SoCon Round Up- Tuesday's Slate Thrilled

Scores

Wofford 65, VMI 61

Chattanooga 74, Mercer 62

UNCG 67, Furman 66

Samford 94, The Citadel 74

Standings

Chattanooga 2-0

Wofford 2-0

ETSU 1-0

Mercer 1-1

Samford 1-1

UNCG 1-1

Furman 1-1

Western Carolina 0-1

The Citadel 0-2

VMI 0-2

Game of the Night: UNCG 67, Furman 66

Diante Baldwin made the game winner with under four seconds left and Stephen Croone missed a three pointer at the buzzer that would have given the Paladins the road win. It was a close game throughout. UNCG lead by 7 in the first half, 25-18. Furman instantly answered with eight straight points. Furman lead by 6 in the second half, 66-60. UNCG scored the final seven points, giving them the win. Croone poured in 27 points. RJ White scored 17 with 13 rebounds for the Spartans. This was a game both teams needed, as it was the sort of game that both teams needed to prove they could win. The Spartans pulled it out, which has to give them confidence as they move forward in conference play.

Team of the Night: Chattanooga Mocs

Yes, the Mocs looked pretty mediocre for much of the night, as they blew a 22 point lead and saw it get trimmed all the way to two. However, in the end, the Mocs won by twelve in a match-up of what is probably the two best teams in the conference. So, despite it all, the Mocs won by double figures. They were outrebounded by two by a team that averages outrebounding their opponents by eleven per game. The Mocs forced seventeen turnovers. Johnathan Burroughs-Cook scored fifteen points in just fourteen minutes of action. All in all, not a bad night for the Mocs.

Player of the Night: Darius Jones-Gibson, Samford

Samford rolled early against The Citadel and then coasted to the win, and Darius Jones-Gibson was brilliant in the performance. He scored 26 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. He made 7 of 12 from the floor and 12 of 13 from the free throw line. Jones-Gibson is one of the top scorers in the SoCon and he played like it on Tuesday night. He needs to keep on playing at that level for the Bulldogs to excel.

Disappointment of the Night: Mercer for the first eleven minutes of the game.

Mercer's trip to Chattanooga was highlighted as one of the best games of the year in the SoCon. In the first eleven minutes and nineteen seconds, the Bears fell behind 29-7. The final two were Greg Pryor free throws after Bob Hoffman got called for a technical. From that point forward, Mercer largely outplayed the Mocs. They trimmed the lead to two, before the Mocs (like they so often seem to) turned it on at the end and pulled away for a twelve point win. It was just too big of a hole for the Bears to dig out of in the end. If they had played better in the first eleven minutes, maybe they would have had been able to win this one and become the early season favorite to win the SoCon. Instead, they left with a road loss and take a step back in the conference race.