SoCon MBB - (Jan 25, 2023)

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.


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