Big South Conference Notebook
Hitting their Stride
Expectations coming into the year were very high for High Point, but until recently, the Panthers did not give many indications that they were going to be able to meet those lofty predictions. However, it seems as if the Panthers have found themselves, and have now won five of their last six contests, including winning three games this week.
With a 24-point win over Utah Valley State, and a pair of double-digit victories in their first two conference games, High Point now looks like the team that many people expected to see. The Panthers have played much better on the offensive end of the court, sparked by the addition of Mark Wilson (a transfer from North Texas), who was ineligible to play in the first nine games of the season due to NCAA transfer rules. With Wilson in the lineup, the Panthers have scored eight more points per game and have allowed almost seven points less per contest.
Road Warriors
In the eight conference games played so far, only two have been won by the visiting team, both by Charleston Southern. Not only is it somewhat surprising to see a team win a pair of road games in a week in a league where victories away from home are difficult, but this is from the team that was picked to finish last in the preseason by the coaches and SIDs. Also, the Bucs had not won a true road game yet coming into the week. CSU was able to win at UNC Asheville and VMI to start their conference season 2-0, surprising anyone that follows the league.
Player of the Week
Charleston Southern’s 3-0 week and 2-0 conference start would have been impossible without the solid and steady contributions from senior forward Kurtis Rice. Rice averaged 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over the three games as the Bucs beat Robert Morris, UNC Asheville, and VMI.
Team Reports (Note: Teams are now listed in the order that they appear in the conference standings)
High Point Panthers (7-8, 2-0) Last Week: 3-0
As mentioned above, High Point has finally started to play well, winning all three games they played this past week. After hammering visiting Utah Valley State, 75-51, the Panthers played the part of a rude host to both Liberty and Birmingham-Southern. In their league opener, the Panthers knocked off Liberty, 73-56. Just three days later, they took care of the visiting Panthers from Birmingham-Southern, 85-72.
High Point got strong contributions from many different sources this past week, with the biggest being a 31-point outburst by junior Mark Wilson in the win over Birmingham-Southern. Senior forward Danny Gathings averaged 14 points over the three games this past week and senior guard Zione White led the team with 16 points against Utah Valley State and 20 points against Liberty.
The Panthers get to play one more game at home to end their current home-stand. They will host UNC Asheville on January 12 before hitting the road to face Charleston Southern on January 15 in the first of three road games for High Point.
Charleston Southern Buccaneers (5-7, 2-0) Last Week: 3-0
Despite a very slow start to the year, Charleston Southern head coach Jim Platt never seemed that concerned. Apparently he knew what was coming, as the Bucs had a great week, going 3-0 and winning their first two conference games, both on the road.
CSU opened the week by hosting and beating Robert Morris, 79-70. Then, in an exciting finish, the Bucs beat UNC Asheville, 64-63. Trailing by one point in the final seven seconds, CSU was able to move the ball the length of the court and senior center Nathan Ball hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer to win the game. Their final game of the week was less dramatic, but the result was just as good as the Bucs won at VMI, 78-67.
CSU ends their conference opening three-game road trip on January 10 as they take on Radford at the Dedmon Center. Following that match-up, the Bucs will finally head home to battle High Point on January 15.
Winthrop Eagles (10-5, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1
Winthrop had the most successful non-conference performance of anyone in the Big South, but as they quickly found out, non-conference success does not always translate into automatic wins once conference games begin. The Eagles opened their conference slate at Coastal Carolina and quickly fell behind and were never able to catch up, falling to the Chanticleers, 76-68. Winthrop played its next game at home against Liberty, and had to fight and claw to come away with a 75-73 overtime win, despite holding a fifteen point lead early in the game.
Junior forward James Shuler only managed to play ten minutes against Coastal and missed the Liberty game due to an ankle injury. His absence allowed junior forward Otis Daniels to step in and make a huge impact. Daniels, a transfer from Gardner-Webb, scored 18 points in the loss to Coastal Carolina and 17 points against Liberty, leading the team in both games.
The Eagles open the upcoming week at UNC Asheville on Monday to take on the Bulldog team that knocked them out of the last two Big South tournaments. Afterwards, the Eagles head back home to host Radford on January 15.
Birmingham-Southern Panthers (8-5, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1
Birmingham-Southern learned the same lessons that Winthrop did, finding out that a successful non-conference resume does not guarantee easy games in the conference. The Panthers had to hold on for their lives in order to beat Radford at home, 61-59. Following that close call, BSC had to hit the road and they fell victim to a red-hot High Point team, losing 85-72.
The Panthers did have another solid week from junior forward Thomas Viglianco. The transfer from William & Mary led the team with 21 points in the win over Radford, and also scored 13 points against High Point. Junior guard James Collins was the point-leader in the loss to High Point, scoring 19 points.
The Panthers only have to worry about one game this upcoming week. BSC will battle Liberty at the Vines Center on January 10 before having a week-long break before their next contest.
Radford Highlanders (6-7, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1
Despite a strong last-minute comeback attempt, the Highlanders were unable to win their conference opener, falling at Birmingham-Southern, 61-59. However, things got much better for RU in their next game, a matchup against Coastal Carolina at home. Despite trailing at the half, the Highlanders turned on the switch during the second half, scoring 55 points in the last twenty minutes to beat the visiting Chants, 93-82.
Sophomore forward Chris Oliver continued his amazing season with a pair of solid performances. Oliver scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the loss to Birmingham-Southern, and scored a team-high 28 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the win over Coastal. Junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye also played very well in the win over the Chanticleers, scoring 23 points and chipping in with 6 rebounds.
Radford will hope their strong second half performance against Coastal will hold up as they host the upstart CSU Bucs on January 10. Later in the week, the Highlanders will head down to Rock Hill to face Winthrop on January 15.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4-10, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1
Most freshmen are not ready for the intensity that comes with the conference schedule, but freshman guard Jack Leasure appeared to be the exception to the rule, as his sharp-shooting led the Chants to a conference opening win at home over Winthrop, 76-68. Leasure was red-hot as he scorched the nets for 24 points. He was helped by a 17 point effort from junior guard Pele Paelay and a 14 point, 6 assist performance from senior guard Alvin Green.
Unfortunately for Coastal, Leasure’s hot hand cooled down a little bit as they hit the road and faced Radford, as the freshman was only able to score 13 points in a 93-82 loss to the Highlanders. Sophomore forward Moses Sonko was the leading scorer for the Chants in the loss, tallying 18 points. However, the Chanticleer defense was unable to stop Radford from scoring in the second half, and the Chants could not hold onto the 44-38 lead they had at halftime.
The Chanticleers will next face VMI as they will play in Lexington on January 10. Coastal then gets to return home to host Liberty on January 15.
UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (3-9, 0-1) Last Week: 0-1
UNC Asheville only had one game this past week, and the Bulldogs would just as soon forget about it, as they dropped their conference opener at home to Charleston Southern, 64-63. The Bulldogs held an eight point lead with ten minutes remaining in the game, but were unable to hold the lead. It looked as if the Bulldogs had the victory in their hands as freshman forward Brett Warner hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to give UNCA a 63-62 lead, but CSU hit a shot at the buzzer to knock off the Bulldogs.
Only two Bulldogs managed to reach double-figures in the loss. Junior guard Omar Collington led the team with 12 points while junior forward Oliver Holmes scored 10 points.
The Bulldogs may have had a light schedule this past week, but they will make up for it this week with three games. UNCA opens their week with a home game against Winthrop on January 10 before heading to High Point two days later. The Bulldogs close out the week at home, as they will host VMI on January 15.
VMI Keydets (5-6, 0-1) Last Week: 0-2
It was not a fun week for the Keydets, as they dropped a heartbreaker on the road to Loyola (MD), 70-69, and then fell at home in their conference opener to Charleston Southern, 78-67. The only good news of the week for VMI was the return of Levar Joseph to the lineup. The junior guard had missed five games with a knee injury and came back for the Charleston Southern game and scored 13 points.
Senior center Tim Allmond has struggled for most of the year, but had a very solid week, averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds over the two games last week. Freshman forward Reggie Williams continued his strong rookie year with a team-high 18 points against Loyola and a solid 11-point, 8-rebound performance against CSU.
VMI will be on the court again on January 10, hosting Coastal Carolina. Later in the week, the Keydets will travel to UNC Asheville to face the Bulldogs on January 15.
Liberty Flames (2-11, 0-2) Last Week: 0-2
The defending conference champions are having a hard time finding the win column as they dropped their first two conference games this past week. The Flames opened the week at High Point, and after a solid first half, they could not stop the Panthers in second half, falling 73-56. Liberty did play much better in their next game, but were unable to get in the win column as they pushed Winthrop to overtime, but fell again on the road, 75-73.
As has been the case all season long, the Flames were led by sophomore guards Larry Blair and David Dees. Blair had two strong scoring outputs, leading the team with 25 points against High Point, and adding 23 points against Winthrop. Dees scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against High Point, and was the game’s leading scorer against Winthrop, putting up 27 points and making all nine of his free throw attempts.
Liberty’s quest for a conference victory will not be easy this week, as they face two tough match-ups. The Flames will finally get to play at home, but will have to take on Birmingham-Southern on January 10. Then Liberty will be back on the road and will have to play at Coastal Carolina on January 15.
