulldogs to
just 39.6%(21-of-53) for the game, including only 31.6% (6-of-19) from
three-point range.
There were so many storylines in Wednesday
night’s clash between the Paladins and Bulldogs, and one those was that The
Citadel came in as the worst foul shooting team in all of college basketball.
The Bulldogs didn’t do anything to disparage that dubious distinction, as the
Bulldogs finished the night going a collective 15-of-32 from the free throw
line, which converts to 46.9% shooting from three throw line. That’s 11-percent
lower than the 57% the Bulldogs came in shooting from the season from the line.
Meanwhile, Ben VanderWal’s 6-for-6 effort at the line was paramount for his
confidence, as well as the Paladins’ collective confidence at the stripe.
The junior and Furman’s “do-whatever-is-needed”
forward came into the contest shooting 54.2% from the free throw line, however,
the way his free throw and jump shot looked on Wednesday night inside McAlister
Field House, it was evident just how much work that the Elmhurst, Ill., native
has put in working on his free throw and shot overall. Even his jumper from
about 15-feet out as time expired looked like it was going in before rolling
around the rim and bouncing out to leave the game tied, 58-58, delivered a
temporary cruel fate, as the Paladins would have delay winning celebrations for
at least five more minutes. As a team, the Paladins came into the contest
connecting on 68.0% (183-of-269) from the line and finished the win against the
Bulldogs connecting 15-of-20 from the charity stripe, which computes to 75.0%
as a team.
As important as VanderWal’s work was at the
charity stripe, his work on the glass, and particularly the offensive glass (5
offensive rebounds) as well as his comprehensive work on the boards on both
ends (9 total rebounds) were just as important, if not more important to
Furman’s winning cause. Before fouling out in overtime, VanderWal posted eight
points, with six points coming from the line and went 1-of-3 from the field. He
ended the night a +11 in his impact when he was on the floor in the stat column,
and he ended up being arguably The Citadel’s biggest problem for the entirety
of the night, as his five offensive rebounds were absolutely vital to the
Paladins picking up a monumental road league win.
“I’ve been working really hard on shooting free
throws and just getting in the gym by myself and trying to create pressure
situations and it was nice to kind of see that pay off,” VanderWal said of his
foul shooting against the Bulldogs Wednesday evening.
“We knew this game was going to be an energy
war coming into it and we knew we had to play hard and we knew we
had to get on the glass and I don’t know if we won the rebounds but we knew
rebounds had to be a priority and we’ve played a lot of games on the road and
we’ve now played I think eight of our last 11 games on the road and we’ve had
some travel for Christmas and It’s just been a grind…And to add to that I am
guarding a guy who is a great player like [Brody] Fox and so I tried to focus
on those things right and just kind of focused on the things that I know I can
do well,” VanderWal added.
Furman, which had only one player in double
figures for the first time all season last time out in the 17-point, 84-67,
loss to UNCG last time out, as PJay Smith Jr. was the lone Paladin to reach
double figures in the loss. In Wednesday night’s road triumph, the Paladins
were led in scoring by Nick Anderson, who scored a game-high 23 points on
7-of-19 shooting from the field and was 3-fo-11 shooting from long-range. He
connected on an important 6-of-7 shots from the free throw line. For Anderson,
the performance was important, as he came in off a performance he’d most likely
just as soon forget, as he went just 2-of-14 from the field and only 1-of-12
from three-point range in the loss to the Spartans. Anderson posted 15 of his
23 points in the opening half of play.
Also ending the night in double figures for the
Paladins were both PJay Smith Jr. and Cooper Bowser, who posted 13 points
apiece in the winning effort. Bowser posted his second double-double of the
season, adding a career-standard of 14 rebounds to go along with those 13
points. Bowser finished 6-of-9 from the field, but was just 1-for-4
from the free throw line. For Smith, it was his 11th double-figure scoring
performance in 14 games for the Paladins this season. The LaVergne, TN., native
also added three assists and recorded four steals.
The Citadel finished the contest with three
players adding double-figure scoring performances, with Cam Glover’s 20-point
night leading the way, while Sola Adebisi and Brody Fox added 15 and 14 points,
respectively. Glover finished a strong scoring night by knocking down 6-of-14
shots from the field, which included going 3-of-6 from long-range and he
finished 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Paladins ended up owning a huge advantage in the “points from turnovers” category, as the Paladins were a +12 (26-14) in that category. Furman also claimed advantages in the battle of the boards (45-38), total assists (13-10), and points in the paint (26-14). The Citadel claimed advantages in fast-break points (4-2), bench scoring (10-7) and second-chance points (14-11).
The Paladins would break open what was a close
game late in the opening half, as Sola Adebisi got the Bulldogs to within five,
at 24-19, on a strong two-handed stuff off the baseline after receiving a pass
from teammate Paxton Davidson, as The Citadel trimmed the Paladin lead to 24-19
with 4:52 remaining in the opening half.
Furman would end up putting the clamps down
defensively from that point forward in the opening half of play, however, as
Furman forced five straight empty possessions and came up with three of their
to steals in the contest to close the final five minutes of the opening frame.
Consecutive threes by PJay Smith Jr. and Nick Anderson would give the Paladins
a 11-point, 30-19, halftime cushion.
The tables would turn fairly early in the
second half, however, as the Bulldogs started to find some of their most
consistent offensive success of the evening, using a 31-13 out of in the
opening 11:44 of the second half to turn an 11-point halftime deficit (30-19)
into an eight-point advantage (51-43) following a pair of Christian Moore free
throws for the Bulld One of the notable things about Furman’s wins this season
is that though Furman has gotten off to one of the best starts in the history
of the program, it’s been notable that the way the Paladins have found
themselves victorious in many of those games is that it has needed a spark, and
at times it has been one guy, while at others, it has been a combination of
players.
The Bulldogs came out and posted a 23-5 run in
the opening eight minutes of the half to take a 42-35 lead following a bucket
by Colby McAlister with 13 minutes left. A minute later, Cooper Bowser scored
on a layup in the paint to end what had been a six-minute scoring drought for
the Paladins. With just under 12 minutes left, head coach Bob Richey decided
his team needed a little shot of adrenaline, and he called upon senior forward
Tyrese Hughey, who hadn’t played in three contests, to try and inject some life
on both the boards and defensively for the Paladins at a crucial point in the
game. It would end up paying off, as Hughey would end up taking Furman’s energy
up ever so slightly in the four minutes of time he would see on the floor.
With Furman trailing by five, Hughey first
committed a foul and then his aggressive pressure would end up forcing a key
Paxton Davidson turnover and the Paladins would then begin to chip away at the
Bulldogs lead. Hughey was rewarded on a nice alley-oop assist from PJay Smith
Jr., and Hughey put the ball softly off the window for two points, getting the
Paladins to within a point, at 42-41. Hughey’s aggression saw him commit four
fouls in just four minutes of court time, however, he helped set the tone for the
way the Paladins would play for the remainder of the night even though the
Bulldogs threatened to pull away once again, pushing their lead back to eight
just before Hughey exited the lineup with 8:16 left.
“Tyrese [Hughey] has won a lot of games here,”
head coach Bob Richey said of Hughey’s needed lift and experience he provided
off the bench Wednesday night.
“Tyrese has been on a championship team and
he’s played a lot of minutes in some big-time ball games and we felt like we
should have played him a little bit in the UNC Greensboro game the other night
and he’s got the ability to play that kind of enforcer role for us and brings
some toughness and bring some edge and I thought he did that tonight, and
unfortunately he got a little winded there towards the end and started fouling
a little bit but yeah he did enough to bring some spark and energize us a little
bit and then we went to the 1-3-1, which I also think changed the game a little
bit.”
The Paladins teetered on the brink of going
behind by more after Smith turned it over once again on the ensuing possession
for the Paladins, the two teams would then trade turnovers over the next
minute-and-a-half before Ben VanderWal was fouled on a break-a-way by Sola
Adebisi, putting the junior forward at the line for a pair of free throws. With
a clean looking, new and improved shooting motion, VanderWal’s charity shot
attempts were both good, getting the ‘Dins back to within six (51-45) with just
under seven minutes remaining.
Furman’s full-court pressure then forced a
Bulldogs turnover, which was picked up and put in off the glass by Cooper
Bowser to get Furman to within four with 6:20 left. The Paladin dedication on
the defensive end of the floor continued to be impressive, as Nick Anderson
came up with another steal and the ball would eventually find its way to PJay
Smith Jr. for an open look from three, which he buried to get the Paladins to
within a single point, at 51-50, with 5:47 left to go.
Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, both
teams suffered a cold spell from the field until Anderson was fouled by The
Citadel’s Cam Glover on a three-pointer with 3:07 left. Furman’s top foul
shooter, who had only missed one free throw all season coming in (27-of-28),
missed the first of a three-shot foul to leave the Paladins behind by just the
single point. However, he would make the final two, allowing the Paladins to
take a slight 52-51 lead. Anderson would add two more free throws after getting
fouled going to the basket on Furman’s next trip down the floor, making it a
54-51 Paladin lead with just 2:02 left to go.
The Citadel would finally snap a near
seven-minute scoring drought when Adibese tipped in a missed three-pointer from
Moore, cutting Furman’s lead to one, 54-53, however, it would continue to be a
strong showing down the stretch on the offensive end from Smith, who parted the
lane and went strong to the bucket to give the Paladins the 56-53 lead with
1:28 left.
Just 18 seconds later, Adibese connected on a
left wing three to tie the game, 56-56, with 1:10 to play. Furman continued to
try and force the tempo, and following the triple by Adibese, Nick Anderson
caught the Bulldogs flat-footed on the defensive end of the floor for the easy
layup off the left side of the window to put the Paladins up a pair with just
58 seconds remaining.
Adibese continued to drive the Bulldogs
offensively on the next possession, and his layup with 43 seconds left tied the
game, 58-58. Following a turnover by Furman’s Smith after he had corralled an
offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer from Anderson, The Citadel raced
quickly the other way, but Davidson missed a short free throw line jumper in
the lane and then Moore grabbed the offensive rebound but somehow missed the
wide-open follow-up attempt, and that would leave one last chance for the Paladins,
and Tom House would throw a long pass down the floor to a wide open Ben
VanderWal in the corner for a wide-open 18-foot jumper, which rimmed-in-and-out
as the final buzzer sounded, leaving the score tied, 58-58, heading into
overtime.
Though he might have missed the potential
game-winning jumper to open the overtime session, VanderWal managed continued
to be a constant problem for the Bulldogs, both on the boards and now drawing
fouls and getting to the line. He converted four free throws on two trips to
the stripe to account for the first four points of the extra session to give
the Paladins a 62-58 lead with just 2:50 remaining. A Brody Fox layup in
transition got the Bulldogs back to within two with 2:12 remaining, and that
would set the stage for Hien’s late-game heroics.
An offensive rebound by Cooper Bowser after a
missed long-range effort from Anderson allowed the Paladins a vital second bite
at the cherry, and when the ball wove its way around the horn to the left wing
to Hien, he didn’t hesitate or shy away from the big moment, and his quick,
high-arching three hit nothing but net, and Hien erupted in excitement, as the
Paladins grabbed the all important 65-60 lead with just 1:10 remaining.
Davidson missed a three on the other end and
VanderWal grabbed the board, however, on Furman’s next possession, Smith turned
the ball over in a well-devised trapping press by the Bulldogs, which would
eventually lead to Smith having to commit an inadvertent foul on The Citadel’s
Fox with just 24 ticks remaining. Fox made the first charity shot, but missed
the second on the two-shot foul.
However, The Citadel’s Dante Kearse came away
with the offensive rebound and he put the ball back in off the glass, cutting
Furman’s lead to just two with 10 seconds to play. Smith was immediately
fouled, and he would ice the game at the line, with a pair of free throws as
the Paladins held off the Bulldogs, 67-63, avoiding a second-straight SoCon
setback.
East Tennessee State (9-7, 2-1 SoCon) 70,
Mercer (9-7, 2-1 SoCon) 68
Jan. 8, 2025/Macon, GA.
Hawkins
Arena (2,217/ATN)
Series Following Result:
East Tennessee State, who entered the season as
one of a handful of favorites to win the Southern Conference regular-season favorites,
faced almost a must-win situation when it arrived in Macon to face the upstart
Mercer, who had started SoCon play with a 2-0 mark and a pair of impressive
league wins, and the Bucs would end up pulling
out what was a narrow 70-68 win over the Bears before a boisterous crowd on
hand at Hawkins Arena for the contest.
The win saw the Bucs improve to 9-7 overall and
2-1 in Southern Conference action, while Mercer fell to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in
league action. ETSU led the contest for a majority of the night, however, it
took some defensive grit down the stretch for the Bucs to pull out the win and
take a win back to Johnson City, as Mercer stormed back in the final minute and
threatened to snatch the win out of the jaws of victory from ETSU.
Just
before the Bucs’ defense was cued to make a pair of stops to prevent the Bears
in the closing seconds, it was an offensive rebound by John Buggs III that led
to a three-pointer by Quimari Peterson with just 19.8 seconds remaining, giving
the Bucs a one-point, 69-68, lead and then ETSU would end up getting defensive
stops from the Bears, as Karon Boyd forced a rushed shot attempt by Ahmad Robinson
with 8.7 seconds left and Buggs came up with the rebound and was immediately
fouled. Buggs went to the line and then connected on 1-of-2 foul shots to
increase the ETSU lead to two, at 70-68.
From there, Robinson had one final look at a
potential game-winning three-pointer from the right wing for the Bears,
however, Gabe Sisk came up with a the deflection on the shot attempt to provide
the needed defense, allowing the Bucs to escape Macon with a much-needed
Southern Conference victory.
The game featured six ties and four lead changes,
and remained close throughout, as both teams made 23 field goals and 15 charity
shot attempts, however, it was the Bucs that did just a little bit more work
from beyond the arc than the Bears, connecting on two more three-point field
goals than Mercer and that proved to be the big difference in the win. ETSU
also did more work on the backboards than the Bears did, out-rebounding Mercer
by a total of 41-31 in the contest, which included 16 rebounds of the offensive
variety and that would lead to a key 16 second-chance points for ETSU. The Bucs
were stellar defensively all evening, holding the Bears to 15 points less than
their 83 PPG scoring average coming into the contest.
The Bucs would end up being led in the contest by
Quimari Peterson, who posted 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, which
included a 3-of-7 performance from three-point land and a perfect 4-for-4
effort from the charity stripe. His partner-in-crime—senior wing Jaden Seymour—finished
off another strong performance in league play by completing the contest with 19
points and nine rebounds, as he and Peterson combined to score 44 of the Bucs’
70 points in the game.
Mercer finished the night with four in double
figures, as Alex Holt led the Bears with 16 points and nine rebounds, while
guards Tyler “Chip” Johnson and Ahmad Robinson finished the night by scoring 15
and 14 points, respectively. Cam Bryant rounded out the double-figure scorers
for the Bucs by adding 13.
The Bucs finished the night connecting on 39.7%
(23-of-58) from the field and 40.9% (9-of-22) from three-point range. ETSU
connected on 65.2% (15-of-23) from the charity stripe.
Mercer, meanwhile, finished the contest making
42.6% (23-of-54) of its shots from the field, which included a 36.8% (7-of-19)
shooting performance from three-point range. The Bears finished with just a
57.7% (15-of-26) shooting effort from the charity stripe.
Samford (13-3, 3-0 SoCon) 81, VMI (6-10, 0-3 SoCon) 68
Jan. 9, 2025/Homewood, AL.
Pete
Hanna Center (733/ATN)
Series Following Result: Samford leads the
all-time series 20-5/The Bulldogs have now won five-straight in the series.
Samford remained perfect in the Southern Conference,
as league favorite and defending champion Bulldogs downed VMI, 81-68, at the
Pete Hanna Center for what was a 27th-straight win in on the home hardwood.
The game was fast-paced, and when the two teams
entered their respective halftime locker rooms it would be with Samford holding
a 47-40 lead, as the Bulldogs threatened to pull away on a couple of occasions
but could never get completely comfortable against the pesky Keydets. With the
game’s pace, taking care of the basketball was at a premium on both sides, as
both ended up with double-digit turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of
basketball.
VMI would slice the margin to as small as three
points early in the second half following a Rickey Bradley Jr. three-point play
the old-fashioned way to make it a 51-48 contest at the 16:48 mark of the
second half. Three minutes later, another
pair of free throws by Bradley kept the Keydets close, with the Bulldogs clinging
to a 55-52 lead with 13:43 left.
However, a key 12-0 run allowed the Bulldogs to
gain a bit of a foothold in the contest, beginning with a free throw from
Collin Holloway at the 13:26 mark and ended with a jumper by Jaden Brownwell at
the 9:41 mark suddenly gave the Bulldogs a 15-point lead, 67-52, over the Keydets.
A dunk by Larry Olayinka increased Samford’s lead to its largest of the night,
at 19 points, giving the Bulldogs a 74-55 lead with just under seven minutes remaining.
All told, from the 13:43 mark until the 6:58 mark of the second half, the
Bulldogs used a 19-3 run to take complete control of the game. Over the final
seven minutes of the game, the Keydets would never get closer than 13 points on
the scoreboard, which ended up being the final margin.
In the second half, the Bulldogs were solid
defensively, holding Samford to just 28 total points after allowing 40 in the
opening half of play, outscoring VMI, 34-28, in the latter 20 minutes to record
the 13-point win and improve to 3-0 in league action.
Four Bulldogs found their way into double figures
in the contest, led by Jaden Brownell’s 20 points, as he connected on 9-of-17
shots from the field and was 2-for-6 from three-point range. Brownell also
added four rebounds, three steals and three blocks to Samford’s winning cause.
Brownell would be joined in the double figures
scoring column by senior point guard Rylan Jones, who finished the night with a
solid 14 points to go with five assists, three rebounds and a steal. Jones knocked
down 5-of-11 shots from the field, which included a 4-for-9 effort from three. Collin
Holloway finished the contest with 12 points and Trey Fort added 10 to round
out the double figure scorers for the Bulldogs.
VMI got plenty of production from Rickey
Bradley Jr. and Augustinas Kiudulas, as the pair scored 26 points apiece,
accounting for 52 of the Keydets’ 68 points in the contest. Bradley Jr.
finished the night connecting on 9-of-15 shots from the field and was 2-for-4
from three-point range. He also added a 6-of-8 performance from the charity stripe.
Kiudulas was 10-for-13 from the field and 5-for-6 from long range, while also
adding five rebounds and a steal. He also connected on his lone free throw attempt
for the game.
The Keydets ended up being plagued by 22
turnovers in the game, which would end up leading to 26 Samford points. Samford
finished the game connecting on 44.1% (30-of-68) from the field, including a 28.9%
(11-of-38) performance from the three-point land. VMI was slightly better,
finishing the contest with a 45.6% (26-of-57) shooting clip and a 36.4% (8-of-22)
from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs finished a solid 76/9% (10-of-13) from the
free throw line, while the Keydets were just behind that shooting clip,
finishing 72.7% (8-of-11) from the free throw line.
Wofford (8-8, 2-1 SoCon) 77, Western Carolina (4-10, 0-3 SoCon) 69
Jan. 8, 2025/Spartanburg, S.C.
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,036/ATN)
Series Following Result: Terriers lead the all-time series 36-33 and have won consecutive games against the Catamounts
Wofford continued its strong start to Southern Conference play by securing what was a 77-69 win over a pesky Western Carolina squad to improve to 8-8 overall and 2-1 in SoCon action. The loss would see the Catamounts fall to 4-10 overall and 0-3 in league play.
The Terriers went to the break with an 11-point halftime lead, however, would have to hold on as the Purple and Gold would make a run late to make things interesting. Wofford was able to head to the half with a double-digit advantage by virtue of a 62.5% shooting clip in the opening half of play, which included connecting on eight triples, which highlighted a 53.3% shooting effort from long range in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.
The Terriers would see both shooting percentages take a dip in the second half, as Wofford finished out the night connecting on 44.4% (28-of-63) of their shots, with some of that credit going to Tim Craft's Catamounts and effort on the defensive and attention to detail on the defensive end of the floor over the course of the latter 20 minutes of hoops.
Four Terriers would finish the night in double figures for Wofford, with Dillon Bailey and Corey Tripp leading the way, with both contributing 17 points, with Kyler Filewich finishing just off the pace in the scoring column with 16 points. USC Upstate transfer guard Justin Bailey contributed most of his points production on a season-high four three-pointers, which accounted for 12 of his 14 points in the contest. Filewich also added a season-high 18 rebounds to post what was his seventh double-double of the season and 17th of his Wofford career.
Wofford held a 34-24 lead in points in the paint and tallied 16 assists on 28 made field goals in the win.
Western Carolina was led by a game-high 27 points from Bernard Pelote in the contest, while Marcus Kell had a big night off the bench for WCU, contributing 16 points. Pelote finished the contest going 11-of-21 from the field, including a 3-for-10 effort from three-point range.
WCU shot just 35.9% (23-of-64) from the field and just 25.6% (10-for-39) from three-point range in the losing effort. The Terriers dominance in the win was mostly highlighted by their efforts on the glass, as Wofford ended the night with a substantial 47-31 edge on the glass, including grabbing 13 offensive rebounds, which led to only nine second-chance points, as Western Carolina actually won that statistical category, grabbing seven offensive caroms, which would lead to 13 points.
After Wofford carried what was a 48-37 lead into halftime locker room by scoring the final 10 points of the opening 20 minutes, the Catamounts came out in the second half and used a 16-0 run to start the latter frame to assume a 50-48 lead with 15:52 remaining. Western Carolina wouldn't relinquish that momentum for the better part of the next four minutes, taking as much as a six-point lead, at 58-52, following a triple from Marcus Kell with 12:24 remaining.
Wofford would eventually restore order when Justin Bailey assisted Dillon Bailey on a layup in the paint to give Wofford a 61-60 lead with 7:34 left. The game would see-saw back and forth over the next five minutes until a Corey Tripp triple with 2:50 left gave Wofford a 69-66 lead, and it would be a lead the Terriers would not relinquish the remainder of the contest. It was part of a crucial 7-0 run late in the contest, which eventually saw the Terriers assume a 71-66 lead and would eventually make their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the important 77-69 win at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
 |
| Photo by Paul Payne (The Chattanoogan) |
***Game of the Year Candidate***
UNC Greensboro (10-6, 3-0 SoCon) 78, Chattanooga (9-7, 1-2 SoCon) 75
Jan. 9, 2025/Chattanooga, TN
McKenzie Arena (2,867/ATN)
Series Following Result: UNCG leads 30-28; UNCG and UTC split a pair of double-digit games in 2023-24.
UNCG’s guard trio of Ronald Polite III, Donovan Atwell and Kenyon Giles combined to score 70 points of its 78 points in a thrilling road triumph, but the previous 67 hinged on the final three from Polite III, which for the Mocs came rudely just before the McKenzie Arena buzzer sounded, giving the Spartans a thrilling 78-75 SoCon road win in an epic feature that played out in real time and to a national viewing audience on CBS Sports Network.
The buzzer-beating effort by Polite brought back some memories for the "in-the-know" Mocs fans, who a decade earlier in the SoCon regular-season finale at UNCG's First Horizon Coliseum, saw Ronrico White connect on a game-winning three at the buzzer to deliver what was a 61-58 win for the Mocs en route to garnering the No. 2 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament.
The result in the first meeting between the two in 2024-25 was in stark contrast to the two meetings the previous campaign, which saw UNCG dominate the game from tip-to-buzzer at McKenzie Arena on Jan. 13, 2024, as the Spartans took home a 70-54 win over UTC. In the rematch a month later in Greensboro at the Coliseum, the Mocs used one of the most efficient offensive performances in the past five years in college basketball to blow out the Spartans, 89-61, on their home floor.
With the win, UNCG improved to 10-6 overall and 3-0 in SoCon action, while the Mocs would fall to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in league action.
Polite's triple to win the game for the Spartans came just after Chattanooga's Honor Huff connected on a triple with four seconds remaining, knotting the score, 75-75. However, the four seconds were just enough time for UNCG to write the end of the epic in an "Polite" fashion.
While the game was close for most of the second half, it looked as if the Mocs might break the game wide open in the opening half of play, taking a 29-19 lead following a Frank Champion layup with 7:50 remaining in the opening frame. However, UNCG would respond with eight-straight points cut the Mocs lead to just two, at 29-27, following a Donovan Atwell triple with 6:07 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.
UNCG trailed 36-35 with five seconds remaining in the opening half but offered a bit of foreshadowing of what was to come late in the game, as Giles connected on a three with five seconds remaining in the opening frame, which would give UNCG narrow, 38-36, halftime edge.
UNCG's memorable win over Chattanooga came despite the Mocs shooting a season-standard 58.5% (31-of-53) from the field and marked the highest shooting percentage by a Mocs team in a losing effort in program history! It easily topped the previous clip of 52.0% by the Mocs in an 86-77 setback to former league member College of Charleston, which came back on Feb. 23, 2008.
While the Mocs shot the ball well, UNCG shot it even better, finishing the game with a sizzling 59.5% (25-of-42) shooting clip for the game, which included an impressive 61.1% (11-of-18) shooting mark from long-range.
While the UNCG guard trio was impressive, the Mocs were led by Bash Wieland in the losing effort, as he posted a team-high 22 points, registering his second-straight game with 20 or more points for UTC.
Gameday 4: Jan 11-13, 2025
**--Due to Snowstorm Cora, which hit the southeast on Jan. 10, 2025 and affected many of the SoCon's southern-most cities, it forced some changes to games from their originally slated contest. For instance, Western Carolina's contest at the Ramsey Center was moved from Saturday Jan. 11 to Sunday Jan. 12, while Furman's contest with Wofford, which was originally scheduled for a Saturday, Jan. 11 meeting, was moved to a rare Monday night, Jan. 13 league clash. Monday night is a night that the SoCon occupied as one its night's to schedule league games in previous decades, moving to the Thursday-Saturday and then Wednesday-Saturday lineup about a decade ago. The third matchup would affected by snowstorm Cora would be Chattanooga's matchup with VMI, which was pushed from Saturday night (Jan. 11) to Sunday afternoon (Jan. 12), The two games that would resume as originally scheduled would be Samford's clash with UNCG in a battle for first place. That clash, which was originally supposed to tip off in the afternoon, was altered slightly to an evening clash. East Tennessee State's matchup against The Citadel was the only matchup unaffected by the snow.
East Tennessee State (10-7, 3-1 SoCon) 70, The Citadel (5-10, 0-4 SoCon) 52
Jan. 11, 2025/Johnson City, TN.
Freedom Hall (2,476/ATN)
Series Following Result: In what was the 72nd meeting between the two, the Bucs improved their mark to 52-20 in the all-time series and have now won 16 of the past 20 meetings, including five-straight against The Citadel.
Death, taxes and ETSU showing up to support its Bucs men's basketball team no matter the circumstances are three certainties in life, and despite the fact that snowstorm Cora in the region and cold temperatures outside, it didn't dampen the spirit of Bucs fan support, as 2,476 fans showed up at Freedom Hall despite the conditions, and witnessed the Bucs take down a struggling The Citadel team, 70-52, as the Bucs used a stingy defensive effort to hold the Bulldogs at bay for the entire afternoon.
The win saw ETSU improve to 10-7 overall and 3-1 in SoCon play, while the Bulldogs would fall to 5-10 overall and remain winless, at 0-4, in SoCon play.
The Bucs would end up holding their visitor's from Charleston to less than 30 points in the opening half (22 pts), and that has typically been a benchmark for success since ETSU began its resurgence as a perennial SoCon title contender nine years ago under the watchful eye of Steve Forbes. That trend has continued under his pupil Brooks Savage in his second year as the head coach, as defense has remained a priority and a direct correlator to ETSU's hardwood success.
In fact, since the start of the 2015-16 season, the Bucs are now 93-13 and 5-1 in 2024-25 when holding an opponent to less than 30 points in an opening 20 minutes of basketball.
In addition to limiting the Bulldogs to just 22 first-half points, the Bucs held the Bulldogs to just 37.5% from the field and those would be harbingers of a great defensive effort all-around en route to win No. 10 of the season. The Bucs ended the day by forcing 19 Bulldogs turnovers, including recording a season-high 14 steals. ETSU was able to turn those 19 Bulldogs miscues into 22 of its 70 points in the game, while holding the Bulldogs to just 28% (5-of-18) shooting from three-point range over the duration of the 40-minute contest.
ETSU's stern defensive effort limited the Bulldogs to just 38.8% (19-of-49) shooting for the game. Meanwhile, ETSU countered by finishing contest by shooting 41.8% (23-of-55) from the field, including connecting on 27.3% (6-of-22) from three-point range, as ETSU moved to 8-0 when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opposition this season.
Additionally, the Bucs were again a force on the glass, snatching 21 offensive rebounds, which would lead to 21 second-chance points.
The Bucs led for all but 54 seconds of the game and would lead by as many as 29 in the second half before settling for the 18-point winning margin. ETSU took a 36-22 lead into the half and never looked back, as the Bucs were never seriously threatened the entire afternoon.
Jaden Seymour continued his strong play in 2024-25, finishing with a game-high 15 points, while fellow backcourt mates John Buggs III and Quimari Peterson added 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the lopsided win. Peterson also added four steals, three rebounds and two assists to another well-rounded afternoon on the stats sheet.
In the losing effort, the Bulldogs saw three players finish in double figures, with transfer portal (Montevallo) guard Cam Glover leading the way with 13 points, while Brody Fox and John Adams added 10 points apiece to round out the double figure scorers for the visitors.
Samford (14-3, 4-0 SoCon) 76, UNC Greensboro (10-7, 3-1 SoCon) 69
Jan. 11, 2025/Homewood, AL.
Pete Hanna Center (1,789)
Series Following Result: Samford improved to 17-20 all-time against UNCG, which included winning its seventh-straight game in the series over the Spartans.
In what was an early battle of SoCon unbeatens, Samford was able to pick up a seventh-straight win in the series by holding off a feisty and talented UNC Greensboro club at the Pete Hanna Center, extending its home floor winning streak to 28 games in the process, with a 76-69 win over the Spartans.
In what was an extremely physical battle between two of the SoCon's elite basketball programs, the Bulldogs had to work for every point they were able to come by in the gutsy seven-point win.
Samford would end the afternoon being led by four players in double figures, and would end up being led by Trey Fort, who finished with 21 points on what was a 7-of-13 shooting performance from the field, which included a 2-for-5 effort from long range. Fort also finished 5-for-7 from the free throw line.
Fort was joined in double figures in the win by Rylan Jones, who finished with 16 points and four rebounds, while Collin Holloway added 14 points and Riley Allenspach was impressive off the bench, adding 14. Allenspach and Lukas Walls were able to give the Bulldogs key minutes off the bench, with the duo combining for 18 of Samford's 20 bench points in the game, and his 13 points were three off his season-high 16 points, which he scored against Rhodes.
The Spartans would finish the contest with a pair of players finding their way into double figures, with Donovan Atwell leading the way with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including going an impressive 5-for-10 from downtown.
Atwell was also 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The only other Spartans player to finish up in double figures was Kenyon Giles, who finished with 12 points on a 5-for-10 shooting effort from the field, including going 1-for-2 from downtown.
Samford finished the game shooting 48.1% (25-of-52) and a solid 37.5% (9-of-24) from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs finished 73.9% from the charity stripe, knocking down 17-of-23 from the charity stripe in the win.
UNCG finished just behind Samford shooting the ball from the field in the game, completing the contest with a 46.8% (22-of-47) shooting clip, which included shooting at a 38.9% (7-of-18) from three-point range and almost shot an identical percentage from the line, connecting on one more foul shot, on two more attempts, as the Spartans finished 72.0% (18-of-25) from the line.
Samford held a 29-28 edge on the glass, while both teams finished the game tied with 12 assists apiece. The Bulldogs also held slight advantages in points off turnovers (14-12), second-chance points (11-9), fast-break scoring (16-11) and bench points (20-18), while both teams finished tied, 28-28, in points in the paint.
It was Samford's strong defense in the opening half which helped the Bulldogs get off to a strong start and take what was an eight-point, 36-28, lead into the halftime locker room. Samford held the Spartans to just 8-of-22 shooting from the field in the opening half of play, including just 25% (2-of-8) from three-point range, as the Spartans entered the matchup against the Bulldogs as the top perimeter shooting team in the SoCon.
UNCG would end up outscoring the Bulldogs, 41-40, in the second half, however, after the Bulldogs took as much as a 16-point (51-35) lead early in the second half on a three-pointer by Rylan Jones at the 15:34 mark of the second half, did a nice job to eventually get as close as five when Donovan Atwell knocked down one of his five threes in the contest with 6:21 left to trim Samford's lead to 63-58, however, that would be as close as the Spartans would come in the second half.
Western Carolina (5-10, 1-3 SoCon) 85, Mercer (9-8, 2-2 SoCon) 82
Jan. 12, 2025/Cullowhee, N.C.
Ramsey Center (1,789)
Series Following Result:
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