Game 2: #3N Appalachian State 65, #6S Georgia Southern 57
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Appalachian State used clutch free throwing and 20 points from senior Donald Sims to hold off Georgia Southern, 65-57, in the first round of the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship at the McKenzie Arena.
Sims was 11-for-12 from the charity stripe in the contest, including 7-of-8 in the second half, as the Mountaineers gained control from a pesky Georgia Southern squad.
In a game that saw eight ties and eight lead changes, ASU took the lead for good with an 11-4 run midway through the second half. Anthony Breeze converted a three-point play that ignited the run.
The Eagles were resilient, staying within striking distance as Ben Drayton III cut the ASU lead to 58-54 with 1:11 remaining. But that's as close as GSU would get as Petey Hausley scored twice on breakaways and ASU hit three free throws to seal the win.
Joining Sims in double figures was Omar Carter with 14 points and Hausley with 11.
Drayton had a team-high 16 points for GSU as Jelani Hewitt and Marvin Baynham contributed 15 and 13, respectively.
Appalachian State will next face Wofford, the South Division's No. 2 seed, in the second quarterfinal Saturday, beginning at approximately 4:15 p.m. The contest is a rematch of last year's SoCon Championship game, which Wofford won, 56-51.
Game 1: #5N UNCG 71, #4S Davidson 64
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Trevis Simpson led three UNCG players in double figures and the Spartans never trailed in a 71-64 upset of Davidson in the first round of the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship at the McKenzie Arena.
Simpson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and he provided a pair of acrobatic buckets in the second half that kept the momentum on UNCG's side.
Trailing by eight at halftime, Davidson sliced the Spartans' advantage to six with a Tom Droney layup at the 7:36 mark, but that was as close as they would get.
Davidson was held to a season-low 24 percent shooting (18-of-75) from the floor and managed eight three-pointers in 34 tries (24 percent).
The Spartans raced out to an 11-1 lead in the first three minutes of the contest, powered by a pair of Brandon Evans three-pointers.
UNCG never trailed in the first half, stretching its lead back out to 10 points on two occasions and taking a 32-24 advantage into the locker room. The Spartans held Davidson to 16 percent shooting (6-of-37) in the opening frame, but the Wildcats were able to remain within striking distance thanks to 17 offensive rebounds. Davidson pulled down 28 offensive caroms for the game.
Evans contributed 12 points for the Spartans while point guard Kyle Randall added 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Senior Brendan McKillop paced Davidson (17-14) with 14 points, and JP Kuhlman added 11.
UNCG (7-23), the fifth seed from the North Division, advances to face Western Carolina, the No. 1 seed from the North Division, in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday at 2 p.m.
