WCU Player of the Game (vs. Wofford)

Purple & Gold's "Catamount Player of the Game" for the Wofford game on February 8th, is redshirt senior guard, Tre' Jackson

Tre' set a Western Carolina Division I single-game record of 47 points, also a record high of points scored in Wofford's Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium and against Wofford in their Division I era. Tre's 47 points break former WCU player Kevin Martin’s school D-I record by 1 point and are the most points in a regular season SoCon game since Marshall’s Bunny Gibson dropped 50 in 1978.  

Congratulations also to Vonterius Woolbright, who scored a career-best 30 points including the game-winning shot & grabbed 13 rebounds.

Congratulations to Tre', Vonterius, and the entire Catamount basketball team for the exciting win over the Wofford Terriers.        

43 points were scored in regulation 

Wednesday's SoCon MBB - Feb. 8, 2023

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Four games are on the schedule for Wednesday night. Western Carolina travels to Spartanburg to face the Terriers, and Samford travels to Macon to meet the Bears. Furman is at Lexington, VA and the Mocs entertain the Bulldogs from Charleston, on the "Road to Asheville".  

7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Western Carolina (13-1, 26-6 SoCon) at Wofford (13-12, 5-7 SoCon)
Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, SC


7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Samford (16-9, 10-2 SoCon) at Mercer (12-13, 5-7 SoCon)
Hawkins Arena - Macon, GA


7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Furman (19-6, 10-2 SoCon) at VMI (6-19, 1-11 SoCon)
Cameron Hall - Lexington, VA


7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
The Citadel (9-16, 4-8 SoCon) at Chattanooga (12-13, 4-8 SoCon)
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, TN

Game #26 - Wofford

Who:  Wofford Terriers

When: Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Richardson Indoor Arena, Spartanburg, SC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
    -announcer: Gary Ayers (PxP)
TV/video: ESPN+
    -announcer:  Jim Noble (play-by-play)

Live Stats: Wofford Live stats
Nickname: Terriers
Colors: Gold & Black
Students: 1,800
Mascot: Terrier
Message Board: Wofford Fans

Head Coach: Dwight Perry enters his fourth season with the Terriers in the 2022-23 campaign and on December 5, 2022, was named the interim head coach.

Perry's record vs. WCU: 0-1
Gray's record vs. Wofford: 1-2

Wofford's current record: 13-12 overall, 10-3 home, 3-9 away, 0-0 neutral, 5-7 SoCon
Wofford's last season record: 19-13 overall, 11-4 home, 7-8 away, 1-1 neutral, 10-8 SoCon

The Series: The Cats own a 31-34 record versus the Terriers and come into the game riding a 1game winning streak. The Cats are 3-7 in the last ten games played but are 7-16 in games played in Spartanburg.

Wofford is returning home from a two-game road trip, where they dropped both games (ETSU & Furman), however the last time they played in Spartanburg, they knocked off Samford, 85-77. 

Wofford is led this season by a trio of seniors. B.J. Mack, Messiah Jones and Jonathan Steelman. The team is averaging 74.1 points per game and allowing only 70.2 points. Mack is leading the team in scoring with 15.3 ppg and is also second in rebounding at 5.0 per game, freshman Jackson Paveletzke is scoring 14.5 points per game and leads the team with 90 assists.

Wofford has performed well at home this season, protecting their home court, and coupled with the fact they will be looking to avenge a road loss to the Cats, the Catamounts will need to play a near perfect game to depart Spartanburg with a win and remain in the top four of the conference.  

Probable starting line up:

Corey Tripp, Guard  6-3/195 - Soph.  9.3 ppg

Jackson Paveletzke, Guard  6-3/175 Fresh. - 14.6 ppg

Amarri Tice, Forward 6-7/220  - Fresh.  3.6 ppg

Messiah Jones, Forward 6-6/220 - Senior  9.4 ppg - preseason All-SoCon 

B.J. Mack, F/Center  6-8/245 - Senior  15.4 ppg - preseason All-SoCo

SoCon MBB... If it Ended Today

If the regular season play ended today, this is how the seeding would look... on the "Road to Asheville"

First round // Friday, March 3
Game - Matchup - Time
Game 1 #9 Chattanooga vs. #8 The Citadel  -5 p.m.
Game 2 #7 Wofford vs. #10 VMI  - 7:30 p.m.


Quarterfinals // Saturday, March 4
Game - Matchup - Time
Game 3 #1 Furman vs. Game 1 winner  -12 p.m.
Game 4 #4 Western Carolina vs. #5 Mercer  -2:30 p.m.
Game 5 #2 Samford vs. Game 2 winner  -6 p.m.
Game 6 #3 UNCG vs. #6 ETSU  -8:30 p.m.

A recap of Saturday's SoCon MBB games

Saturday, February 4, 2023

As we predicted, the three-way tie for first place in the SoCon standings was not broken in Saturday's play, however there was a little movement in the middle of the pack.  Western took sole possession of fourth place, while the Mocs fell into a tie for eighth place with the Citadel. There is now a three-way tie for fifth place between Mercer, ETSU, and Wofford.  

UNCG 79 - The Citadel 59
(UNCG) men's basketball team remains undefeated in Southern Conference (SoCon) road games following a 20-point victory, 79-59, over The Citadel on Saturday afternoon in the McAlister Field House. UNCG is now 6-0 in SoCon road games. This was the 11th win of the season by double figures for the Spartans and second-straight game winning by 20 points. This is the fifth game this season, where UNCG has won by 20 or more points. Five from UNCG scored double digits in the victory, including Keyshaun Langley who tallied a game high of 19 points. Keondre Kennedy followed with 18 points. Joryam Saizonou chipped in a career-high 14 points, while Mohammed Abdulsalam and Bas Leyte each scored 10 points.

Chattanooga 68 - Western Carolina 83
Tre Jackson led five Western Carolina players in double figures with 18 points as WCU earned an 83-68 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center in front of a season-high 3,157 fans. WCU improves to 13-12 overall and 6-6 in the Southern Conference while Chattanooga drops to 12-13 and 4-8. In leading the Catamounts offensively, Jackson finished 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-8 behind the 3-point line. Russell Jones Jr. tallied 15 points and Vonterius Woolbright contributed his fifth double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds, all of which occurred on the defensive glass. Woolbright also recorded a team-best five assists. DJ Campbell tallied 11 points. Tyzhaun Claude posted his team-best eighth double-double with 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Of Claude's 12 rebounds, 11 were defensive boards.

VMI 54 - Mercer 80
A season-high 13 three-pointers led the Bears to an 80-54 victory over VMI on Saturday afternoon in Hawkins Arena. Braden Sparks led the team from behind the arc with four treys while Harrison Drake and Michael Zanoni had three each. The Bears improve to 11-13 overall and 4-7 in the conference. Mercer also committed only two turnovers, the fewest in program history. The Bears led for 34:10 and by as many as 27 points. The 26-point victory is the second-largest against a Division I opponent this season (27, vs. Morehead State). After struggling beyond the arc for much of conference play, 13 three-pointers were the most scored since January 13, 2022 against VMI when the Bears scored 17. Sparks and Drake both set career highs in points, field goals made, three-pointers made, and minutes against the Keydets.

ETSU 62 - Samford 73
The Samford Men's Basketball team never trailed in its 73-62 Southern Conference victory against ETSU on Saturday, Feb. 4 from the Pete Hanna Center.A.J. Staton-McCray scored 16 points as Samford beat East Tennessee State 73-62 on Saturday. Staton-McCray had six rebounds and five steals for the Bulldogs (16-9, 10-2 Southern Conference). Jermaine Marshall shot 4 for 9, including 1 for 3 from beyond the arc to add 10 points. Bubba Parham shot 2 for 8 (2 for 6 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free throw line to finish with 10 points.

Wofford 67 - Furman 80

Furman raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half in route to its fourth straight win over Wofford, 80-67, before a crowd of 6,199 on Saturday evening at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville, S.C. The Paladins, winners of six straight, improved to 19-6 overall and maintained a share of first place in the Southern Conference at 10-2. Wofford fell to 13-12 overall and 5-7 in league play. Furman scored the first eight points of the game, including six from Jalen Slawson, and built a 42-23 lead before carrying a 42-25 advantage into halftime. The Paladins shot 52.9% and connected on six triples in the first half.

WCU Player of the Game (Chattanooga)

Purple & Gold's "Catamount Player of the Game" for the Chattanooga game on February 4th, is redshirt senior guard, Tre' Jackson

WCU's player of the game for the Chattanooga game in Cullowhee is Tre' Jackson. Tre' was the high scorer of the game, with five Catamounts scoring double figures. Tre' posted 18 points, hitting 6 of 11 field goal attempts and was 2 for 2 at the charity stripe.   He pulled down 2 rebounds and had one assist.  

Congratulations to Tre' and the entire Catamount basketball team for the exciting win over the Chattanooga Mocs.     

     

Saturday's SoCon MBB - Feb. 4, 2023

Saturday, February 4, 2023

All ten SoCon teams are on the schedule for Saturday, with two of the first-place teams playing at home, and one on the road.  The Spartans travel to the SC low country to test the Bulldogs, as Samford entertains the Bucs and Furman has a visit from just down the road when the Terriers visit Travelers Rest.  

Western hosts the Mocs, and the Keydets hope to make it two in a row as they visit Macon. I see some change happening in the middle of the standing, but little or none in the top three after Saturday's games, on the "Road to Asheville."


1:00 PM   Watch on ESPN+
UNCG (15-9, 9-2 SoCon) at The Citadel (9-15, 4-7 SoCon)
McAlister Field House - Charleston, SC

2:00 PM   Watch on ESPN+
Chattanooga (12-12, 4-7 SoCon) at Western Carolina (12-12, 5-6 SoCon)
Ramsey Regional Activity Center - Cullowhee, NC

2:00 PM    Watch on ESPN+
VMI (6-18, 1-10 SoCon) at Mercer (11-13, 4-7 SoCon)
Hawkins Arena - Macon, GA

3:00 PM   Watch on ESPN+
ETSU (9-15, 5-6 SoCon) at Samford (15-9, 9-2 SoCon)
Pete Hanna Center - Homewood, AL

6:00 PM   Watch on ESPN+ 

Wofford (13-11, 5-6 SoCon) at Furman (18-6, 9-2 SoCon)

Timmons Arena - Greenville, SC

SoCon MBB Recap: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

Thursday, February 2, 2023 

Recap of Thursday's games:

It was not a good night for the home teams in the SoCon Thursday night. The Spartans remain tied for first place with Furman and Samford with a win over the Bears in Macon. While the Spartans remain tied for first, at the other end of the standing, VMI pulled out their first conference victory of the season, on the road in Charleston. I'm sure there's a lot of happy Keydets on the 6-hour bus ride back to Lexington.

UNCG 69 - Mercer 49 

The UNCG men's basketball team extended its SoCon road record to 5-0 behind a 69-49 victory over Mercer on Thursday night in Hawkins Arena. The Spartans, Samford, and Furman remain in a three-way tie for first with a SoCon record of 9-2. This was the 10th win of the season by double figures for the Spartans. Graduate student Mohammed Abdulsalam recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career with 15 points and matched his career-best with 16 rebounds. Both were team highs. The first time Abdulsalam had 16 rebounds was an 80-81 loss to Western Carolina on February 24, 2021.

VMI 75 - The Citadel 69

Working hard to earn an elusive win in conference play, the VMI basketball team registered its first Southern Conference victory of the season by defeating rival The Citadel by a 75-69 count Thursday night at McAlister Field House in Charleston, South Carolina. The win is the first conference game victory for VMI head coach Andrew Wilson, who also picked up his first career road victory at the helm. It also snapped a 12-game losing skid for the Keydets, who opened SoCon play 0-10 between late December and through the month of January. In a game that featured nine ties and 12 lead changes, the Keydets (6-18, 1-10) overcame an 11-point deficit early in the second half to come back and earn the win.

Thursday's SoCon MBB - Feb. 2, 2023

Thursday, February 2, 2023 

Only two games on the Thursday roster, as the Spartans travel to Macon, and the military school rivalry continues, this time in Charleston, SC. The Spartans will be playing to keep pace with the Paladins who knocked off the Mocs yesterday in Travelers Rest. The Keydets are looking to pick up that first conference win, and nothing would be better than that win coming the South Carolina low country.  

7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
UNCG (14-9, 8-2 SoCon) at Mercer (11-12, 4-6 SoCon)
Hawkins Arena - Macon, GA

7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
VMI (5-18, 0-10 SoCon) at The Citadel (9-14, 4-6 SoCon)
McAlister Field House - Charleston, SC

---------------

A recap of Wednesday's games:

Furman easily took care of Mocs to maintain a share of first place in the SoCon standings, while Samford had a little more difficulty with the Catamounts, but the final results were the same. The big surprise of the evening came with the Bucs dominating win over the surging Wofford Terriers.

Samford 85 -   Western Carolina 77
Led by a combined 59 points from Logan Dye, A.J. Staton-McCray, and Ques Glover, the Samford Men's Basketball Team picked up a crucial 85-77 road win over Southern Conference foe Western Carolina on Wednesday evening. The victory improves the Bulldogs to 15-2 overall and 9-2 in SoCon action. The Catamounts drop to 12-12 overall and 5-6 in league play. Dye set a new career-best with a game-high 24 points on the night. The senior forward knocked down eight of 14 shots from the field and hauled in seven rebounds. Staton-McCray logged his first career double-double as a Bulldog with an 18-point, 10-rebound effort on a 7-9 shooting night. Both totals marked season-highs for the sophomore guard, with his 10 rebounds marking a career-best. 

Chattanooga 58 - Furman 79
Furman's defense held UNC Greensboro to just 24 second half points and JP Pegues scored a team-high 17 to lead Furman to 69-57 victory over the Spartans on Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. The victory, Furman's fifth straight road triumph, moved the Paladins (17-6, 8-2 SoCon) into a tie for first place in the Southern Conference standings with the Spartans (14-9, 8-2 SoCon) and Samford Bulldogs (14-9, 8-2 SoCon). Furman trailed for just 22 seconds on its way to earning a split of the regular season series with UNCG as the Paladins avenged an 88-80 overtime loss to the Spartans in Greenville, S.C. earlier this month.

Wofford 52 - ETSU  77
The Bucs unleashed months of frustrating home losses into the Wofford Terriers on Wednesday night. Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.) and Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) each scored 22 points, as ETSU men’s basketball snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 77-52 rout over Wofford inside Freedom Hall. The Bucs swept the season series for the first time since 2019-20 and the 25-point win was the second-largest margin of victory against the Terriers. The Blue and Gold led by as many as 31 points in the second half, marking their largest lead at home this season. For the game, ETSU shot a season-high 62 percent from the field (32-52) and knocked down nine of its 23 attempts from beyond the arc. Wofford posted a 43 percent clip (23-54) and was held to three of 21 from long distance. In the regular season series, the Terriers went 7-for-52 from three-point range against the Bucs.

Wednesday's SoCon MBB - Feb. 1, 2023

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 

Only three SoCon games are on the Wednesday night schedule, as two more games will be played on Thursday night.  Two of the three teams currently tied for the number one spot are in action, as the Samford Bulldogs travel to Cullowhee, and the Number 6 Chattanooga Mocs visit Travelers Rest and the Paladins. The Terriers visit Johnson City to face the Bucs, who have dropped the last eight games inside Freedom Hall and are searching for their first home win since Nov. 30 when they knocked off Division II Mars Hill, on the "Road to Asheville".   

7:00 PM   Watch on ESPN+
#1 Samford (14-9, 8-2 SoCon) at #4 Western Carolina (12-11, 5-5 SoCon)
Ramsey Center - Cullowhee, NC

7:00 PM   Watch on ESPN+
#6 Chattanooga (12-11, 4-6 SoCon) at #1 Furman (17-6, 8-2 SoCon)
Timmons Arena - Greenville, SC

7:00 PM   Watch on ESPN+
#4 Wofford (13-10, 5-5 SoCon) at #6 ETSU (8-15, 4-6 SoCon)
Freedom Hall Civic Center - Johnson City, TN

Game #24 - Samford Bulldogs

When: Wednesday, February 1, 2023   

Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC
     -announcer: Gary Ayers (PxP)
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
TV/video: ESPN+
    -announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP)
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors: Blue & Red
Students: 5,729
Mascot: Bulldogs
Message Board: The Dog Pound

Head Coach: Bucky McMillan enters his third season as head coach of Samford University

McMillan's record vs. WCU: 4-0
Gray's record vs. Samford: 0-3

Samford's current record: 14-9 overall, 10-2 home, 4-7 away, 0-0 neutral, 8-2 SoCon
Samford's last season record: 21-11 overall, 13-24 home, 5-8 away, 3-1 neutral, 10-8 SoCon

The Series: The Cats own a 14-15 overall record with Samford. The Bulldogs are riding a 4-game win streak over the Cats, coming into Wednesday's game and Western is 11-3 in games played in Cullowhee. The Cats are 4-6 in the last 10 games played.

The Bulldogs come to Cullowhee riding a two-game conference losing streak since they played Western in Homewood on Jan. 21, 2023. With losses to both Furman and Wofford on their three-game road trip, the Bulldogs hope to rebound and pick up a seasonal sweep of the Catamounts. While the dogs are 4-7 in road games this season, the Cats are 6-4 in games inside the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center.

Coming off a road trip win at VMI, the Cats picked up a win without scoring 10 shots from beyond the 3-point line, picking up 38 points in the paint and 23 fast break points against the Keydets.

Saturday's SoCon MBB wrap-up

A recap of Saturday's games:

It was an interesting Saturday in Southern Conference games, with surprises at almost every corner. The Mercer Bears overpowered the Bulldogs in Charleston, and the Terriers accomplished a similar feat on their home court, giving the Samford Bulldogs, back-to-back losses (not a good day to be a Bulldog). The Catamounts pulled a surprise out of their hat, picking up a road win over the VMI Keydets in the always difficult place to play and win, Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA. while a Jake Stephens less Moc team learned how to win without him... on the "Road to Asheville"


Western Carolina 71 - VMI 65
Vonterius Woolbright led four Western Carolina players in double figures with 19 points as the Catamounts earned a hard-fought 71-65 Southern Conference road victory over VMI inside Cameron Hall on Saturday afternoon. The Catamounts improve to 12-11 overall and 5-5 in Southern Conference action. VMI drops to 5-18 and 0-10. In addition to scoring 19 points, Woolbright also distributed a career-best 11 assists and snagged seven rebounds, just missing the triple-double in the winning effort. Tyzhaun Claude recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman DJ Campbell tallied 14 points followed by Tre Jackson with 10. Tyler Houser led VMI with a game-high 23 points. Tony Felder also finished in double figures with 11 points. Rickey Bradley pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.


Mercer 74 - The Citadel 65
For the second game in a row, Jalyn McCreary posted a career-high 26 points to lift the Mercer men's basketball program to victory. The Bears defeated The Citadel, 74-65, on Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House. Mercer improves to 11-12 overall and 4-6 in the conference while The Citadel falls to 9-13 overall and 4-6 in the SoCon. The Bears have now won four of the last five games, including three on the road. McCreary added 12 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season. Luis Hurtado Jr. earned his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The second half started much like the first with seven unanswered points for Mercer. The Citadel was scoreless for the first 5:24 of the second half before logging a 6-0 run. Although the Bulldogs brought the difference to one, The Citadel did not lead in the second half. Mercer erupted on a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach for The Citadel. The Bears led by as many as 13 points in the second half en route to a 74-65 victory.

Samford 77 - Wofford 85
The Wofford men's basketball team shot 62% in the first half to amass a 16-point halftime lead over Samford. The Terriers would not relinquish the lead in the second half and would hold on for an 85-77 win on Saturday afternoon at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. This win for Wofford (13-10, 5-5 SoCon) came just 17 days after a 25-point road loss to the Bulldogs (14-9, 8-2 SoCon), who were at the time without their starting guard Ques Glover. Glover led the team in scoring with 20 points on Saturday, but it wasn't enough for Samford. Jackson Paveletzke led Wofford in scoring with 21 points in the game, B.J Mack added 20 points while going 9-of-10 from the free-throw line and 3-of-5 from deep and leading the Terriers with six rebounds. The Terriers attempted 34 free throws on the night, which tied a season-high and made 27 of those, which is a new season high. Rebounding in the game was tied at 29 each, but Samford had 11 offensive rebounds. For the game Wofford shot 10-of-21 from three, compared to 7-of-34 for the Bulldogs. The 24 fouls drawn were the second most Wofford has drawn in a game this season.

Chattanooga 85 - ETSU 80
Chattanooga snapped a four-game skid with a 73-64 win over rival ETSU inside Freedom Hall. UTC improves to 12-11 overall and 4-6 in the SoCon, as ETSU falls to 8-15 and 4-6. The Bucs have now lost a school record eight-straight home games. The Mocs led the contest for 30:57, while ETSU had the lead for just 5:21. The Mocs accumulated 28 points off the bench, the most against a DI opponent this season, totaling 54 bench points the last two games. ETSU provided just nine points from their non-starters. UTC shot a blistering 52.2% (13-of-23) from deep and 41.8% (23-of-55) from the floor in total,  the 52.2% (13-of-23) mark from deep is the second-most efficient this season (53.8, 14-of-26 at Tennessee Tech). Chattanooga capitalized at the free-throw line and knocked down 15-of-18 (83.3%) attempts, the second-best mark against a SoCon opponent this season (88.9%, 24-of-27 against WCU).  

WCU Player of the Game (VMI)

Purple & Gold's "Catamount Player of the Game" for the VMI game on January 28th, is redshirt junior forward, Tyzhaun Claude 

                                            

WCU's player of the game for the VMI game is Tyzhaun Claude,  who recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Claude was 6 of 10 in field goal shooting, and 6 of 8 at the charity stripe for a total of 18 points. He pulled down a total of 13 rebounds, 9 defensive and 4 offensive boards. Along with this double-double, Claude made two blocked shots, 2 assists, and had 2 steals. 

Congratulations to Tyzhaun Claude and the entire Catamount basketball team for the exciting win over the VMI Keydets in Lexington, VA.    

Saturday's SoCon MBB - Jan 28, 2023

Saturday, January 28, 2023 

Only four games are on the schedule for Saturday, with the SoCon Game of the Week taking place in Johnson City as the Mocs travel to ETSU looking to avenge a loss from just 7 days ago. Mercer travels to Charleston to face the Bulldogs, while Samford looks to rebound against the Terriers in Spartanburg. The VMU Keydets are entertaining the Catamounts and looking to pick up that first conference victory against a WCU team that has lost four of their last five games, on the "Road to Asheville"


1:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Western Carolina (11-11, 4-5 SoCon) at VMI (5-17, 0-9 SoCon)
Cameron Hall - Lexington, VA


1:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Mercer (10-12, 3-6 SoCon) at The Citadel (9-12, 4-5 SoCon)
McAlister Field House - Charleston, SC


2:00 PM Watch on CBSSN
Samford (14-8, 8-1 SoCon) at Wofford (12-10, 4-5 SoCon)
Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, SC


4:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Chattanooga (11-11, 3-6 SoCon) at ETSU (8-14, 4-5 SoCon)
Freedom Hall Civic Center -Johnson City, TN

Wednesday's SoCon MBB wrap-up

A recap of Wednesday's games:

The Furman/Samford game lived up to expectations, as the Paladins pulled out a win over the league-leading Bulldogs in overtime.  The Cats also lived up to expectations as they were swept by the other Bulldogs in the conference, in an embarrassing 61-70 loss on their home court in front of an announced crowd of 2k.  Wofford knocked off a Jake-less Mocs team in the Roundhouse, Mercer picked up a win at home, and the Spartans picked up their fifth-straight win over the conference win-less Keydets. 


Samford 84 - Furman 91
Marcus Foster connected on the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 30 seconds to go and Jalen Slawson posted game-highs with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead Furman to a 91-84 overtime win versus Southern Conference-leading Samford on Wednesday night at Timmons Arena. With the victory, Furman improved to 16-6 overall and 7-2 in league play. The Bulldogs, who saw their eight-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 14-8 overall and 8-1 in the SoCon. Furman trailed 73-68 with under two minutes to play in regulation before Williams scored off a pass from Slawson to trim the deficit to three points. Slawson blocked a shot on Samford's next possession and Bothwell dove on the loose ball and called timeout. After Williams tied the game with a triple out of the timeout and A.J. Staton-McCray answered with a three, Slawson drilled a three-pointer from the right corner with 18 seconds left to force overtime.


The Citadel 61 - Western Carolina 70
The Citadel men's basketball team completed the regular-season sweep of Western Carolina with an 81-70 victory Wednesday evening inside the Ramsey Center. It is the first time since the 2010-11 season the Bulldogs swept the Catamounts during the regular season. The victory gives the Bulldogs back-to-back Southern Conference road victories for the first time since the 2014-15 season. In that season, The Citadel defeated Samford (66-65) on Feb. 12, 2015, before beating Furman (62-56ot) on Feb. 19, 2015. Stephen Clark led the way with 18 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two blocks. Austin Ash added 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Elijah Morgan had 16 points, four rebounds and two steals Madison Durr registered his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.


Wofford 85 -  Chattanooga 80
In a game that saw the Wofford men's basketball team lead by as many as eleven points, in the final thirty seconds Wofford's lead was cut to two points by Chattanooga. Led by Jackson Paveletzke hitting 4-of-4 free throws, the Terriers were able to come away with an 85-80 win at McKenzie Arena on Wednesday night. Paveletzke lead Wofford (12-10, 4-5 SoCon) in scoring with 21 points. Carson Mccorkle also added 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three in only 13 minutes on the floor. B.J. Mack added 14 points and eight rebounds. Messiah Jones went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line while scoring 13 points. Jackson Sivills added ten points, giving the Terriers five players in double-digit scoring. Jamal Johnson led Chattanooga (11-11, 3-6 SoCon) in scoring with 22 points and five rebounds.


VMI 50 - UNCG 62
(UNCG) men's basketball team took on a large task, as it won its fifth-straight game with a 62-50 victory over VMI on Wednesday night in Southern Conference (SoCon) play at the Greensboro Coliseum. With the win and Furman defeating Samford on the same night, the Bulldogs and Spartans are now tied for first with an 8-1 SoCon mark. The 8-1 record in SoCon play continues to match the Spartans' conference start during the 2018-19 season. This was the ninth win of the season by double figures. It was the 11th win in 14 games played, dating back to December 3, 2022 with a non-conference 65-61 win over Elon. This is the first five-game win streak for Head Coach Mike Jones' during his two years with UNCG. It is also the longest win streak for the Spartans since the 2020-21 season, when UNCG won seven straight.


ETSU 67 - Mercer  72
In thrilling fashion, the Mercer men's basketball program earned its second win over ETSU this season, 71-67, after the Buccaneers forced overtime on Wednesday in Hawkins Arena. Jalyn McCreary finished with a career-high 26 points along with seven rebounds in the contest. The Bears improve to 10-12 overall and 3-6 in the conference while the Bucs drop to 8-14 and 4-5 in the SoCon. Mercer handed ETSU its first road loss in the Southern Conference this season to sweep the year's series. Mercer held ETSU to only 38% from the field (21-of-56), but the Bears only shot 40% (27-of-68). Both teams struggled with consistency at the free throw line as ETSU finished 20-of-33 (61%) and Mercer went 13-of-20 (65%). The Bears forced 16 turnovers from the Bucs and narrowly edged ETSU in rebounds, 41-40, after a stronger second-half effort. McCreary's career-high 26 points were a season-best for the Bears this year. Glisson III and Walker Jr. both finished with 13 points. In his 100th career appearance, Glisson III finished 6-for-6 from the free throw line and also snagged four rebounds.

Wednesday's SoCon MBB - Jan 25, 2023

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

All ten teams are in action on Wednesday night, with Samford taking to the road for a visit to Traveler's Rest to face the Paladins in the marquee match of the night. Two of the sixth-place teams face off in the Roundhouse, as the Terriers face the Mocs.  The Bucs travel to Macon, and VMI travels to Greensboro.  The Catamounts look for a little revenge as they face the Bulldogs of the Citadel in the Ramsey Center, both teams looking to move up in the standings, on the 'Road to Asheville".    

7:00 PM  Watch on ESPN+
The Citadel (8-12, 3-5 SoCon) at Western Carolina (11-10, 4-4 SoCon)
Ramsey Center - Cullowhee, NC

7:00 PM  Watch on ESPN+
Wofford (11-10 3-5 SoCon) at Chattanooga (11-10, 3-5 SoCon)
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, TN

7:00 PM  Watch on ESPN+
VMI (5-16, 0-8 SoCon) at UNCG (13-8, 7-1 SoCon)
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC

7:00 PM  Watch on ESPN+
ETSU (8-13, 4-4 SoCon) at Mercer (9-12, 2-6 SoCon)
Hawkins Arena - Macon, GA

7:00 PM  Watch on ESPN+
Samford (14-7, 8-0 SoCon) at Furman (15-6, 6-2 SoCon)
Timmons Arena - Greenville, SC

Game #22 - The Citadel

The Return Match -

Who: The Citadel Bulldogs
When: Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC  
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
   -announcer: Gary Ayers (PxP)
TV/video: ESPN+
Live Stats: WCU Live stats
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors: Blue & White
Students: 3,693
Mascot: Spike & General 3
Message Board: Citadel Message board

Head Coach: Ed Conroy, a previous head coach of the Bulldogs from 2006-10, returned for the 2022-23 season. He was announced as the 31st head coach by Director of Athletics Mike Capaccio on March 23, 2022.

Conroy's record vs. WCU: 5-3   (0-0 this time around)
Gray's record vs. the Citadel: 1-2 (split last season, each team winning at home)

The Citadel's current record: 8-12 overall, 4-4 home, 3-7 away, 1-1 neutral, 3-5 SoCon
The Citadel's last season record: 13-18 overall, 7-8 home, 5-9 away, 1-1 neutral, 6-12 SoCon

The Series: The Cats own a 45-40 overall record vs. the Bulldogs in a series that started in 1977, The Cats are 26-15 in games played in Cullowhee, but have won 6 of the last 10 games played overall. Last season the two teams split, each winning their home game and the Bulldogs won in Charleston earlier this month.  

The Cats are looking to avenge a 61-65 road loss to the Bulldogs back on the 14th in the South Carolina low country. The game promotion is Suits & Sneakers / Lace Up for Pediatric Cancer.

The Bulldogs were picked by both the coaches and media to finish in 9th place this season in preseason voting and they come into this game winning 2 of the last 4 conference games.  The Bulldogs are 3-7 in away games. In addition to their WCU win, the Bulldogs also have a win over Chattanooga and VMI.  The Bulldogs are currently tied for 6th place in conference standings with Wofford and Chattanooga.

The Citadel is currently last in SoCon standing in scoring offense, putting up 68.9 points per game (ppg) and they hold the 9th position in scoring defense, allowing 74.4 ppg. The Citadel does still lead the SoCon in free-throw percentage, making a team average of 72.2% of their free throws. 

The Bulldogs have two players averaging double-digit scoring, with senior forward Stephen Clark leading the scoring with 16.9 ppg, followed by a grad student, guard Austin Ash with 15 ppg. The leading rebounder for the Citadel is also Stephen Clark with 6.7 rebounds per game.  

Sunday's SoCon MBB (1-23-23)

Only one game on the schedule today in an unusual Sunday SoCon game, it's the Furman/Wofford rivalry on the basketball court.  It's #3 Furman at #5 Wofford this afternoon, but you can throw the record book out the window when these two meet.  A sold-out Richardson Indoor Stadium will greet the Paladins that are 4-point favorites on the road.  I'm not sure that will hold up.... on the "Road to Asheville"

4:00 PM Watch on ESPNU or ESPN+
Furman (14-6, 5-2 SoCon) at Wofford (11-9, 3-4 SoCon)
Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, SC

-----------------

A recap of Saturday's games:

Big upset on Saturday, as the Bucs handled the Mocs rather easily, outscoring Chattanooga 45 to 20 in the second half without Jake Stephens playing today. The final score, was 78-62 ETSU on the Mocs home floor. VMI won the battle of the military schools in Lexington, by a final of 60-52. The Keydets are still winless in the SoCon after 8 games. The Spartans handle Mercer in Greensboro, and the Bulldogs remain unbeaten in conference play as they take care of the Catamounts in Homewood.  

The Citadel 60 - VMI 52
In what was a tale of two halves, The Citadel erased a nine-point halftime deficit for a 60-52 victory over VMI Saturday afternoon inside Cameron Hall. The first half was one to forget for both teams as they combined to make just 13-of-46 shots in the opening 20 minutes. The tide of the game turned in the final second of the first half as Austin Ash hit a three-pointer to make it 23-14 in favor of VMI. A technical foul was called on the Keydets as the half ended, and Ash made two free throws before the second half began. The Citadel used that sequence to their advantage as they got three-pointers form Ash and David Maynard to pull within three with just over 10 minutes to play. The triple from Maynard was the start of a 9-0 run that saw the Bulldogs take their first lead of the game. AJ Smith hit a jumper with 7:25 left in the game to push the advantage back to six, and the Bulldogs took care of business the rest of the way from the foul line, going 12-of-12 down the stretch to secure the victory.

ETSU 78 - Chattanooga 62
The Bucs shot 79 percent in the second half and outscored Chattanooga by 25, as ETSU men’s basketball team rallied for 78-62 win over the reigning SoCon champions on Saturday afternoon inside McKenzie Arena. ETSU, who moved to 4-0 on the road in SoCon play this season and has won the last six dating back to last year, improved to 8-13 overall and 4-4 in league play. Chattanooga, missing preseason SoCon Player of the Year Jake Stephens, dropped to 11-10, 3-5. Saturday marked the 97th game in the historic rivalry with ETSU moving closer to tying up the series as the Bucs now trail the Mocs, 51-46. The Blue and Gold won for just the sixth time in their last 28 games in Chattanooga.

Mercer 48 - UNCG 59
(UNCG) men's basketball team won its fourth-straight win with a 59-48 victory over Mercer on Saturday evening at the Greensboro Coliseum in Southern Conference (SoCon) play. The 7-1 record in SoCon play continues to match the Spartans' conference start during the 2018-19 season. This was the eighth win of the season by double figures. Mikeal Brown-Jones led the game with 17 points. Twelve of his 17 came in the last five minutes and 23 seconds. Keondre Kennedy also had double digits, scoring 10 points. The Spartans outmatched the Bears in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage. UNCG had 36 points in the paint compared to Mercer's 26. The Spartans' 31 fast break points also outmatched the Bears' 18.

Western Carolina 65 - Samford 74
Vonterius Woolbright led three Western Carolina players in double figures with 18 points, but Samford used a big run in the middle stages of the second half to gain separation and emerge with a 74-65 win over the Catamounts on Saturday evening inside the Pete Hanna Center. Samford improves to 14-7 overall and 8-0 in the Southern Conference. WCU falls to 11-10 and 4-4. Woolbright saw his streak of 20-point-plus games end at three straight but finished as the top scorer for WCU for the fourth straight game. Tyzhaun Claude tallied 17 points followed by Russell Jones Jr with 10. Claude and Woolbright both grabbed a team-best six rebounds. Playing in his first game since Nov. 30 due to injury, Ques Glover led the Bulldogs with a game-high 20 points. Jermaine Marshall recorded a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Bubba Parham added 12 points followed by Logan Dye with 11.

Game #21 - Samford Bulldogs

When: Saturday, January 21, 2023

Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Hanna Center, Homewood, AL
Radio: none
TV/video: ESPN+
   -announcer: Curt Bloom, Play-by-Play  - Boyd Kaiser, Analyst - Lynden Blake, Sideline
Live Stats: Samford Live stats
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors: Blue & Red
Students: 5,729
Mascot: Terrier
Message Board: The Dog Pound

Head Coach: Bucky McMillan enters his third season as head coach of Samford University

McMillan's record vs. WCU: 3-0
Gray's record vs. Samford: 0-2

Samford's current record: 13-7 overall, 9-2 home, 4-5 away, 0-0 neutral, 7-0 SoCon
Samford's last season record: 21-11 overall, 13-24 home, 5-8 away, 3-1 neutral, 10-8 SoCon

The Series: The Cats own a 14-14 overall record with Samford, but are only 3-11 in games played in the Hanna Center. The Bulldogs are riding a 3-game win streak over the Cats, coming into Saturday's game. The Cats are 4-6 in the last 10 games played.


The #1 Samford Bulldogs come into the game riding a 7-game win streak and are 9-2 in games played in the Hanna Center this season. That combined with their 3-game win streak over the Catamounts points to a difficult road game for Western Carolina. Samford currently holds down the top spot in the SoCon standings at 7-0. The Bulldogs’ 7-0 record marks their best start to SoCon play since joining the conference in 2008 and the best start to conference play since starting 13-0 in the former TAAC (ASUN) in 1998-99.

The Bulldogs are led by three players averaging double-figure scoring, senior forward LogancDye averaging 14.1 points per game (PPG), junior guard Ques Glover averaging 13.8 ppg, and junior forward JermainevMarshall averaging 11.8 ppg. The Bulldogs come in at third place in scoring offense, putting up 78.2 ppg (just in front of third place WCU), The Bulldogs come in 6th place in the SoCon standing in scoring defense, giving up 69.9 ppg (the Cats are in 4th place giving up 68.6 ppg.

In my opinion, this game comes down to location, where the game is being played. Samford has played extremely well protecting the home court this season, while the Catamount record for road games leaves a lot to be desired having gone 3-6 on the road.

SoCon Basketball for Saturday, January 19, 2023

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Saturday's schedule only has 4 games on schedule, as the Furman/Wofford match-up will be played on Sunday.  Saturday's action will feature the military school's face-off, as well as the Tennessee school's first contest against each other. Mercer, winner of two straight will face stiff competition in Greensboro, while the Catamounts face the number one Bulldogs on their home court, on the "Road to Asheville"

1:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
The Citadel (7-12 2-5 SoCon)  at  VMI (5-15, 0-7 SoCon)
Cameron Hall - Lexington, VA


3:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
ETSU (7-13, 3-4 SoCon)  at  Chattanooga (11-9, 3-4 SoCon)
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, TN


4:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Mercer (9-11, 2-5 SoCon)  at  UNCG (12-8, 6-1 SoCon)
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC


6:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Western Carolina (11-9, 4-3 SoCon)  at  Samford (13-7, 7-0 SoCon)
Pete Hanna Center - Homewood, AL

-----------------

A recap of Thursday's games


The Citadel 60 - UNCG 70

The Citadel closed the game on a 22-8 run, but in the end, it was not enough as the Bulldogs fell, 70-60, at UNCG Thursday night inside the Greensboro Coliseum. UNCG took advantage of the Bulldogs slow shooting to start the game and opened up a 20-point lead with just under six minutes left in the first half. The Bulldogs responded by scoring 14 points in the final five-plus minutes of the half to go into the half trailing 38-22. The Citadel opened the second half with a pair of three-pointers from Austin Ash to make it a 12-point game. The UNCG lead would grow to as many as 24 points before the Bulldogs went on a run late. Jackson Price knocked down a three-pointer and Austin Ash converted a three-point play. After a second three-pointer from Price with under a minute to play made it an eight-point game.


Mercer 69 - VMI 61

Multiple scoring runs led the Mercer men's basketball program to victory over VMI, 69-61, on Thursday night at Cameron Hall. The Bears improve to 9-11 overall and 2-5 in the Southern Conference with the second straight SoCon win. VMI drops to 5-15 and 0-7. The Bears were stunned in the beginning as VMI opened the game leading 17-3. Mercer then utilized a 9-0 run to close the gap with three-straight treys by Jordan Jones. The first 15 points for the Bears were all scored beyond the arc. Mercer opened the second half on a 10-0 scoring run led by back-to-back three-pointers by Shawn Walker Jr. The Bears led the entire second half except for the first minute and maintained a two-possession lead from 13:19 to 2:47. VMI suddenly went on a 9-0 scoring run in the last five minutes to pull within three points, but the Bears held steady on defense and closed out the game from the free-throw line to win, 69-61.

 

SoCon Basketball for Thursday, January 19, 2023

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Only two games are on the schedule for Thursday night, as the Citadel Bulldogs travel to the Piedmont of NC, and Mercer visits Lexington, VA on the "Road to Asheville".   

7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
The Citadel (7-1, 12-6 Away)  at  UNCG (11-8, 5-2 Home)
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC


7:00 PM Watch on ESPN+
Mercer (8-11, 2-6 Away)  at  VMI (5-14, 5-2 Home)
Cameron Hall - Lexington, VA


-----------------------------

A recap of Wednesday's games

Wofford 71 - Western Carolina 76
– Russell Jones Jr's 3-pointer with 17.6 seconds remaining gave Western Carolina a lead it wouldn't relinquish as the Catamounts earned a 76-71 come-from-behind victory over Wofford in front of a raucous crowd inside Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center as part of the Blackout Game promotion on Wednesday night. WCU improves to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in the Southern Conference with the win while Wofford drops to 11-9 and 3-4. The 11 wins for the Catamounts match the season total for the 2021-22 campaign. The tightly contested game featured 12 lead changes and four ties. A few key baskets by Woolbright kept WCU in the game. Wofford was up 71-69 and fouled with 26.2 seconds to play in the game. Jackson Paveletezke missed the free throw and WCU hit the go ahead three by Russell Jones with 17 seconds to play at 72-71. Paveletzke would drive in and get a goaltending call that appeared to give the Terriers the lead at 73-72. However, after a video review the referee's determined there was no goaltending and WCU got the ball back on the possession arrow. Russell Jones extended the lead to three points on a pair of free throws. Another missed free throw on the front end of the one-and-one by the Terriers allowed WCU to extend the lead to five with two more free throws with only two seconds left and seal the win. The Catamounts scored the final nine points of the game. .


Samford 69 - ETSU 59
The Samford Men's Basketball Team (13-7, 7-0) notched its seventh-straight win to open Southern Conference play with a 69-59 road triumph over ETSU on Wednesday evening. The victory marks the Bulldogs' longest winning streak since the 2005-06 season and their first time starting 7-0 in conference play since the 1998-99 campaign. The Bulldogs finished the night shooting 44 percent (24-54) from the floor, 32 percent (6-19) from three, and 75 percent (15-20) from the free throw line. Almost half of Samford's points came from close range, totaling 34 points in the paint for the evening.

Furman 77 - Chattanooga 69 

Furman outscored Chattanooga 13-3 over the final 4:18 to score a 77-69 road victory over the Mocs in Southern Conference men's basketball action Wednesday evening at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn. Trailing 66-64 following two Jake Stephens free throws with 4:28 remaining, the Paladins reeled off nine straight points to grab the lead and Jalen Slawson converted on all four of his trips to the foul line in the final 30 seconds to help Furman (14-6, 5-2 SoCon) claim its fifth victory in its last six visits to McKenzie Arena.

WCU Player of the Game (Wofford)

Purple & Gold's "Catamount Player of the Game" for the Wofford game is senior guard Vonterius Woolbright 

                                                    

WCU's player of the game for the Wofford game is senior guard Vonterius Woolbright 

Woolbright scored a game-high of 20 points, hitting 8 of 14 field goals, and hitting 4 of 6 from the free throw line, including pulling down 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and two blocked shots. 

Congratulations to Vonterius Woolbright and the entire Catamount basketball team for the win over Mercer.