Big South Conference Notebook
Four Highlanders Suspended
The biggest news of the week in the Big South came out of Radford, as head coach Byron Samuels announced soon before the Highlanders’ game at Charleston Southern on Saturday that four of his players had been suspended for the remainder of the season. All four were suspended for a violation of team rules and athletic department policy. The specific actions that led to the suspension were not specified when the suspensions were handed down.
The list of players is headlined by junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye. Holcomb-Faye was the conference’s leading scorer last year and was having another solid season as he was second on the team in scoring and led Radford in assists at the time of the suspension. Junior forward Chris Goodin, freshman guard Branden Smith, and walk-on junior guard Tom Hayes were the other players suspended.
Busy Schedules
A decision was finally made over the past week as to the date of the rescheduled game between High Point and Winthrop. The two will face-off at High Point’s Millis Center on Tuesday, February 8 for a make-up game due to their January 29th meeting being postponed due to wintry weather. This creates a hectic period for both squads as the game had to be squeezed in to accommodate both squads.
Winthrop will now have a week in which they will play four games in six days beginning this Monday. The Eagles will play on back-to-back nights, with a home game Monday against UNC Asheville before heading to High Point for a game the next night. They will follow those games with a road game at Liberty on Thursday, February 10 and then close out the week at home against Birmingham-Southern on February 12. High Point’s schedule is not much easier, though they will not have to play on back-to-back days. The make-up game will start a stretch of four games in seven days for the Panthers as they will play every-other-night beginning on Tuesday, February 8 and ending on Monday, February 14.
Player of the Week
UNC-Asheville has improved quite a bit from the start of the season, and a big part of that is the resurgence of sophomore guard K.J. Garland, this week’s Player of the Week. Garland played very well for the Bulldogs as they split a pair of games. Over the two contests, Garland averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game.
Team Reports
Winthrop Eagles (16-5, 7-1) Last Week: 1-0
It was a light week of action for the Eagles, as they only took the court only once and had an easy time in a 69-44 home victory over VMI. The Keydets kept it close for the first few minutes, but the lead ballooned to double-digits in the first half and Winthrop never looked back, even stretching the lead to 30 at times in the second half. Sophomore forward Phillip Williams led the team with 16 points while junior forward James Shuler added 15 points.
As mentioned earlier in this Notebook, Winthrop faces a stretch of four games in six days, starting with a home contest against UNC Asheville on Monday, February 7.
Liberty Flames (9-12, 7-3) Last Week: 2-0
Liberty responded well after their loss last week at Radford by recovering and winning a pair of tough games this week. The Flames started the week with revenge on their mind as they hosted a High Point team that beat them by 17 points to start the conference season. In a game that was close for most of the way, Liberty was able to fight back from a nine-point second half deficit to win 84-81. Comebacks proved to be Liberty’s forte this week, as they needed to come from behind again in a 73-69 road win a Birmingham-Southern. Again, the Flames trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, and again they found a way to win in the end.
Liberty got its normal strong production from sophomore guards David Dees and Larry Blair and senior forward Leo Lightbourne. Each of those three players reached double-figures in both games last week, with Lightbourne having the biggest performance as he scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against High Point. Senior point guard Brian Woodson also had a stellar game against HPU, scoring 13 points while dishing out 8 assists and grabbing 6 rebounds. Dees led all Flames’ scorers against Birmingham-Southern with 19 points.
The Flames will begin a three-game home stand with two games this week, beginning on February 10 against Winthrop, in what could be a battle for first place depending on what the Eagles do earlier in the week. Liberty closes the week by hosting Charleston Southern.
High Point Panthers (10-12, 5-4) Last Week: 0-2
The inability to close out late leads and win on the road both came back to haunt High Point this past week as they failed to hold onto late second half leads in losses at Liberty and UNC Asheville this past week. Against Liberty, the Panthers held a nine point lead with a little under eight minutes to go, but fell victim to a big Flames run and senior forward Danny Gathings missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer in the 84-81 loss. In the loss to UNC Asheville, High Point led by twelve with less than twelve minutes remaining but could not contain the Bulldogs for the final ten minutes of the game as the Panthers fell 89-77.
The loss to Liberty overshadowed a very solid performance from junior guard Akeem Scott. He scored a career-high 21 points and added 4 assists and 5 rebounds for the Panthers. Senior guard Zione White was the go-to guy against UNC Asheville, connecting on five three-pointers on his way to a team-high 17 points.
High Point will look to snap its two-game skid with the make-up game at home against Winthrop on February 8. The Panthers will then finish the week with a road tilt at Birmingham-Southern on February 10 and a home battle with Coastal Carolina on February 12.
Charleston Southern Buccaneers (8-12, 5-5) Last Week: 1-1
As a potential game-winning shot rimmed out for Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern saw its four game losing streak end last week as they beat the Chanticleers 64-62 at home. However, the thrill of that victory was short-lived as they turned around and fell on their own court to Radford, 66-56, to close out the week.
The victory over Coastal saw the Bucs come back from a ten point deficit with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game. Senior center Jovan Jegdic had the most productive night of his career at CSU, scoring 18 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Junior guard Terrell Brown added 13 points while senior forward Kurtis Rice chipped in with 12 points. Against Radford, the Bucs were led by junior guard Thomas Harrison and his 15 points. However, his strong effort was not enough to overcome the Highlanders.
The Bucs’ current four-game home stand will end on Monday with a battle against last-place VMI. The only other game during the week for Charleston Southern will be on February 12 when the Bucs hit the road to face Liberty.
UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (8-13, 5-5) Last Week: 1-1
It was an up-and-down week for the Bulldogs, as they looked overmatched in a tough 70-54 road loss at Coastal Carolina to start the week, but scored 61 points in the second half to comeback and beat High Point at home, 89-77. The Bulldogs outscored the Panthers 27-11 after a late High Point technical foul as they fought back from a deficit of as much as 12 points in the second half.
Sophomore guard K.J. Garland had his best week of the season, scoring a team-high 19 points against Coastal Carolina and leading the team with 20 points against High Point. Senior forward Bryan McCullough also scored 20 points against High Point while junior forward Chad Mohn had a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Two road games stare the Bulldogs in the face for this upcoming week. First, UNCA will head south to face the first place Winthrop Eagles on February 7. Then the Bulldogs will head up north to take on VMI on February 12.
Radford Highlanders (10-11, 5-5) Last Week: 1-1
The suspensions mentioned at the top of this Notebook are sure to overshadow anything that happened on the court this week for the Highlanders, as they managed to split a pair of games. With their full roster, Radford fell in a tight contest at home against Birmingham-Southern, 64-62. However, while missing Whit Holcomb-Faye and the other suspended players, the Highlanders managed to win on the road and avenge an earlier loss to Charleston Southern, beating the Bucs 66-56.
Holcomb-Faye scored a team-high 15 points in his final game of the season in the loss to Birmingham-Southern. However, the junior guard did miss a pair of free throws as the Highlanders trailed by two points with just a few seconds remaining in the game. Sophomore forward Chris Oliver was the hero in the victory over CSU later in the week, leading the team with 21 points and snagging 8 rebounds.
It will be a light week for the short-handed Highlanders, as they will play at Coastal Carolina on February 7 in their only game of the week. Radford will then have a week to get accustomed to their new line-up in practice before they have to play another game.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (8-14, 5-5) Last Week: 2-1
A busy week proved to be rather successful for the Chants, as they won two out of their three games this week and sit squarely in the middle of the crowded field in the middle of the Big South standings. Home proved to be a good place for Coastal, with the Chanticleers winning their first game of the week, a 70-54 home victory over UNC Asheville, and closed the week with a 75-70 victory over VMI in Kimbel Arena. Those victories were sandwiched around a tough road loss at Charleston Southern. The Chants held the lead for most of the second half before falling 64-62.
Junior guard Pele Paelay led the Chanticleers in scoring in both of their wins, dropping 16 points against UNCA and scoring 23 points against VMI. Sophomore forward Adrian Gross also had a very strong week with double-doubles against UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern.
The Chanticleers will start this next week at home against Radford on Monday night. Following that game, though, Coastal will start a three-game road swing with a match-up at High Point on Saturday, February 12.
Birmingham-Southern Panthers (11-10, 4-6) Last Week: 1-1
Birmingham-Southern was able to hold on for an impressive 64-62 road win at Radford in a regionally televised contest, but the Panthers continue to struggle at home, falling to Liberty 73-69 to fall to 2-4 at home in league games this season. Coming into this season, the Panthers had a 330-35 record at Bill Battle Coliseum, making it one of the toughest courts to visit in the nation. This dominance at home was evident last season as they were 7-1 against the Big South in their building. However, the Panthers have been unable to find their rhythm at home this year, leading to them failing to live up to their preseason expectations.
In the victory at Radford, junior guard James Collins led the way with 18 points behind a perfect 4-for-4 night behind the arc. Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson did his best to give the Panthers a chance to beat Liberty later in the week, but his 29 point performance was not enough.
The Panthers have a pair of difficult battles ahead of them this week. First they will host a High Point team on February 10 that beat them by 13 points earlier this season. Two days later, BSC will head to Winthrop to face an Eagle squad that already knocked off the Panthers in Birmingham.
VMI Keydets (5-14, 0-9) Last Week: 0-2
The struggles continue for the Keydets, as their chances of getting out of the cellar and being able to participate in the Big South’s eight-team postseason conference tournament are getting slimmer by the week. VMI hit the road twice this past week, and was unable to come away with a win either time. Their first stop was at Winthrop, and the Keydets were quickly out of the game, losing 69-44. Coastal Carolina was their second stop, and they played much better, even grabbing the lead at one point in the second half, but they were unable to hold off the Chants at the end, falling 75-70.
Freshman forward Reggie Williams continues to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dark season for the Keydets. He led the team in scoring in both games as he averaged 16 points over the two games. Senior center Tim Allmond has also picked up his play lately, scoring 10 points against Winthrop and 11 points against Coastal Carolina.
The Keydets will have two chances this week to end their winless run in the conference, along with playing a late-season non-conference game. They will begin the week on the road at Charleston Southern on February 7 before coming home for a pair of games to close the week. Longwood will come into Lexington on February 10, and then the Keydets will host UNC Asheville on February 12.
