Sunday, January 1, 2017

SoCon Basketball Update (1-1-17)



Happy New Year Catamount Fans....

Saturday's results
There was a full slate of conference games on Saturday. the Wofford win over Mercer was the biggest surprise of the night for me.  Here's the stories.....


The Citadel at Furman
Men's Basketball Pulls Away From The Citadel In SoCon Opener, 83-68 
Senior Kris Acox netted a career-high 21 points to go with 11 rebounds and Furman held The Citadel to its second lowest offensive output of the season as the Paladins toppled the Bulldogs, 83-68, in Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.  The Paladins shot 53.4% from the floor and converted on 18-of-24 trips to the foul line to secure their 10th consecutive SoCon home victory. The Citadel, who entered the game averaging 102 points per game, recorded its second lowest total of the season with 68 points, while Furman held the opposition under 70 points for the 11th consecutive game.
Attendance:  1,529

Mercer at Wofford
Terriers Defeat Mercer to Open SoCon Play
Eric Garcia scored a career high 31 points and the Wofford Terriers picked up their first Southern Conference win with an 88-71 victory over Mercer on Saturday afternoon in the Benjamin Johnson Arena. With the win, the Terriers improve to 6-8 and 1-0 in the Southern Conference, while the Bears fall to 6-8 overall and 0-1 in conference play with the loss.The Terriers shot 50.9% from the field and 86.7% from the line while holding Mercer to 42.9% shooting. Wofford had a 15-3 advantage on second half points and had 20 assists to just seven turnovers.
Attendance:  1,083

VMI at ETSU
Bucs roll to win in SoCon opener, trounce VMI 102-75
Prior to Saturday’s Southern Conference opener against VMI, the storyline coming from the ETSU men’s basketball team had been that this game with the Keydets was the most important game so far this season. The Buccaneers certainly played like it. With a relentlessly hounding defensive effort and an offensive showing that included multiple dunks along with long-range 3-pointers, the Bucs rolled in dominating fashion to a 102-75 win over the Keydets. With the victory, ETSU improved to 11-3 overall, 1-0 in SoCon play, while VMI dropped to 3-9, 0-1.
Attendance:  3,051

Chattanooga at Western Carolina
Senior-laden Mocs Drop Catamounts, 64-48
The Western Carolina men's basketball team welcomed in defending Southern Conference Champions Chattanooga Saturday afternoon to open conference play. The Mocs, who returned all five starters from their championship team all of which are seniors, fell behind early but used a 14-2 run late in the opening half to take the lead and the victory. WCU held Chattanooga to its second lowest point total of the season in the 64-48 defeat. The victory improved UTC's record to 10-3 on the season and gave the Mocs a perfect 1-0 start to SoCon play while the Catamounts dropped to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in league action. WCU placed three scorers in double-figures led by redshirt junior Haboubacar Mutombo who scored 15 points. Junior Devin Peterson added 11 points off the bench while freshman Adam Sledd continued his strong play of late with 10 points and eight rebounds. The Mocs had three double-digit scorers as well led by Justin Tuoyo and Greg Pryor who each had 15. Johnathan Burroughs-Cook added 13 points as well. Tuoyo had an all-around performance with a game-high seven blocks and eight rebounds.
Attendance:  1, 020

Samford at UNCG
Men's Basketball Stumbles at home against Samford
The UNCG men’s basketball team turned in a cold-shooting performance on New Year’s Eve as the Spartans suffered a 73-62 loss to visiting Samford Saturday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans look to bounce back and get above .500 in Southern Conference play in just 48 hours when they host preseason league favorite Chattanooga Monday night in a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Spartans (10-5, 1-1 SoCon) connected on just 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the field and only 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from 3-point land in their first home loss at the Greensboro Coliseum in league play since Jan. 21 last year (Chattanooga). UNCG’s 62 points is the lowest scoring output for the Spartans since the first three games of the year. Additionally, the Spartans committed 15 turnovers in the loss, which Samford turned into 22 points off those miscues. 
Attendance:  1,673


Standings...... 
ETSU       1-0 (11-3)
UTC         1-0 (10-3)
Samford   1-0 (10-4)
Furman     1-0 (8-6)
Wofford    1-0 (6-8)
UNCG      1-1 (10-5)
Mercer      0-1 (6-8)
WCU        0-1 (5-9)
VMI          0-1 (3-9)
Citadel      0-2 (7-8)

Conference RPI Standings (WarrenNolan RPI)
11 - CAA
12 - Missouri Valley
13 - Sun Belt
14 - Southern
15 - MAAC
18 - Ivy League
22 - Ohio Valley
25 - Conference USA
26 - Big South
27 - Atlantic Sun

SoCon teams have combined for 18 nonconference road wins this year which is the most since the 2007-08 season and are 41-13 in nonconference home games


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