Saturday opened conference play for 8 of the 10 SoCon teams, with ETSU at Mercer scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The big game of the day, had Wofford traveling to Greensboro to play UNCG. By Sunday afternoon, we'll have 5 teams in first place at 1-0, and 5 in last place at 0-1.
This weekend truly starts the Road to Asheville.
Saturday games.......
Wofford 67 - UNCG 71
Greensboro's Francis Alonso scored 26 points to lead UNCG over Wofford 71-67 on Saturday in a Southern Conference opener. The Terriers were coming off an upset at then-No. 5 North Carolina, and the loss snapped a five-game win streak by the Terriers. The Spartans have now won six of their last seven games.
Western Carolina 81 - The Citadel 79
Desmond Johnson led the Catamounts with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight steals (all career bests), as Mike Amius added 12 points, Williams 11 and Marc Gosselin scored nine points with 11 rebounds. Late in the game, Ashley Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Cats retook the lead with only a couple minutes remaining. The Cats then held on to take the 81-79 win over the Bulldogs in a Southern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday.
Furman 87 - VMI 57
The Paladin's scored 16 three-pointers on a 43-3 run to beat VMI 87-57 in Lexington during their Southern Conference opener. Jordan Lyons scored 17 points with five 3s, John Davis III added 15 points. The Paladins hit 51 percent (31 of 61) overall, while the Keydets' hit 32 percent (18 of 57).
Chattanooga 56 - Samford 73
The Moc's Justin Coleman scored a career-high 28 points. and Eric Adams scored 11 points as Samford defeated Chattanooga 73-56 on Saturday night. Samford finished the first half on 17-of-24 shooting (71 percent) and Coleman scored 14 points before intermission and missed just 1 of his 8 shots as the Bulldogs cruised to the conference win.
Sunday's game......
ETSU 74 - Mercer 55
ETSU's Jalan McCloud scored 22 points as the Bucs ran away from Mercer 74-55 in Macon, Ga to open defense of its Southern Conference championship. ETSU shot 57 percent from the floor (29-for-51) and made 10 of 18 from 3-point range (57 percent). Desonta Bradford and Bo Hodges each scored 12 for the Buccaneers.
This season's SoCon out-of-conference record:
America East ..................................................... 1-1
American Athletic .............................................. 0-4
Atlantic 10 .......................................................... 1-5
Atlantic Coast ..................................................... 3-9
Atlantic Sun ........................................................ 2-1
Big 12 .................................................................. 0-1
Big East ............................................................... 0-2
Big South ............................................................10-7
Big Ten ................................................................ 0-2
Colonial ............................................................... 8-1
Conference USA ................................................. 1-2
Horizon ................................................................ 2-1
Metro Atlantic ...................................................... 0-1
Mid-American ...................................................... 0-1
Mid-Eastern Athletic ............................................ 4-1
Missouri Valley .................................................... 0-2
Mountain West ..................................................... 0-1
Non-Division I .....................................................22-0
Ohio Valley .......................................................... 3-3
Pac-12 ..................................................................0-2
Patriot ...................................................................0-1
Southeastern ........................................................0-7
Southland ............................................................. 0-1
Southwestern Athletic .......................................... 5-0
Summit .................................................................1-0
Sun Belt ................................................................3-3
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