Big South Conference Tournament Recaps

Conway, SC (SportsNetwork.com) – Keon Moore shot 4-of-5 from beyond the arc en route to a team-high 20 points, as the Winthrop Eagles continued their run through the Big South Tournament with an 80-79 win over the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs in the semifinals at the HTC Center.

Joab Jerome and Keon Johnson contributed 16 points apiece for the Eagles (20-12) who, as the No. 4 seed in the South Division, beat defending conference tournament champion Liberty on Wednesday and then knocked off top- seed High Point in Friday’s quarterfinal round. They’ll face Coastal Carolina in the Championship Game on Sunday. Larry Brown rounded out Winthrop’s double-figure scorers with 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Andrew Rowsey led the way with 23 points for UNCA (17-15), which had won four of its previous five outings. Jaron Lane added 22 points to go along with nine boards, while D.J. Cunningham recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 caroms.

The Eagles shot a blistering 67 percent from the floor in the first half and made 5-of-7 3-pointers. They went into the locker room with a 48-42 halftime advantage after leading by as many as nine late in the opening frame.

The second half featured eight ties and six lead changes, as both teams shot 48 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes. UNCA had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but Rowsey missed a layup with six ticks left on the clock, and Lane could not get his putback to fall.

The Bulldogs committed fewer turnovers than Winthrop (12-11) and made more 3- pointers (9-6) and more free throws (20-16) for the game. However, the Eagles held an 18-5 edge in bench points and also outscored UNCA in the paint, 40-28.

Final Score: Coastal Carolina 66, Virginia Military 62

Conway, SC (SportsNetwork.com) – Josh Cameron netted 17 points to lead the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to a 66-62 decision over the Virginia Military Keydets in semifinal round of the Big South Conference Tournament at the HTC Center.

Warren Gillis added 12 points for the top-seeded Chanticleers (20-12), who will take on the No. 4 seed Winthrop in the Championship Game on Sunday. Badou Diagne recorded a double-double with 11 points, 11 boards and four blocks, Tristian Curtis grabbed 13 rebounds and Elijah Wilson had 11 points.

D.J. Covington registered a double-double for VMI (19-12) with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Rodney Glasgow and Q.J. Peterson contributed 14 points apiece, with the former also accounting for five of the team’s 10 steals.

Both sides struggled on the offensive end in the opening period. The Keydets shot just 26.5 percent from the floor, including a 6-of-21 clip from 3-point range, while Coastal Carolina connected on only 36.7 percent of its field goal attempts. The Chanticleers converted 10-of-12 shots at the charity stripe in the first stanza to take a narrow, 34-33, lead into halftime.

VMI continued to have trouble with its accuracy as it was held to just 30.8 percent efficiency from the field in the second half. Coastal Carolina shot an even 50 percent from the floor despite missing all five of its 3-point field goal tries after the intermission. VMI trailed by just one point with under a minute remaining before Gillis made a clutch a jumper with 24 seconds left to play. After Peterson’s potentially game-tying 3-pointer fell off the mark, Cameron put it out of reach with a made free-throw attempt.

The Chanticleers finished with a 48-35 edge in total rebounds and advanced despite committing 16 turnovers compared to only nine by VMI.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball