Southern Conference Notebook
In the spirit of Valentines Day, Davidson continued to show no love to the rest of the Southern Conference as the Wildcats ran their winning streak to 12 games. Davidson enjoyed another strong week from Brendan Winters, who is having a SoCon MVP-type season.
While the rich get richer, Davidson’s opposition seems to be falling further behind. Except for Georgia Southern, which is playing good basketball despite being three games behind Davidson in the south division, other SoCon contenders have been faltering. Chattanooga, UNC-Greensboro and College of Charleston all have been struggling lately, opening the door for teams like Appalachian State and Furman, which have been surging.
If there is a surprise in the SoCon, it would have to be Elon. After losing their first eight conference games, the Phoenix have won three in a row and look to be improving. Kudos to the Phoenix for not throwing in the towel and not giving up on the season. As for the Citadel, Western Carolina, East Tennessee State and Wofford, well, these teams are just going trying to be mediocre, which would be an improvement with the seasons they are having.
As we come down the stretch for the SoCon regular season, the real battle will be for No. 2, as Davidson has No. 1 pretty much locked up.
Player of the Week
Tim Smith, East Tennessee State
The junior guard averaged 30 points per game for the week as the Bucs lost to Wofford and Elon.
Rookie of the Week
In honor of Dontaye Draper’s great week, along with the fact no freshman really jumped out at me, this distinction will be subbed as Sixth Man of the Week
Draper averaged 19 points and 2.5 steals for the College of Charleston in a win against Western Carolina and a loss at Chattanooga.
The Week That Was (Feb. 1-Feb.9)
North Division
Chattanooga Mocs (14-7, 7-4)
After starring the season 4-0, UTC has dropped four of its last seven, including a three-game losing streak that was halted with an 82-59 win against College of Charleston Monday. After losing to UNC-G and Davidson in consecutive games, the Mocs lost a heartbreaker to Elon by the score of 62-59. Chattanooga rebounded with the said victory against College of Charleston, as the Mocs shot 48.4 percent from the field. Chris Brown led the Mocs with 26 points and 12 rebounds. UTC’s tenuous hold on the North division lead will be tested in the coming week with games against Appalachian State and UNCG, the two teams closest behind the Mocs in the standings.
Next Up: Saturday at Appalachian State, Monday vs. North Carolina-Greensboro.
North Carolina-Greensboro Spartans (13-9, 6-5)
The slumping Spartans have lost three in a row and four of their last five. With a golden opportunity to catch Chattanooga in the North standings, UNC-G made like the Mocs and fell to Elon, before losing to Davidson and Georgia Southern. In their loss to Davidson Saturday, the Spartans shot 38.3 percent and turned the ball over 21 times. Tuesday night against Georgia Southern, UNC-G shot 45.6 percent, had four starters score in double digits, led by Ricky Hickman’s 19 points, but lost 85-79, largely because of 19 turnovers.
Next Up: Saturday at East Tennessee State, Monday at Chattanooga.
Appalachian State Mountaineers (12-9, 6-5)
Don’t look now, but the Mountaineers are hot. So hot, in fact, that they are making north division front-runners Chattanooga and UNC-Greensboro a little uneasy. By virtue of Wednesday night’s win over East Tennessee State, ASU is tied with UNC-G for second-place in the north division. The win over ETSU pushes the Mountaineers’ conference win streak to three. Paced by D.J. Thompson’s 18 points, Appalachian State trounced the Citadel 84-66 last Tuesday night. Monday night, ASU edged Western Carolina 74-71 as five Mountaineers scored in double digits.
Next Up: Saturday vs. Chattanooga, Monday vs. Furman.
Elon Phoenix (5-19, 3-8)
True to its nickname, Elon has indeed risen from the dead. The Phoenix – remember, a phoenix was a mythical bird that burned itself but rose from its own ashes – won two games this week and pushed their season-high winning streak to three games, this after losing eight straight to start conference play. This past Saturday, Chris Chalko scored 20 points as Elon knocked off Chattanooga. Monday night, it was Le’Vonn Jordan’s turn to score 20 as the Phoenix won again, this time beating East Tennessee State 80-72. Will Elon’s streak continue? Hey, even if they lose the rest of their games, their effort of late has been valiant nonetheless.
Next up: Saturday vs. Western Carolina, Monday vs. Wofford.
Western Carolina Catamounts (7-17, 2-9)
Western Carolina’s rough season continued this past week, as the Catamounts dropped two games. Last Thursday, WCU fell to College of Charleston 77-68. Despite three Catamounts scoring in double digits, C of C was just too much. Saturday, WCU wasted a great game by David Berghoefer, who hit for 24, and lost to Appalachian State 74-71. The Catamounts have lost three in a row.
Next up: Saturday at Elon, Monday at East Tennessee State.
East Tennessee State Buccaneers (6-15, 2-9)
Once royalty of the Southern Conference, the 2004-05 campaign has seen East Tennessee State turn into a pauper. Six: that is the number of consecutive games ETSU has lost. ETSU lost to fellow SoCon bottom-feeder Wofford 68-64 Saturday despite Buc guard Tim Smith’s 28 points and a 44-32 ETSU rebounding margin. Another strong performance by Tim Smith, who scored 32 points, was for naught Monday as the Bucs lost to Elon 80-72. It’s never easy to lose, but when your best player is lights out and losing is still the reality, that makes things even worse. Hang in there, Tim Smith.
Next up: Saturday vs. UNCG, Monday vs. Western Carolina.
South Division
Davidson Wildcats (16-7, 12-0)
The machine just keeps on going, and going… and going. Davidson has won 12 straight games and is running away with the Southern Conference. How disappointing would it be for the ‘Cats to run the table and then lose in the conference tourney? With the success Davidson has found this year, falling short of the NCAAs would be tough for Bob McKilliop’s crew to handle. This past week, Davidson added wins and 11 and 12 to its streak with a Saturday win at UNC-Greensboro, and a Monday night win at Wofford. In their 78-69 win over UNC-, the Wildcats used double-digit point totals from four starters, led by Brendan Winters’22 points, and a gaudy 46.6 percent team field goal percentage. At Wofford, shooting at a high percentage was again the name of the game as the Wildcats shot 49.0 percent from the field in a 70-66 win.
Next upaturday vs. Georgia Southern, Monday at College of Charleston.
Georgia Southern Eagles (15-8, 8-3)
Unlike their NFL namesake, the Georgia Southern Eagles had what it took to win this past week. Terry Williams and Elton Nesbitt scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, in an 81-63 win over Furman Saturday. Along with Williams and Nesbitt, three other Eagles hit for double figures. The Eagles forced 19 turnovers Monday en route to an 85-79 win over UNC-Greensboro. Donte Gennie scored a team-high 20 points, and three other Eagles also scored in double digits. If Georgia Southern was in the SoCon North, they would be in first place. But alas, the Eagles have the misfortune of playing in the south division, so they are three games behind division-leading Davidson.
Next up: Saturday at Davidson, Monday vs. the Citadel.
College of Charleston Cougars (14-7, 7-4)
Dontaye Draper was the story of the week for the Cougars, as the sophomore twice came off the bench to lead the Cougars in scoring. In a 77-68 win over Western Carolina last Thursday, Draper hit for 22 points and had three of the 14 steals the Cougars incurred. In a lopsided 82-59 loss at Chattanooga Saturday, Draper was one of the lone bright spots for C of C, scoring a team-high 16 points. As a team, College of Charleston shot an abysmal 30.6 percent from the field against UTC.
Next up: Thursday at The Citadel, Saturday vs. Davidson
Furman Paladins (13-9, 6-4)
Last Saturday was not a good day for the Paladins, who came into their game with Georgia Southern second in the nation in three-point shooting. Furman averages 10 three pointers a game; against Georgia Southern, they sank only two. The result of their ineptness from behind the three-point stripe was an 81-63 loss. Despite the defeat, the play of Moussa Diagne, who scored a season-high 22 points, was a considerable bright spot. Diagne again came up big Monday night against the Citadel. This time, his play helped Furman to a win. Diagne scored a game-high 17 as the Paladins prevailed 63-60. Even though they could not get into their usual three-point groove, Furman withstood a late Bulldog rally to hang on to the victory.
Next up: Saturday vs. Wofford, Monday at Appalachian State.
The Citadel Bulldogs (12-9, 4-7)
Woe are the Bulldogs. The Citadel’s losing streak is up to four games and could climb this week with tough games against College of Charleston and Georgia Southern. Last Thursday against Appalachian State, the Bulldogs kept it close in the first half, but were eventually blown away in the second half in an 84-66 loss. Although Kevin Hammack scored a game-high 26 points, his efforts were not enough. The Bulldogs played better Monday night against Furman, but the results were the same. Citadel fell 63-60 as the Bulldogs committed 16 turnovers and shot 35.3 percent from the field.
Next up: Thursday vs. College of Charleston, Monday at Georgia Southern.
Wofford Terriers (10-11, 3-7)
Call them what you want, but at the very least the Terriers have been game all year, no matter what the standings say. They have taken their lumps in conference play but have not backed down once. Wofford was true to form this week, as the Terriers won one and lost one. Against East Tennessee State Saturday, the Terriers led at halftime and hung on for a 68-64 win. Tyler Berg led Wofford with 18 points, while Adrien Borders added 14.
Against conference-leading Davidson Monday, the Terriers were primed for the upset, but faltered in the second half after being tied at the half. Wofford was down 11 before cutting the lead to 68-66 in the final minute. Wofford would draw no closer as the Terriers lost 70-66. Borders led Wofford with 18 points.
Next up: Saturday at Furman, Monday at Elon.
