SoCon MBB - (Feb. 15, 2023)

A recap of Wednesday's games:

Most probably thought that after Wednesday's game, there would still be a tie for first place in the SoCon. Furman and who ever won the UNCG/Samford game, boy were we wrong, thanks to the Citadel. The Bulldogs pulled off an improbable upset of the high-flying Pladins, picking up a 4 point victory over the Furman in regulation. In that other game, the home team picked off a victory for sole possession of first place in the SoCon, well done Samford. The Catamounts have a little firmer grip on fourth place, thanks to a two point win over ETSU, and Wofford picked up a win over Mercer.


ETSU 66 - Western Carolina 68
Tyler Harris scored a season-high 14 points to lead four Catamounts in double figures as Western Carolina withstood a late ETSU rally in a 68-66 Southern Conference victory on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday. With the win, the Catamounts complete the season sweep of ETSU for the first time since the 1984-85 season and have now won three straight games over the Bucs. WCU improves to 15-13 overall and 8-7 in SoCon play to remain in fourth place in the standings with three games to play, while ETSU drops to 10-18 and 6-9. Harris finished in double figures for the fifth time this season, finishing 4-for-5 from the field. Vonterius Woolbright added 12 points with eight assists and six rebounds. Reigning SoCon Player of the Week Tre Jackson tallied 11 points while Colin Granger scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed career-best six rebounds in the winning effort.

Chattanooga 78 - VMI 58
The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team earned its third-straight win in a dominating 78-58 victory over VMI on Wednesday night inside Cameron Hall during Southern Conference action in Lexington, Va. Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 15-13 overall and 7-8 inside league play. VMI falls to 6-22 overall and 1-14 in SoCon action. 10 different players hit at least one three to tie the program's own NCAA Division I record which was set earlier this season against Covenant. UTC jumped all over VMI in the first half and held a 47-14 lead heading into the locker rooms. The Mocs shot a blistering 56.3% (18-of-32) from the field including a 55.6% (10-of-18) mark from deep while holding the Keydets to a lowly 15.6% (5-of-32) mark from the floor and 15.0% (3-of-20) tally from deep. The 33-point halftime lead marked the largest in SoCon play since leading by 38 (50-12) at Furman on January 9, 1997. The 14 points allowed in the first half were the fewest for the team against a DI opponent since 2017 (Alabama State).

Furman 65 - The Citadel 69
The Citadel men's basketball team picked up its biggest win of the season as the Bulldogs took down league-leading Furman, 69-65, Wednesday evening inside McAlister Field House. The second half saw 20 minutes of basketball in which neither team was able to open up more than a five-point lead. The Paladins held the five-point lead with 11:00 minutes remaining before Elijah Morgan's basket was followed by a pair of AJ Smith free throws and a Clark three-pointer to give the lead to the Bulldogs with 9:19 to play. After Furman tied the game, Clark took a back-door feed from Austin Ash for the dunk, and Morgan stole the ball for the fast break layup to give The Citadel their biggest lead of the game at 58-54. The game would be tied once again at the 3:20 mark before Spence turned an offensive rebound into two points and Clark scored in transition to give the Bulldogs the lead for good. The Paladins would get a three-pointer with less than a minute to play to pull within one, but Morgan was able to knock down all four free throws down the stretch for the four-point victory.

Mercer 67 - Wofford 70
The Wofford College men's basketball team trailed the Mercer Bears by one point with 40 seconds remaining. The Terriers would sink four free throws while getting a key defensive stop to help put the Bears away by a 70-67 score in a game that was competitive the whole way with ten lead changes. The Terriers (14-14, 6-9 SoCon) shot 70% (14-of-20) from the field in the second half as they overcame a 31-29 halftime deficit to win. After a road win on January 4 that featured freshman Jackson Paveletzke's buzzer beater, the Terriers earned the season sweep against Mercer (12-16, 5-10 SoCon).


UNCG 71 - Samford 83