Men's Basketball Wins Season Opener 62-53
SEATTLE, Wash.– The Texas State men's basketball team came from 10 points down at one point to come away with a 62-53 victory in its season opener, Friday night at Seattle.
Emani Gant was named MVP of the Elgin Baylor Classic, scoring 17 points and having three assists along with three steals. Gant had three fastbreak dunks to key the Bobcats second half run which saw them outscore Seattle 36-20.
D.J. Brown, a transfer from Seattle also showed his poise at point guard. Brown broke the press routinely in the second half and went 3-of-6 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the line to finish with 15 points, three assists and two steals.
Turnovers plagued the Bobcats early who had seven in the first 15 minutes, allowing the Redhawks to race out to a 27-16 lead. Seattle was paced during the spurt by All-WAC First-Team selection Isaiah Umipig who had 14 points, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Umipig finished with 23 points.
Wes Davis tried to give the Bobcats a momentum burst right before half. Davis hit a straight-away three-pointer and then got a steal, taking the ball away from Umipig. Kavin Gilder-Tilbury's three-pointer right before half was long and the Bobcats trailed 33-26 at intermission.
The Bobcats came out of halftime on fire, going on a 9-3 run to begin the half. During the stretch, Texas State forced turnovers on the Redhawks' first four possessions, and 12 total in the second half compared to the Bobcats two.
The Bobcats will next have their home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m., at Strahan Coliseum when they take on former Southland Conference foe Lamar.
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Men’s Basketball Drops 80-71 Result at Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Georgia Southern gave Illinois all it could handle in the 2014-15 Men’s Basketball season opener for both squads. The Eagles were level with the Illini at halftime, but saw a pair of big runs put the home side ahead for good. Next up for the Eagles is the home opener on Tuesday night against Trinity College. Tipoff against the Tigers is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
“I’m proud of our guys’ effort tonight and this starts a long season,” said Head Coach Mark Byington. “I know John (Groce) as well as we had some nervous guys make some nervous mistakes early and that is going to happen. I like that our guys battled through mistakes and played well tonight. Overall I was happy with our guys out-rebounding Illinois, but we gave up too many turnovers for points.”
Jelani Hewitt led the Eagles in scoring with 22 points as he opened his final season in convincing fashion. Making the move to point guard, Hewitt continued his high scoring output which led the Southern Conference last season with 19.4 ppg. He made a pair of free throws with 4:29 left which cut the Illinois lead to just three as the game entered its final phase. A 9-3 run, however, put the lead back to nine with less than two minutes remaining.
Hewitt also contributed on the glass with eight rebounds as the undersized Eagles out-rebounded their Big Ten foe 41-34. The senior also added a career-high eight rebounds on the night. Hewitt was potent form downtown, making 5-of-14 from the bonusphere in 38 minutes of action.
Senior big man Trent Wiedeman played his first competitive game in nearly two years, returning to form with 17 points and nine rebounds. The forward played 33 minutes in his first contest for the Eagles after transferring from College of Charleston.
Angel Matias scored 12 points with seven rebounds to help the cause on the glass. The senior, however, was one of four Eagles to finish the night with four fouls as the Eagles sent Illinois to the free throw line 34 times on 27 fouls. Georgia Southern was plagued by turnovers, committing 16 after averaging 11.9 a year ago. Illinois converted those turnovers for 22 points.
Rayvonte Rice carried the torch for Illinois with 24 points and six rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown. Three other Illini players finished in double figures with Aaron Cosby (16), Malcom Hill (11), and Ahmad Starks (10) contributing big points from the starting lineup.
The Eagles trailed by 11 points in the first half, but rallied with an 11-2 run to keep the game close. The first half finished with the teams level at 31-31.
Out of the break, four early points by Wiedeman gave the Eagles a lead, but a 13-2 run by Illinois gave the home side some breathing room again. Georgia Southern answered the bell again, cutting the lead to three points on a pair of free throws from Jelani Hewitt with 4:29 remaining. A 9-3 run, however, put Illinois up by nine with 1:55 remaining.
Next up for Georgia Southern is a Tuesday night tilt against Trinity College to close a doubleheader at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Men’s Basketball contest starts at 7:30 p.m. with the Women’s Basketball team battling Jacksonville at 5 p.m.
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Cajuns Wear Down Wildcats In 85-57 Win
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Ragin’ Cajuns put 12 players in the scoring column and dominated the glass in the second half, picking up an 85-57 win over Louisiana College on Friday night at the Cajundome in the season opener for both teams.
Devonta Walker led the Cajuns (1-0) with 20 points and seven rebounds, with the win serving as the fourth straight season-opening victory for UL and the second straight over the Wildcats (0-1).
UL Lafayette dominated the Wildcats on the glass and off the bench on the night, out-rebounding LC 46-24, including 30-10 in the second half and holding a massive 38-5 edge in bench scoring.
“The second half was much nicer than the first half,” Louisiana head coach Marlin said following the game. “We turned it over too much, didn’t block out and didn’t do the things we needed to do against a good, experienced team that brought back five starters from last year.”
The Wildcats hit just 39.6 percent from the floor and were held to just six points in the final 7:07 of game time as the Cajuns outscored them 22-6 in that span. The 57 points scored by LC was the lowest output by a Cajun opponent in a season opener since Southern Miss scored the same number in a 57-51 win to start the 1998-99 season.
Walker hit seven of his eight shots on the night, doing most of his damage in the second half after scoring just three points in the opening 20 minutes. Fellow newcomers Brian Williams and Johnathan Stove joined in him in double figures, each with 11 points.
Williams filled up the stat sheet, adding five boards, three steals and a pair of blocks to his totals. Stove added three rebounds and two assists without a turnover in 18 minutes off the bench, and but was just one of many contributors with Marlin allowing just three players to net 20 minutes of court time.
Shawn Long and Bryce Washington also each had eight points in the opener, and the balanced scoring helped the Cajuns overcome a difficult night at the foul line that saw them hit just 19 of 34 tries in addition to making just four of 16 attempts from beyond the arc.
Jay Wright got the start at point guard and picked up six points and six assists in 17 minutes, while Kasey Shepherd and Tiremone Williams also saw time at the one. Williams turned in a good showing in 16 minutes off the bench, scoring three points with a pair of assists and no turnovers, while Shepherd connected on two of his four shots from the floor for five points, including ULL’s only three-point bucket in the first half.
The Wildcats put four of their five starters in double figures, led by Anthony Gaines, Jr.’s 15, but saw just two other players crack the soring column.
It took the Cajuns just over 10 minutes to build up a 22-12 lead on a short jumper from Brian Williams midway through the half before a layup from Long doubled up the Wildcats at 24-12 to cap a 9-2 run.
But the Wildcats nearly made up the entire deficit before the end of the half as Shepherd’s triple was the only field goal for UL for nearly seven minutes, allowing LC to go on a 16-5 run that cut the lead to just 29-28 before a three-point play from Stove at the 1:31 mark of the half.
Stove added another bucket just before halftime as the Cajuns scored the final six points of the period to take a 35-28 lead into the break.
The Wildcats raced out of the gate in the second half, scoring the first six points of the period before Walker started heating up. The junior answered the Wildcats’ six-point burst with a six-point burst of his own on two layups and a dunk, and after a three from Stove the Cajuns had stretched the lead back to 44-37 after just four minutes.
UL Lafayette continued to stretch out the lead over the next six minutes, pushing it to 15 on a three from Steven Wronkoski just after the 10-minute mark of the half. The lead got over 20 on another layup from Walker with less than four minutes to play as part of another spurt of three straight buckets.
The Cajuns will now hit the road for four straight games away from home, starting Monday night at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa when they travel to take on the Golden Hurricane.
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Hunter’s Double-Double Leads Georgia State to 89-58 Exhibition Win
ATLANTA-Junior R.J. Hunter recorded a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Georgia State to an 89-58 exhibition win over Shorter on Monday night at the GSU Sports Arena.
Hunter finished 7-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, dishing out six assists and swiping four steals in 28 minutes of action.
Senior Ryan Harrow added 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds on 9-of-17 shooting as the Panthers shot 54.5 percent for the game. In two exhibition games, Harrow has scored 48 points, shooting 67.7 percent from the floor.
Six Panthers finished in double figures as Markus Crider scored 16, while T.J. Shipes, Kevin Ware and Curtis Washington each scored 10.
Crider, who earned the start and played 25 minutes, went 8-of-9 from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds. Georgia State outrebounded Shorter 43-31 on the glass.
Washington finished 5-of-6 from the floor with five rebounds and three blocked shots, while Shipes added seven rebounds for the Panthers.
“We are still working some of the kinks out but I really like the way we played defensively tonight,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “I have said before that I thought this team could be really good on the defensive end and we showed that tonight.
“I have said from day one that this will be a process. Some guys are still working to get their timing down on offensive but that will come quick enough.”
After Shorter made the first basket of the game to go up 2-0, Georgia State responded with an 8-0 run to take an 8-2 lead with 15:49 to play in the first half.
Following a Crider layup with 8:29 remaining in the first half pushed the lead to 23-12, the Hawks never got within single-digits over the final 29 minutes. The Panthers led 40-24 at the half, controlling the boards 28-16.
The Panthers led by as many as 44 with 4:24 to play in the game and led for 38:25 of the contest.
Georgia State finished the game shooting 54.5 percent from the floor, while holding Shorter to 37.9 percent and just 4-of-17 from 3-point range.
Led by Hunter’s four steals, the Panthers swiped 15 as a team and forced 24 turnovers which led to 27 points.
Jordan Jacks led Shorter with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Georgia State will open the regular season on Friday facing Tennessee Temple in the Sports Arena at 7 p.m. It will be the Panthers lone regular season home game during the month of November.
Less than 25 season tickets currently remain available for purchase in the lower level. GSU will play 15 home contests this winter at the GSU Sports Arena. Season ticket prices in the lower level start at $165 for the general public and $132 for faculty and staff (who receive a 20 percent discount). For more information or to purchase tickets, call 866-GA-STATE or buy online here.
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Six Trojans Score in Double Figures to Win Season Opener
TROY, Alabama – A second half surge helped propel the Troy men’s basketball team (1-0) over Brewton-Parker (4-2) 85-71 at Trojan Arena on Friday night in the first game of the season. Despite shooting just 33 percent from the field in the first half, six Trojans scored in double digits to get the first win of the season.
“We struggled throughout the whole game,” said head coach Phil Cunningham. “I thought we had chance early in the game, we got up early, and we had some confidence. Then they made a little run midway through the first half and made it a game at halftime, it could have been anyone’s lead. It was important to get a win. We would have liked to play better.”
In their Trojan debuts, Musa Abdul-Aleem, Wesley Person, Chris Bilbo and John Walton III all scored in double figures. Abdul-Aleem led all scorers as he came off the bench to land 16 points. Bilbo accounted for 13 points and was 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. John Walton III tallied ten points and a team-high seven boards, despite fouling out with three minutes remaining. Person struggled from the 3-point line, but found a way to add 12 points, while totaling a team-high five assists.
Returners Kelton Ford and Kevin Thomas both recorded double-digit points as well. Thomas and Ford accounted for 12 and 11 points, respectively. Thomas shot 6-of-9 from the field, while Ford picked up a team-high four steals.
The first half was a game of runs. Troy opened the game on a 6-0 run. With the Trojans in their full-court press, Ford had three consecutive steals, but Troy was unable to capitalize. Brewton-Parker had an answer for everything as they went on a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game at 10.
The first half continued to go back and forth as neither team was able to find its edge. Brewton-Parker went into the half trailing, 34-36.
In the start of the second period, Thomas debuted a reverse lay-up and it seemed Troy had found its groove, however the Barons scored seven straight points to take a 42-38 lead.
At the 15:14 mark, Walton sank a free throw to give the Trojans their final lead of the contest. Person hit the first 3-pointer of his career just thereafter and the Trojans went on a 20-3 over the course of the next four minutes to extend their lead to 62-49. That run sealed the deal and the Barons were never able to regain momentum.
Brewton-Parker was led by Warren LeBeauf and Deion Bernard as they both tallied 15 from the field. Justin Quarterman led all with 15 boards. The Barons, who averaged 88.8 points per game coming into the matchup, had just three plays in double digits.
On the game, the Trojans shot 60.7 percent from the field in the second half, 45.3 percent overall. From beyond the arc, Troy shot 40 percent in the second half after shooting just 16.7 percent in the first.
Next up, Troy welcomes SEC opponent Ole Miss in a whiteout at Trojan Arena on Mon., November 17 with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
For more information on Troy basketball, visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on Twitter at @TroyMensHoops.
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LATE RUN KEYS MEN’S BASKETBALL’S WIN OVER CARROLL
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team went on a 21-3 late in the second half to pull away from Carroll (Mont.) and open the 2014-15 season with an 83-64 victory Friday night at the Mitchell Center.
The Jaguars start 1-0 for the ninth time in the last 10 years and have won their last 23 home openers. Carroll is 6-1 on the year.
Three USA players reached double-digit points, led by junior John Brown's (Charlotte, N.C.) 22 and sophomore Ken Williams' (Houston, Texas) 18.
"I told them in the locker room, 'Never take a win for granted, we're 1-0 and it's a young season,'" Jaguar head coach Matthew Graves said. "The ceiling for this team is extremely high. We have a lot of room for improvement. We have guys in the locker room that are capable of doing things that guys couldn't do last year. We just have to show that consistency to get better and that starts tomorrow when we get to work for Southern Miss.
"We got in a little bit of a rhythm (in the second half), and the thing you worry about is that if we're not making shots, how is that affecting our energy and effort. We didn't make shots in the first half, and that really affected our energy and effort. We started making shots and we got on a roll. When we get on a roll, we're really tough. We can score points, we can defend and we can get up and down the floor. We have to consistently want to grind and be a tough team. I think as this team grows, we need to understand that this needs to become our identity."
Fourteen of Brown's points came in the second half, shooting 4-for-4 from distance. His scoring total is the most by a Jaguar in a season opener since Demetric Bennett had 27 vs. UC-Irvine in 2006. Brown went 4-for-6 from 3-point land for the contest and made all six attempts from the free-throw line.
Williams also converted four times from behind the 3-point land—in seven attempts—and dished out three assists.
"I thought John and Ken really got going in the second half," Graves said. "They took better shots out of our transition offense. I thought both of those two scored the ball really well from the wings for us."
South Alabama led by single digits for the majority of the first 30 minutes, with Carroll getting as close as four points in the second half before USA went on its run. Brown and Williams combined for 11 points on three 3-pointers in a 12-0 spurt to get the lead to 20 with 6:27 left in the contest, and two free throws from junior Tafari Whittingham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) made it an insurmountable 76-50 advantage with 3:28 left.
Four different Jaguars contributed to the team's 11 triples on the night.
"I think we were taking similar (3-point) shots in the first half, but those shots were really off one or two passes," Graves stated. "In the second half we were able to, whether we got it out in transition or made three or four passes to a ball reversal and then shot it. I think guys were in a little bit better rhythm in the second half. The better our ball movement is, the better our rhythm and ability to make shots will be. The same thing we did against Mobile, when the ball stopped in one of the guards' hands or we didn't move it quick enough, our offense got really stagnant. The quicker we moved the ball, the better our shooters were able to be in rhythm when they shot the ball tonight."
The Fighting Saints shot 51.1 percent from the floor overall and 61.9 percent in the second half alone. Oliver Carr tallied a team-best 11 points and Jake Hollifield recorded 10 on 4-for-4 shooting from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds.
"I thought Carroll came in and did a tremendous job," Graves said. "They're obviously well coached. Offensively they gave us a lot of problems and exposed some things we need to continue to work on defensively. We really want to try to score in transition this year and get it out and score. We have some athletes and some really good shooters. Just like I told the guys before the game and at halftime, 'if you're taking the ball out of the net constantly, it's hard to score in transition'. I thought Carroll kept us off balance all night with their ability to slow the offense down, get some back cuts and score late in the shot clock. We have to find a better identity and a better grouping of guys that are going to get us stops more consistently."
Junior Barrington Stevens III (Allen, Texas) joined the double-digit scoring club with 10 points and had four assists. Freshman Abdul Lewis (Newark, N.J.) led all players with 10 rebounds.
NOTES: The Jaguars scored the most points in a season opener since defeating Alcorn State 87-79 to open the 2008-09 campaign… All 10 of Lewis' rebounds came in the first half in 11 minutes of work; the last Jaguar to have double-digit boards in their first collegiate game was Augustine Rubit in 2010… USA won the rebounding battle 38-27 and had 19 offensive rebounds to CC's 21 defensive boards… The 19 offensive rebounds led to 18 second-chance points… Carroll outshot South Alabama 51.1 percent to 45.3 percent; the Jags' record last year when being outshot was 2-16… South Alabama has hit 10 or more 3-pointers in three of its last four games dating back to last year after hitting 11 tonight… The Jaguars had 14 assists as a team and just 10 turnovers; it took until game six last season to post a positive assist-turnover ratio... USA had had 15 fast-break points in both the exhibition vs. Mobile and tonight.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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UT Arlington Soars Behind Long Ball to Season-Opening Win
PEORIA, Illinois – The long ball served UT Arlington well in the season opener, as the Mavericks bombarded Bradley with 3-pointers in Monday night's 86-75 victory over the Braves at the Carver Center.
The Mavericks (1-0) drilled 12 daggers from beyond the arc in 20 attempts, led by three each from senior Jamel Outler and freshman Kevin Hervey. The school record of 16 set in 1991 appeared in jeopardy in the first half as UTA took control of the nonconference contest.
"Our guys played really well and moved the ball around," UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. "Our young guys played awesome in the first half and through the entire game. I'm really proud of them."
Sophomore guard Drew Charles led four Mavs in double figures with 14 points. Outler, Hervey and junior guard Johnny Hill each scored 13. Hill added nine rebounds and five assists. Hervey and sophomore forward Brandon Williams had seven boards apiece.
UTA would shoot 47.2 percent (25-53) for the game and enjoyed a 24-14 edge in made free throws. Bradley was held to 38.2-percent shooting from the floor.
"It was better than I expected," Cross said. "We played phenomenal. We attacked and played solid defense. I'm very proud of the guys for finding a way to win."
The Mavericks have won the last two meetings against Bradley, a Missouri Valley Conference program, and trail the all-time series 3-2. UTA improved to 8-1 in season openers under Cross.
After a sluggish start for both sides, the Mavericks began to heat up from downtown and impose their will. At one point in the first half, six consecutive UTA baskets came from beyond the 3-point line.
The first four 3-pointers in that stretch came from freshman, as Hervey hit two, and Erick Neal and Kaelon Wilson each knocked down one. The barrage ended with Outler connecting on a deep 3 and getting fouled. The four-point play game UTA its first double-figure lead at 26-16.
The Mavericks' long-distance mastery was hardly done. UTA would make 10 3-pointers in the first half in 14 attempts, a scorching 71.4 percentage. Six different Mavs would make at least one trey in the opening 20 minutes.
"We were making them, so that was our game plan," Charles said.
Hervey's second 3 of the half extended UTA's lead to 44-23. The Mavericks went into the locker room up 48-29 and shooting 50 percent (14-28) after starting the game 1 of 8. Charles had 12 points at the break, with Hervey adding eight and Neal contributing seven.
The Mavericks would keep a comfortable cushion throughout the second half by continuing to push the tempo offensively while remaining solid at the other end of the court. UTA attacked the basket with more regularly in the second half and earned 20 trips to the foul line.