Saturday, November 11
UTA 85, LMU 80
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Erick Neal sank three crucial 3-pointers in the second half and Kevin Hervey charted 28 points and eight boards, leading UTA men's basketball to a season-opening 85-80 win over LMU, in front of a raucous Homecoming crowd on Saturday night at the College Park Center.
UTA (1-0) found itself trailing by as many as 13 to a stout Loyola Marymount (0-1) but the Mavs used a furious second-half comeback to post the season-opening win. Neal's three 3-pointers, Hervey's nine points and a big second half from senior center Johnny Hamilton, who added 11 points and three boards in the final period, helped the Mavs storm back for the win.
Hervey, a product of Arlington's Bowie High School and the 2016-17 Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year, had a game-high 26 points, adding eight rebounds and four assists.
Neal finished with 14 points and 11 assists to direct the offense, with Hamilton owning 13 points and four rebounds - adding seven free throws. UTA also got 13 points from senior Kaelon Wilson, with the Mavs getting eight points from Davion Turner and some key minutes from senior Mairega Clarke, who charted five points.
LMU notched the first two buckets on the game before Hervey got the Mavs on the board, with Neal draining a 3-pointer to get the Mavs within 7-5. LMU stretched its lead to 11-5 at the first media timeout and Hawkins cut the lead with a driving layup out of the break. Turner then drilled a three from the corner - his first points as a Mav - to make it a 12-10 game. Neal then found Link Kabadyundi in transition for a lay-in to cut the lead to 18-14 with 11 minutes left.
The Mavs kept the lead for the Lions at five before Hervey sank a jumper, his second from the field, but LMU stretched its lead to seven before a transition lay-in from Hervey, on a nice leave from Neal, to go into a LMU timeout down 35-30 with just over two minutes left in the period. Out of the break, Hervey and Neal executed a give-and-go at the top of the key, with Hervey sinking a 3 pointer to get to 35-33. After a defensive stop, Hervey sank a trey on the wing to give UTA its first lead 36-35. LMU then scored the next six points to take a five-point lead into halftime.
Hervey led the way offensively with 17 of UTA's 36 points in the first half. The Mavs were held to 45 percent from the field but LMU owned a 22-16 advantage in points in the paint.
LMU opened the scoring in the second half to take a seven-point lead but Wilson sank his first 3 pointer of the year to get within four but LMU answered with a three from Jeffry McClendon. LMU built on its largest lead of the game, stretching it to 48-39.
The Mavs defense then went to work, holding LMU scoreless for nearly four minutes. A steal from Clarke led to a free throw from Hamilton as UTA cut it to 53-47. An LMU technical foul saw Neal drain a pair of free throws as UTA cut it to 55-52.
Clarke evened up the game at 55-55, with just over nine minutes remaining in regulation, following the technical free throws with a trey from the corner, his first of the game, helping UTA build a 6-0 run. LMU immediately regained the lead at 59-55 but Wilson answered with a triple to get within one. After LMU took a 62-58 lead, Neal drilled a trey from the wing to get within one with seven minutes left. An offensive rebound and put back from Hervey gave the Mavs their first lead in the second stanza at 63-62. Trailing 67-63, Hervey sank a pair of free throws and then the UTA defense forced a turnover in the backcourt, leading to Hamilton getting fouled on a putback attempt, with the senior sinking two free throws to even the game at 67. After LMU sank a pair from the charity stripe, Neal found Hervey in the lane for a 69-69 tie and Hamilton tied it back up at 71 after two free throws.
Neal completed the comeback with a three, his third of the night, to give the Mavs a 74-741 lead with 3:40 remaining, forcing an LMU timeout.
James Batemon answered for LMU out of the timeout with a jumper but Neal followed with a triple to give UTA its largest lead at 77-73 with just under three minutes left. An errant UTA pass led to a turnover and an old-fashioned 3-point play for Batemon as LMU cut the UTA lead to 77-76 and evened it at 77 after a free throw. With 1:19 left in regulation, Neal knifed into the paint, kicking it to Hervey for a go-ahead triple from the corner. The Mavs then immediately forced a turnover with LMU calling timeout with 56 seconds remaining. Hawkins found Hamilton for a monster dunk as UTA took an 82-77 lead with 48.1 seconds left in regulation. Hervey's rebound on the defensive end and subsequent free throws saw the Mavs take an 85-80 lead with 13 seconds left.
The Mavs will return to action on Saturday, traveling to face BYU in a rematch of the meeting in the 2016-17 National Invitational Tournament. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. CT.
Appalachian State 135, Toccoa Falls 34
BOONE, N.C. -- A total of four program records fell as Appalachian State men's basketball rolled to a 135-34 victory over Toccoa Falls in its season opener on Saturday afternoon in the Holmes Center.
The Apps (1-0) 134 points topped the previous program record of 120 points, set in a victory over Wofford on December 7, 1977.
In addition, the 101-point margin of victory betters the program record of 68, set last season in a 119-51 win over Warren Wilson. It is also just the sixth game in Division I men's basketball history to have a margin of victory over 100 points. (ESPN Stats & Info)
App State made 50 field goals in the win, bettering the previous mark of 49 set on February 13, 1978 against Chattanooga. The Mountaineers also set a new program standard in 3-pointers made, draining a total of 20, topping the previous mark of 17 set against the Citadel on January 27, 2006.
All 13 Mountaineers to see action played double digit minutes and scored. Junior Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep) led App State with a game-high 24 points on 61.5 percent (8-of-13) shooting.
Freshman Justin Forrest (Decatur, Ga./Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy) and junior Trey Ford (Morresville, N.C./Lake Norman) each finished with 15 points. Ford's scoring output marks a new career-high.
Junior Tyrell Johnson (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson) had 14 points and six rebounds, senior Griffin Kinney (Delaware, Ohio/Fork Union Military Academy) tallied 13 points and seven rebounds and senior Craig Hinton (Winston-Salem, N.C./East Forsyth) and junior Kevin Kerley (Loveland, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) each had 10 points.
On the glass, sophomore Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) and junior Jake Wilson (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) each posted new career-highs with 13 and 11, respectively.
Appalachian came out of the gates strong, scoring the first seven points to jump in front 7-0.
The Mountaineers later used a 18-0 run to open a 39-5 lead with 9:47 remaining in the first half. Appalachian held the Screaming Eagles scoreless for a span of 6:12 during the stretch.
App State took a 63-16 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, the Mountaineers went on a 35-1 run over a 9:45 span to put an exclamation point on the victory.
App State dominated the rebounding battle, holding a 76-24 advantage. The Mountaineers also dished out 31 assists on its 50 made field goals.
Defensively, the Apps limited Toccoa Falls to 15.9 percent (11-of-69) shooting mark and a 12.0 percent (3-of-25) clip from deep.
The Mountaineers will have a quick turnaround and will host Bridgewater on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. inside the Holmes Center in a non-bracket game as part of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN3.
Ouachita Baptist 81, Little Rock 79
LITTLE ROCK – Four Trojans scored in double figures, led by a career-high from freshman Damir Hadzic, but hot shooting from beyond the arc for Ouachita Baptist propelled the Tigers to an 81-79 victory over Little Rock in the 2017-18 season opener.
Hadzic's 16 points came of 7-of-11 shooting, including 2-for-4 from three point range, while adding four rebounds and a block in his Trojan debut. Junior Ben Marcus finished with 12 points, going an efficient 6-for-8 from the floor, with senior Wadly Mompremier adding 11 points, hitting all four of his shots on the night.
Sophomore Andre Jones finished with 10 points and tied for the team-high with five assists with junior Oliver Black nearly notching a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds with three assists. Junior Camron Reedus notched eight points in his Trojan debut with freshman Jaizec Lottie matching Jones with five assists on the afternoon.
But the story of the afternoon was the three-point shooting from Ouachita Baptist as 28 of its 53 attempts were from beyond the arc, connecting on 14 of them. The 14 made threes was two off the opponent record at the Jack Stephens Center as eight different Tigers connected on a three-point attempt.
Similar to the exhibition game last week, Little Rock dominated in the paint, outscoring Ouachita Baptist 48-20, and held a 22-14 edge in points off turnovers. For the game, the Trojans shot an impressive 55.0 percent, but made just six of their 20 three-point attempts. Little Rock also struggled at the free throw line, making just seven of its 16 attempts (43.8 percent).
The first half was a back-and-forth affair as the teams combined for six ties and eight lead changes over the opening 10 minutes. Trailing by six at the midway point of the half, Little Rock used an 11-3 run to pull in front, only to see Ouachita Baptist use an 11-4 run of their own to take a 40-34 lead into the locker room.
It was a lead the Tigers never relinquished as Ouachita Baptist led by as many as 11 with just under eight minutes to play at 71-60. Trailing by 10 at the 2:42 mark, Little Rock mounted a furious rally, pulling to within three off a Reedus three-pointer with 52 seconds to play, then again off a Jones lay-up with 12 seconds to go. But the Tigers put the game away at the free throw line and earn the 81-79 victory.
The win adds to what has been a one-sided series for Ouachita Baptist as the Tigers are now 24-2 all-time against the Trojans and have won 15-straight, although it should be noted that today's game was the first meeting between the two in nearly 50 years, dating back to the 1967-68 season.
Head coach Wes Flanigan said in the postgame press conference that the team will take the loss as a learning experiences, choosing to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. Nine of the 12 Trojans that logged minutes did so for the first time in a Trojan uniform with eight of them playing in their first Division I game.
The Trojans now have another big learning experience ahead, going on the road for the first time against one of the top names in college basketball. Little Rock heads east on I-40 for a showdown with Memphis at the FedEx Forum Tuesday, November 14, tipping at 7 p.m.