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No. 1 Samford, No. 7 ETSU advance to the SoCon semifinals
Bulldogs depth shines in quarterfinal win; Buccaneers upset second-seeded UNCG Spartans
No. 1 Samford 70, No. 8 Mercer 57
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Utilizing its patented full-court press and 3-point shooting proficiency, No. 1 seed Samford cruised past eighth-seed Mercer, 70-57, in Saturday’s quarterfinal game at the 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 11 in the CollegeInsider’s NCAA Division I Mid-Major Top 25 poll, converted 42 percent (10-of-24) of their 3-point field goals in improving their record to 27-5. Bucky McMillan, the winner of the last three SoCon Coach of the Year awards, will now lead his club against the winner of Western Carolina-Furman game in Sunday’s semifinal at 4 p.m. EST.
Mercer (16-17), considered the tournament’s hottest entree having won five of its last six games including regular-season victories over the top two seeds, seized a 17-12 lead with 13:39 left in the first half when Robby Carmody sank a layup and foul shot for the Bears. However, Samford rallied to outscore Mercer, 25-11, the rest of the half to assume a comfortable 37-28 lead at intermission and never trailed thereafter.
Guards Garrett Hicks and Rylan Jones both scored 10 points in the first half, as the Bulldogs made 50 percent of their shots (7-of-14) beyond the arc. Hicks and Jones led all scorers with 15 points each. Achor Achor added 12 points while Jermaine Marshall contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
Mercer’s leading scorer Jalyn McCreary (15.7 ppg) was limited to 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting from the field, as Samford’s suffocating defense held the Bears to a frigid 36.8 percentage from the floor (21-of-57). Freshman David Thomas, who exploded for a career-high 27 points against The Citadel last night, led Mercer with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting and a team-high six rebounds.
Samford, which entered the game ranked fourth nationally in scoring, was held 16 points under their average (86.7 ppg) by Mercer. The Bears also recorded eight block shots and eight steals against Samford.
The Bulldogs, who enjoyed a school-record 17-game winning streak earlier this season, have nine of their last 11 games.
RECORDS: No. 1 Samford 27-5, No. 8 Mercer 16-17
STATS TO KNOW
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No. 7 ETSU 73, No. 2 UNCG 62
ASHEVILLE, N.C.-- In the first upset of the tournament, No. 7 seed ETSU rode a suffocating defense to an 73-62 upset win over No. 2 seed UNCG in Saturday’s quarterfinal game at the 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
ETSU, which held the Spartans to one point over a 10-minute span in the first half, will advance to Sunday’s semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. EST against the winner of No. 3 seed Chattanooga and No. 6 Wofford.
The Bucs were red hot beyond the arc, nailing 50 percent of their attempts (12-of-24). They were 7-of-11 in the second half, tallying 44 points total in the final 20 minutes.
Ebby Asamoah, the game’s high scorer with 24 points, made 6-of-10 three-point attempts to move into a tie for fourth place on ETSU’s single season list with 94 makes, sharing that spot with Ge’Lawn Guyn (94, 2015-16). Next on the list is Jordan King with 97, which he made during the 2021-22 season.
Quimari Peterson added 15 points and six rebounds for ETSU, while Jaden Seymour scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Karon Boyd logged game-high 12 rebounds.
Michael Brown-Jones sank two free throws to give UNCG a 9-5 lead with 15:59 left in the opening half but the team could manage only one free throw (also by Brown-Jones) for the next 10 minutes. The Spartans’ Jalen Breath made a hook shot at the 6:05 mark of the opening half to end an ETSU 13-1 run.
Under constant pressure, UNCG shot 40 percent (24-for-60) from the field for the game while committing 15 turnovers. ETSU had a wide advantage in 3-point tries, making 12-of-24 (50.0%) beyond the arc compared to only 7-for-27 (26%) for UNCG.
ETSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half (24-14) before UNC Greensboro unleashed a 9-2 spurt to close within 26-23 with 22 seconds left. Peterson drilled a 3-pointer with two seconds on the clock to give ETSU a six-point edge at intermission. ETSU never trailed in the second half.
UNCG’s Mikeal Brown-Jones, the league’s No. 2 scorer (19.3 ppg) and a First-Team All-SoCon selection, was limited to only eight points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. The Spartans featured four scorers in double figures, led by Jalen Breath with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
RECORDS: No. 2 UNCG 21-11, No. 7 ETSU 18-15
STATS TO KNOW
2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 8 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (8) Mercer 84, (9) The Citadel 76
Game 2 - (7) ETSU 98, (10) VMI 66
Saturday, March 9 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Samford 70, (8) Mercer 57
Game 4 - (7) ETSU 73, (2) UNCG 62
Game 5 - (3) Chattanooga vs. (6) Wofford, 6 p.m.
Game 6 - (4) Western Carolina vs. (5) Furman, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 10 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - (1) Samford vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 - (7) ETSU vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, March 11 (ESPN)
Championship game, 7 p.m.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Utilizing its patented full-court press and 3-point shooting proficiency, No. 1 seed Samford cruised past eighth-seed Mercer, 70-57, in Saturday’s quarterfinal game at the 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 11 in the CollegeInsider’s NCAA Division I Mid-Major Top 25 poll, converted 42 percent (10-of-24) of their 3-point field goals in improving their record to 27-5. Bucky McMillan, the winner of the last three SoCon Coach of the Year awards, will now lead his club against the winner of Western Carolina-Furman game in Sunday’s semifinal at 4 p.m. EST.
Mercer (16-17), considered the tournament’s hottest entree having won five of its last six games including regular-season victories over the top two seeds, seized a 17-12 lead with 13:39 left in the first half when Robby Carmody sank a layup and foul shot for the Bears. However, Samford rallied to outscore Mercer, 25-11, the rest of the half to assume a comfortable 37-28 lead at intermission and never trailed thereafter.
Guards Garrett Hicks and Rylan Jones both scored 10 points in the first half, as the Bulldogs made 50 percent of their shots (7-of-14) beyond the arc. Hicks and Jones led all scorers with 15 points each. Achor Achor added 12 points while Jermaine Marshall contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
Mercer’s leading scorer Jalyn McCreary (15.7 ppg) was limited to 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting from the field, as Samford’s suffocating defense held the Bears to a frigid 36.8 percentage from the floor (21-of-57). Freshman David Thomas, who exploded for a career-high 27 points against The Citadel last night, led Mercer with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting and a team-high six rebounds.
Samford, which entered the game ranked fourth nationally in scoring, was held 16 points under their average (86.7 ppg) by Mercer. The Bears also recorded eight block shots and eight steals against Samford.
The Bulldogs, who enjoyed a school-record 17-game winning streak earlier this season, have nine of their last 11 games.
RECORDS: No. 1 Samford 27-5, No. 8 Mercer 16-17
STATS TO KNOW
- Samford’s 27 wins are the most in school history.
- The Bulldogs are seeking their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2000.
- Samford outrebounded Mercer, 40-33 and outscored the Bears in bench points, 26-16
******
No. 7 ETSU 73, No. 2 UNCG 62
ASHEVILLE, N.C.-- In the first upset of the tournament, No. 7 seed ETSU rode a suffocating defense to an 73-62 upset win over No. 2 seed UNCG in Saturday’s quarterfinal game at the 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
ETSU, which held the Spartans to one point over a 10-minute span in the first half, will advance to Sunday’s semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. EST against the winner of No. 3 seed Chattanooga and No. 6 Wofford.
The Bucs were red hot beyond the arc, nailing 50 percent of their attempts (12-of-24). They were 7-of-11 in the second half, tallying 44 points total in the final 20 minutes.
Ebby Asamoah, the game’s high scorer with 24 points, made 6-of-10 three-point attempts to move into a tie for fourth place on ETSU’s single season list with 94 makes, sharing that spot with Ge’Lawn Guyn (94, 2015-16). Next on the list is Jordan King with 97, which he made during the 2021-22 season.
Quimari Peterson added 15 points and six rebounds for ETSU, while Jaden Seymour scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Karon Boyd logged game-high 12 rebounds.
Michael Brown-Jones sank two free throws to give UNCG a 9-5 lead with 15:59 left in the opening half but the team could manage only one free throw (also by Brown-Jones) for the next 10 minutes. The Spartans’ Jalen Breath made a hook shot at the 6:05 mark of the opening half to end an ETSU 13-1 run.
Under constant pressure, UNCG shot 40 percent (24-for-60) from the field for the game while committing 15 turnovers. ETSU had a wide advantage in 3-point tries, making 12-of-24 (50.0%) beyond the arc compared to only 7-for-27 (26%) for UNCG.
ETSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half (24-14) before UNC Greensboro unleashed a 9-2 spurt to close within 26-23 with 22 seconds left. Peterson drilled a 3-pointer with two seconds on the clock to give ETSU a six-point edge at intermission. ETSU never trailed in the second half.
UNCG’s Mikeal Brown-Jones, the league’s No. 2 scorer (19.3 ppg) and a First-Team All-SoCon selection, was limited to only eight points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. The Spartans featured four scorers in double figures, led by Jalen Breath with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
RECORDS: No. 2 UNCG 21-11, No. 7 ETSU 18-15
STATS TO KNOW
- All-League selections Brown-Jones (1st team) and Keyshaun Langley (2nd team), the Spartans’ top two scorers this season, were a combined 6-for-20 from the field for 18 points today.
- ETSU outrebounded UNCG by a 42-33 margin.
- ETSU has now won four straight games and five of its last six.
2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 8 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (8) Mercer 84, (9) The Citadel 76
Game 2 - (7) ETSU 98, (10) VMI 66
Saturday, March 9 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Samford 70, (8) Mercer 57
Game 4 - (7) ETSU 73, (2) UNCG 62
Game 5 - (3) Chattanooga vs. (6) Wofford, 6 p.m.
Game 6 - (4) Western Carolina vs. (5) Furman, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 10 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - (1) Samford vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 - (7) ETSU vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, March 11 (ESPN)
Championship game, 7 p.m.