Southern Conference Hoops

Weekly Recap (12/1 – 12/7)

Howdy! Entering December, the good teams are starting to separate themselves from the maybe not so good. Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving and are getting ready for a great packed holiday-packed month. Although not as much action on the SoCon court as many of the teams only have a handful of games until Conference action starts in January.

1. East Tennessee State (8-2). Three games this week for the conference leading Buccs. ETSU dropped their first one on the road Tuesday at 7-2 Dayton, 88-71. Sophomore forward Blake Barkley, a transfer from Northwestern, had his best game of the year, tallying 21 points and 6 rebounds. Morris also put in 19 with 5 boards. Back and forth for the first ten minutes, the Flyers took the lead and never looked back. East Tennessee bounced back Friday night back at home in a 26 point blowout over South Alabama. Barkley had his second game in a row scoring 20 points, and also snagging 9 off the glass. Morris again did his part, with a double-double, his first of the year. The star of the game though was junior guard Maki Johnson, who scored 29 on a wild 9 threes! His first game scoring in double figures, and he came through in a huge way. Finally, ETSU got another win on the record against Tusculum, 78-62. Brayden Crump, a junior transfer from Elon, led the way for the Buccaneers with 15. 
2. Mercer (7-2). For the Bears, Armani Mighty continues to lead the way on what is now a five game win streak. In the win early in the week, Mighty had an excellent impact with 22 and 13 rebounds. Three other starters scored in double figures: Shoulders, Okojie, and Perkins. On Sunday, Mercer got an easy stat-padding win against Oglethorpe in a 50 point blowout.  Off the bench, San Diego transfer forward Bendji Pierre scored 17 and added 6 boards in his best game of the season. Tristan Gross, a transfer junior guard from Stetson, also added 10 off the bench and Mighty had another double-double. 
3. Furman (6-4). Two wins for the Paladins this week. Wednesday, Furman went on the road to Elon and won by 9 in a game that they trailed most of the game until the last 7 minutes. Five players scored in double figures for a very balanced attack, and Thomas led the way with 21, hitting 5 threes. Johnston also helped out with a double-double, and even dishing out 4 assists while the 19 from Bowser was his high of the season so far. Over the weekend Furman returned home and added another win, knocking off Harvard 79-69. Asa Thomas continued to shine, scoring a team-high 18 and grabbing 5 rebounds. Bowser, Wilkins, and Bronson also scored in double figures. 
4. Wofford (6-4). A split this week for the Terriers, but they started it with a 7 point win at home against Presbyterian. The Blue Hose made it close with a minute to go, but Wofford held tough. Both Holmes and Machowski had 16, but overall Wofford was lucky to get a win, shooting only 29% from the field. Watley had a 9 and 9 off the bench for a nice contribution. In the game Saturday, Elon took an early lead and never looked back, beating the Terriers by 21. Interestingly enough, both Holmes and Machowski scored the same again, but this time each putting in 12. Wofford again only shot 32% so will have to really improve the shooting if they plan on competing with some of the better teams. 
5. Chattanooga (4-5). Chattanooga had a tough week with only one game on the schedule, losing at home by 4 to SE Missouri State in a game that was within one possession for most of the 40 minutes. Frison led the way for the Mocs with 17 points and a season-high 7 rebounds. He’s also shooting 82% from the free throw line, which is definitely something to shout-out. 
6. Western Carolina (4-5). The week started well for the Catamounds with a 62 point drubbing of Virginia-Lynchburg. The scoring was spread around well, with seven players putting up 10 or more, including 18 by both Kell and freshman Tayeshaun Smith. WCU then went on the road over the weekend to SC Upstate and played a close game in which they even took the lead with about 11 minutes left, but unfortunately fell by 11 in the end. Again the scoring was extremely balanced though, with five players scoring in double figures. Justin Johnson, a sophomore guard from Arkansas State, led the scoring with 13, his season-high, and also had 6 rebounds. Notably, Soumaoro has scored 10+ points in 7 of 8 games against DI teams. 
7. Samford (5-6). Two tough matchups this week ended up in split results for the Bulldogs. On Friday, Samford traveled to VCU and played them close into the second half, when VCU ultimately pulled away. Faulkner had an outstanding game, scoring 22 and also collecting 9 rebounds. A tough shooting night, Samford only shot 35% from the field and 10% from three. The Bulldogs bounced back on Sunday though at home, beating Cornell 93-90 after being down as many as 15 in the second half. Huge confidence booster to end the week, and Booth led the way with 30 and Faulkner helping out with 23 on 9-10 shooting. For Booth, it was his second time scoring 30 this season, and impressively sinking all 9 shots from the free throw line. 
8. VMI (4-7). Only one game this week for VMI, where they took care of business, knocking off Christendom 89-36. TJ Johnson continues his dominating season for the Keydets, putting up 22 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Anderes added 17 off the bench, and Holmstrom wasn’t too far from a triple-double with a 12/6/9.
9. The Citadel (2-7). The Bulldogs were in action on Thursday on the road at Davidson, where they lost, 79-63. 13 guys saw minutes, and overall the scoring for The Citadel was well-balanced. Junior Gabe Hernandez had his best game this season, scoring 10 in 23 minutes of action. 
10. UNCG (2-8). A win over the weekend on the road at ECU was welcomed greatly after a tough close loss on Tuesday against UNC Asheville. For the Spartans in the 82-77 loss to UNCA, Whitehead led scoring off the bench with 13. Neely added 9 and snagged 10 rebounds, which was his 7th game this season with 10+ rebounds. Trailing early in the first half, UNCG did what it needed to do to get their second win of the season while Neely and Marville combined for 45 points. Arguably Marville’s best game of the season, he scored 22 hitting all 8 of his free throws, and also had 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 29 minutes.