SoCon Basketball for Saturday, January 7, 2023

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Saturday's schedule has a full slate of SoCon Conference games with all 10 teams on the schedule. Currently we have two teams with perfect 3-0 records in conference play (UNCG & Samford), with four teams tied for third with 2-1 records in conference play. Mercer & VMI are winless in conference play at 0-3. 

(Rankings are the current conference standings which includes ties)

2:00 PM - Watch on ESPN+
#9 VMI (5-11, 0-3 SoCon) at #6 Chattanooga (9-7, 1-2 SoCon)
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, TN

4:00 PM - Watch on ESPN+
#3 Furman (11-5, 2-1 S SoCon) at #3 East Tennessee State (6-10, 2-1 SoCon)
Freedom Hall Civic Center - Johnson City, TN

4:00 PM - Watch on ESPN+
#1 Samford (9-7, 3-0 SoCon) at #1 UNC Greensboro (9-7, 3-0 SoCon)
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC

4:00 PM - Watch on ESPN+
#9 Mercer (7-9, 0-3 SoCon) at #3 Western Carolina (9-7, 2-1 SoCon)
Ramsey Regional Activity Center - Cullowhee, NC

7:00 PM - Watch on ESPN+
#6 The Citadel (6-9, 1-2 SoCon) at #6 Wofford (9-7, 1-2 SoCon)
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, SC


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Highlights from Wednesday's SoCon games:

Western Carolina continues to surprise as they picked up their first road SoCon victory in Johnson City, the Terriers squeaked by Mercer, the Spartans continue to win, Furman bounces back, & Samford wins at home again.  

Wofford 53 - Mercer 52
With 0.7 seconds left on the clock and trailing by one point, Jackson Paveletzke hit a shot to give the Wofford College men's basketball team a 53-52 win over Mercer at Hawkins Arena on Wednesday night. The Bears used a 6-0 run late in the second half to take a three-point lead, but a pair of free throws by B.J. Mack and the Paveletzke bucket provided the final score. The Terriers' record improves to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Conference, while the Bears are 7-9 overall and 0-3 in the league. For Wofford, Jackson Paveletzke had 12 points to lead the team along with five rebounds. Corey Tripp added 11 points and Messiah Jones had a game-high seven rebounds. The Bears were led by Jalyn McCreary with 16 points and David Craig with six rebounds.

Western Carolina 71 - ETSU 60
Tied at 38 at halftime, Western Carolina got off to a quick start in the second half and gained separation during the middle stages of the half as the Catamounts defeated ETSU 71-60 on Wednesday night inside Freedom Hall. WCU improves to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the Southern Conference with the win. The victory for WCU snaps a 15-game road losing streak against the Bucs as the Catamounts scored their first win in Johnson City since 1996. ETSU drops to 6-10 overall and 2-1 in league play.

Chattanooga 61 - UNCG 73
The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team held the lead for just about the entire game in a 73-61 victory over the Chattanooga Mocs on Thursday night at the Greensboro Coliseum in the Spartans' conference home opener. This is the first time since the 2018-19 season that the Spartans are starting 3-0 in Southern Conference (SoCon) play. Along with a perfect start to the SoCon play, Head Coach Mike Jones also enjoyed celebrating his 200th career win as a head coach.

The Citadel 72 - Furman 97

Mike Bothwell poured in 27 points and Alex Williams and Ben Vander Wal posted career-highs to lead Furman to a 97-72 victory over The Citadel on Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena. Bothwell, a fifth-year senior from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, connected on 10-of-14 shots from the field to pace the Paladins in scoring and added five rebounds and six assists as Furman improved to 20-2 versus Southern Conference opposition inside Timmons since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign. Williams, a sophomore, totaled 19 points, while Vander Wal hit on all four of his three-point attempts to reach his career high with 14 points. The freshman also added seven rebounds.

VMI 78 - Samford 87
The Samford Men's Basketball Team shot 53 percent from the floor and knocked down a season-high 14 threes in its 87-78 Southern Conference victory over VMI on Wednesday from the Pete Hanna Center. The win improves the Bulldogs to 9-7 overall and 3-0 in conference play, marking the program's best start to SoCon action since joining the league in 2008. VMI falls to 5-11 overall and 0-3 in SoCon competition. Jermaine Marshall led a quartet of Bulldogs that scored in double figures with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance for his second double-double in as many games. Marshall also dished out a career-high six assists while shooting 60 percent (6-10) on field goals.