Southern Conference Hoops

Weekly recap (11/24 – 11/30)

Hello again. Brief drop-off while Thanksgiving festivities and related events were going on. But that didn’t stop FEAST WEEK from happening on the court. So where are we as we settle in from the busy week?

1. East Tennessee State (6-1). Only one game this week, but got a solid win at home to finish November in the ASUN/SoCon Challenge against Central Arkansas, 80-57. A close game in the first half, ETSU broke it open early in the second. Jaylen Smith continued his hot streak, putting up 28 including 7 threes, while adding 8 rebounds off the bench. Certainly his best game of the season so far. Morris added another 14 for the Buccs. Brian Taylor II recorded 14/10/10 for a fantastic triple-double. He even added 4 steals! 
2. Mercer (5-2). Two wins this week for the Bears, with a midweek home win against Appalachian State, and then a 91-84 win on the road Saturday at Elon. Senior guard Zaire Williams, a transfer from Wagner, led the way on the scoreboard with 21. Mighty finished the game with a balanced 12 points and 9 rebounds. On Saturday, Okojie stepped up big with 29 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds. All five starters scored in double figures and Mighty snagged everything on the glass to get his third double-double of the season so far. 
3. Wofford (5-3). A split week for the Terriers, losing a tough game on the road at Northern Kentucky on Wednesday, in a game that was close throughout and tied up until two minutes to go in the game. They bounced back over the weekend with a road win at Eastern Kentucky, 83-77. In the early loss, Holmes had his third straight game of 20+ points, and Machowski snagged 11 rebounds and put in 15 points along with 4 assists. It was his first double-double of the season. Wofford led by as many as 15 against EKU, but EKU climbed back to make it close at the end. Their leader Holmes did what he does best, score the basketball. A season-high 30 points along with 8 rebounds on 10-13 shooting, it was a great contribution from the sophomore guard. Juniors Rex Stirling, Cayden Vasko, and Machowski all scored in double figures to help Wofford in the win. 
4. Chattanooga (4-4). A big win on Friday against Tennessee Wesleyan to build some confidence 109-59 was followed two days later by a six point loss at home to Tennessee State in which UT-Chattanooga cut it to 2 in the last minute but ultimately couldn’t complete the comeback. Freshman guard Tate Darner led the way for the Mocs with 16 points. Billy Smith also added 11, which is his fourth straight game of scoring 11+. 
5. Furman (4-4). Furman ended November going 1-1 this week in the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational. On Thursday the Paladins handed Richmond their first loss, but then in the Championship game on Friday lost 72-65 to Illinois State. In their win against Richmond, Wilkins continued his hot start to the season, scoring 26. Asa Thomas also helped out significantly, scoring 20 with five 3s. Wilkins stayed consistent against Illinois State with another 25 point day. Freshman guard Collin O’Neal came off the bench for Furman to add 12, all from 3, in his best game of the early season. 
6. Samford (4-5). Back to back games Tuesday and Wednesday in the Cancun Challenge, Samford won their first game against Georgia State, 78-63, and then dropped one to Utah Valley. Five players scored in double figures against Georgia State, with Faulkner leading the way with 19 and 6 boards. Senior forward Jaxson Pollard came off the bench to add 16 and also grabbed 9 rebounds. The Bulldogs got stomped by 44 in their loss to UVU, only shooting 25% from the field. Isaiah Campbell-Finch, a freshman guard, led scoring with 12.
7. Western Carolina (3-4). In their one game this week, the Catamounts had a tough loss 93-73 to High Point. Kell shot 11-19 putting up 27, and both Stansberry and Soumaoro hit three 3s and scored in double figures. 
8. VMI (3-7). A tough week for VMI, they dropped both games early in the week in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, then lost a third game on the road on Saturday to UCF. In their first game, a loss 78-70 to undefeated Buffalo, TJ Johnson continued to star, scoring 28, shooting 18 threes, and also grabbing 7 rebounds. Another MAC opponent in Bowling Green unfortunately also ended in a blow-out loss, and shooting only 20% from the field. A bright spot for the Keydets, sophomore guard Linus Holmstrom put up 11 and added 4 rebounds. To end the weekend, VMI got roughed up 82-57 to UCF. TJ Johnson had another tough shooting day, going 1-11, but contributed in other ways with 10 rebounds. Tatum Jr led the Keydets with 19 points off the bench, his high for the year against D-1 opponents. 
9. The Citadel (2-6). A mid week loss to Houston Christian by 7, The Citadel tied the game with 5 minutes to go, but fell short in the end. For the Bulldogs, senior forward Braxton Williams led scoring with 20 points, hitting 5 threes in his highest scoring game of the season. Moore also added 17 with 4 rebounds. In their second game of the week, Presbyterian started by going up 17-2 and never looked back. The Citadel only shot 30%, but Williams led scorers again with 13 points. 
10. UNCG (1-7). Two more losses for UNCG this week, to continue the tough start to their season. First on Tuesday, in the Jacksonville Classic, Greensboro fell to Delaware 73-60. The Spartans were led by freshman guard Lilian Marville, who had his highest scoring night of the season, putting in 17 and shooting 5-7 from three. Neely also scored 8 but grabbed 10 rebounds and had 3 assists. Against undefeated Miami of Ohio, UNCG even took a one point lead with 7 minutes to go but then Miami shut them down. Younger, Neely, and freshman guard Assane Mandian all scored in double figures for the Spartans. With 11 rebounds, Neely had his fourth double-double of the season, continuing to be a very consistent positive presence for this team.