Southern Conference Hoops

Hey everyone! Apologies for the week off, but had all the holiday festivities packed in there. There weren’t too many games either so I didn’t feel it was too bad to skip a week. But here we are now on the cusp of conference play!! So where do we stand at this point…

1. Furman (9-4). Five game win streak for Furman! First off was a big win on the road at Manhattan, 75-68. Wilkins led the way with 18 and 7 assists, but Charles Johnston put up an important double-double with 11 points and 11 boards. They also held the Jaspers to 39% shooting from the field on the night. The Paladins came home to host Charleston Southern over the weekend, and came away with another victory. Wilkins continued his scoring tear, putting up 24 for his fourth game of 20+ against D1 opponents. Asa Thomas also showed out for Furman, shooting 6-10 from behind the arc to add 25 points, along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Arguably the best game of the season for Thomas so far. 
2. East Tennessee State (8-5). Not the best last couple of weeks for ETSU, falling from the top spot in the SoCon. A tough road game at UNC started the week, keeping pace with the Tar Heels in the first half, but ultimately UNC took over in the second and won 77-58. Taylor played all 40 minutes and scored 14 to lead the way for the Buccs. Next up at home, ETSU took on Jacksonville State, where it was neck and neck the whole way before falling by 6. Taylor again led the way with 20, on 7-10 shooting. Cam Morris helped with 17, including shooting 9-11 from the stripe. 
3. Mercer (8-5). A mid-week clash on the road against a very solid UCF team, the Bears fell 81-63. Three starters, Mighty, Shoulders, and Okojie, all scored in double figures. A flight out west, Mercer then took on Washington State, where they kept it within one possession most of the first half, but the Cougars took over in the second. Okojie put up the numbers for Mercer, scoring 24. Armani Mighty made his contribution with another double-double, his sixth of the season. Over the weekend the Bears were able to gain some confidence in an easy home win against Baptist (Fl), winning 122-49. 14 guys saw minutes, and all of them made it into the scoring column. Senior guard Zaire Williams led the way with 19. 
4. Wofford (6-4). A great start to the two weeks for Wofford after a week off, beating Gardner-Webb on the road 83-57. They spread the wealth on the scoreboard, as 5 players scored in double figures. Holmes scored 15 while tying his season high with 9 rebounds. Unfortunately two days later the Terriers lost a tough road test at Wichita state by 11. Holmes kept his scoring streak going, putting up 18, and both Cayden Vasko and Nils Machowski added 19 each – a season high for Vasko. Over the weekend, Wofford took on Union (KY), skating to an easy 88-54 win at home. Freshman Jayden Tyler scored 24 off the bench on 7-8 shooting, including going 5-6 from three. 
5. Samford (7-6). Over the two weeks, Samford had two non-D1 matchups, cruising to easy wins in both. First the Bulldogs hosted Bryan (TN), winning 106-51. Booth topped the scoring with 19, but 10 others made it into the scoring column in a balanced win. On Friday, the Bulldogs knocked around Reinhardt for a 36 point victory. Samford was led by sophomore forward Judson Bjornstad, who came off the bench to score 16 and snag 6 rebounds. 
6. Chattanooga (6-7). In a mid-week clash, Chattanooga traveled to Bellarmine, holding the lead most of the game until the last 10 minutes, when the Knights pulled away to win 79-64. Jordan Frison and senior transfer guard Brennan Watkins both played 38 minutes, scoring 20 a piece, for Watkins a season-high. The Mocs got back on track again on the road, this time at Alabama A&M, escaping with a 73-66 win. Again Frison had another big game, this time scoring 27 on 8-13 shooting and also getting 9 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists in an excellent all-around game. Off the bench, Jikari Johnson scored a season-high 17 in 30 minutes, while also pulling down 5 rebounds and not recording a single turnover.
7. VMI (5-8). Only one game for VMI over the two weeks, where they took on Radford on the road, where they kept it close buzzer to buzzer but ultimately fell 97-90. TJ Johnson led the Keydets with 21. Freshman forward Alexander Daushvili scored 14 off the bench in his first game of the season. 
8. Western Carolina (4-7). A road test over the two weeks at top 25 ranked Georgia, WCU was outpaced in a 112-82 loss. In only 19 minutes, sophomore guard CJ Hyland led the Catamounts with 14. Kell and Justin Johnson also put up 13 for WCU. For Johnson that is 4 straight games scoring in double figures. 
9. UNCG (4-9). In the first matchup over the two weeks, UNC Greensboro hosted North Carolina A&T. UNCG led by as many as 18 in the first half, but a huge second half comeback from the Aggies ended in a 71-65 loss on the road. The Spartans had a tough go, with only 2 points from the bench in the game, and shooting only 37% as a team. KJ Younger led UNCG with 17, and Noah Norgaard adding a season-high 16. A bounceback game over the weekend a few days later ended in a 131-53 win over VA Lynchburg. Six players scored 10+ for the Spartans, including both Whitehead and Neely scoring 20. 
10. The Citadel (3-10). A tough couple of weeks continued for The Citadel, losing both games on the road, first to Charleston and then to Richmond. Against Charleston, the Bulldogs went neck and neck the whole way, unfortunately ultimately dropping the game by 4. Braxton Williams made his offensive mark with 24 points, his high this season, while Moore put in 19 along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. A few days later at Richmond, the Bulldogs fell 80-56, despite cutting it to 6 with 14 minutes to go. Off the bench for The Citadel, guard Logan Applegate scored 10, making it back to back games scoring in double figures.