Scanning the SoCon (2-14-24)

No surprises in Wednesday night's SoCon games. All the teams that were picked to win, won, so the standings pretty much remain the same, except that WCU fell to sixth place and now Furman and Wofford remain tied for fourth place. The Bulldogs strengthen their stranglehold on 1st place, with Chattanooga solidly in second, and UNCG in third. The bottom four teams remain the same with ETSU holding down 7th, Mercer 8th, The Citadel in 9th, and VMI in 10th.  On the "Road to Asheville"

VMI 62 - Mercer 75
Furman's Ben Vanderwal scored 15 points to lead Furman to a 75-62 win over VMI on Wednesday night. Vanderwal also pulled down 13 rebounds as JP Pegues scored 14 points and added eight assists. Taeshaud Jackson led the Keydets in scoring with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals. Maurice Wright Jr. added 13 points and Stephen Olowoniyi added nine points. The loss was the Keydets' seventh straight.

Wofford 73 - Mercer 60
Wofford's Dillon Bailey's scored 17 points to led Wofford over Mercer 73-60. Jackson Sivills scored 16 points, hitting 6 for 7, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc. Anthony Arrington, Jr. had 11 points and shot 4 for 8, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc. Jake Davis finished with 15 points for the Bears and Alex Holt and David Thomas each recorded 12 points.

UNCG 76 - The Citadel 60
Keyshaun Langley led the Spartans over The Citadel 76-61 with 21 points on Wednesday night. Donovan Atwell adds 17 points. Joryam Saizonou finished 5 of 6 from the field to finish with 12 points. The Bulldogs were led by AJ Smith, with 20 points, and 11 rebounds. Quentin Millora-Brown added 14 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks for Citadel.

ETSU 71 - Chattanooga 84
Chattanooga tightened its hold on second place in the conference standings with an 84-71 win over rival ETSU in Chattanooga. Honor Huff led the Mocs with 31 points (9 for 16 from 3-point range) and Trey Bonham added 14 points and eight assists. The Bucs were led in by Quimari Peterson who finished with 22 points and three steals. Jaden Seymour added 19 points, six rebounds, and two steals for East Tennessee State.

WCU 88 - Samford 52
Samford extended its lead in the Southern Conference standings with their win over the Catamounts. Achor Achor had 18 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs. Jaden Campbell and Jermaine Marshall added 16 points apiece. Vonterius Woolbright led the way for the Catamounts with his twenty-second double-double, with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and two steals. DJ Campbell added 13 points for the Cats. Tre Jackson also had 10 points and four assists.


If it ended today.....

First round // Friday, March 8 // Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville // Asheville, N.C.
Game 1 -  #8  Mercer vs. #9 The Citadel  5 p.m
Game 2 -  #7  ETSU vs. #10 VMI  7:30 p.m

Quarterfinals // Saturday, March 9 // Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville // Asheville, N.C.
Game 3 - #1  Samford vs. Game 1 winner 12 p.m
Game 4 - #2  UTC vs. Game 2 winner  2:30 p.m 
Game 5 - #3  UNCG vs. #6 WCU  6 p.m
Game 6 - #4  Wofford vs. #5 Furman   8:30 p.m