Winthrop proved why the Eagles are a perennial conference contender by playing excellent defense throughout the season. The Eagles reaped the dividends of their efforts on defense by storming through the Big South Tournament for another championship. The Eagles captured the conference’s automatic bid, which ended up being an invitation to the play-in game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. In that game, Winthrop’s poor shooting spoiled another solid defensive effort, as the Eagles bowed out without playing a game in the field of 64.

But at least Winthrop reached the NCAA Tournament, a place Coastal Carolina had in its sights after winning the regular-season title. However, the Chanticleers couldn’t continue their success in the conference championship game. Coastal Carolina dropped the final bout at home as Winthrop’s defense knocked the Chanticleers out of rhythm throughout the game.

Final Standings

Big South Conference Tournament

For the ninth time in 12 years, Winthrop won the Big South championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles upset No. 2 Radford and No. 1 Coastal Carolina en route to the conference championship. In the championship game, Winthrop won its second game of the season against the Chanticleers, taking out the hosts 64-53.

After Winthrop gave up 72 points to No. 6 Liberty in the quarterfinals, the Eagles turned up the defensive pressure, holding Radford to 46 points and Coastal Carolina to 53. Senior forward and Defensive Player of the Year Mantoris Robinson paced Winthrop to the championship with 14 points against Coastal Carolina, including a solid 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

The most thrilling game of the tournament was Radford’s 64-61 overtime victory against No. 7 Charleston Southern. Charleston Southern rallied from eight points down in the final minutes of regulation but ran out of steam in overtime. The Highlanders built a six-point cushion to start overtime and held on for the win.

Big South Awards

Player of the Year: Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford

Coach of the Year: Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina

Freshman of the Year: Jeremy Sexton, Charleston Southern

Defensive Player of the Year: Mantoris Robinson, Winthrop

First-Team All-Conference:

Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford

Joseph Harris, Coastal Carolina

Nick Barbour, High Point

Chad Gray, Coastal Carolina

Jamarco Warren, Charleston Southern

Second-Team All-Conference:

Joey Lynch-Flohr, Radford

Austin Kenon, VMI

Kyle Ohman, Liberty

Mantoris Robinson, Winthrop

John Williams, UNC-Asheville

All-Freshman Team:

Jeremy Sexton, Charleston Southern

Stan Okoye, VMI

Evan Gordon, Liberty

Kierre Greenwood, Coastal Carolina

Blake Smith, Radford

Season Highlights

4 Things We Saw Coming

1. Radford’s Artsiom Parakhouski dominated the conference on his way to Player of the Year honors.

2. Radford’s size propelled the Highlanders near the top of the conference.

3. VMI once again led the nation with the fastest pace. The Keydets also finished dead last in defensive efficiency, contributing to the team’s 19 losses.

4. New High Point coach Scott Cherry has the Panthers playing a faster pace and moving up the standings, finishing in the middle of the Big South pack.

4 Things We Thought We’d See

1. After shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 28.4 percent from three-point range in 2008-09, Winthrop was supposed to be better, not worse, on offense this season. That didn’t happen as the Eagles regressed to 38.0 percent from the field and 24.8 percent from long range.

2. Gardner-Webb was supposed to be better after putting up 13 wins in 2008-09 and returning four starters. But the Bulldogs struggled, winning only eight games. Inconsistent guard play led to more than 18 turnovers per game and derailed the season.

3. With Liberty losing Seth Curry and other key contributors, the Flames were supposed to struggle big time this season. But coach Dale Layer found a way to keep Liberty in the top six.

4. To start the season, UNC-Asheville’s backcourt appeared to be the team’s strength. But the Bulldogs ended up averaging about 17 turnovers per game, worse than last season.

4 Things We Didn’t See Coming

1. With Winthrop’s shooting woes, the Eagles didn’t appear to be able to take out Radford in the conference semifinals. But Winthrop found a way to win and got past regular-season champ Coastal Carolina for the conference championship.

2. Coastal Carolina’s ascension to the top of the Big South standings was surprising, especially considering that the team relied mostly on freshmen and sophomores.

3. Coastal Carolina’s Chad Gray, a transfer from South Carolina, did more than just contribute some productive minutes for the Chanticleers. He led the team to the regular-season title with 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. For his efforts, he received first-team all-conference honors.

4. Charleston Southern’s Jeremy Sexton stormed through the Big South in his freshman campaign, earning the Rookie of the Year award. He averaged 12.7 points and 2.3 assists per game and shot better than 38 percent from three-point range.

Teams on the Rise:

Charleston Southern

The Buccaneers finished near the bottom of the pack this season. But they will return nearly their entire lineup, including freshman of the year, Jeremy Sexton. If Charleston Southern can continue to cut down on the turnovers, the Buccaneers could move up as a couple of other teams rebuild.

High Point

Under new coach Scott Cherry, the Panthers played better than expected this past season. If Cherry can keep this team on an upward trajectory, the Panthers should approach the top of the conference next season. The Panthers return six out of their top eight players, including leading scorer Nick Barbour, who averaged 18.9 points per game and will be a candidate for player of the year in 2010-11.

Team on the Decline:

Winthrop

The Eagles won the conference championship with an outburst of just-good-enough shooting and excellent defense. But Winthrop will lose the defensive player of the year, Mantoris Robinson, from a team that relies almost entirely on defense. The Eagles actually shot worse this season than they did last season. There’s no reason to expect this team to turn into excellent shooters all of a sudden, and if the team’s defense falters, the Eagles will plummet in the Big South standings.

Radford

The Highlanders will have to learn to succeed without Artsion Parakhouski, which promises to be a tall order next season. The player of the year averaged 21.4 points and 13.4 rebounds per game for Radford this season. In addition, Radford will lose two others starters who averaged at least 32 minutes per game. Radford’s lineup figures to undergo major changes by opening night next season, and it could be a difficult season.

Next Season

This season and next season promise to look totally different in the Big South.

With the player of the year and defensive player of the year graduating, several top teams figure to move down the standings. Radford is in danger of making the biggest drop after Artsiom Parakhouski graduates. The player of the year was spectacular, but the Highlanders will have to find a way to win without him. Most likely, that’s not going to happen very often.

Winthrop will likely join Radford among the teams falling in the standings, unless the Eagles figure out how to shoot better. Winthrop won the conference championship with a great defense and mediocre offense. With the graduation of Mantoris Robinson, Winthrop loses the defensive player of the year. That has to hurt the team’s defensive prowess, which will likewise hurt the team’s win total.

In their place, several young teams, like Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, Liberty and High Point will be ready to move up the standings. Coastal Carolina already earned a regular-season title, and the Chanticleers figure to remain competitive for the league title. Charleston Southern, High Point and Liberty want to build on some success from this past season by moving into the top half of the conference next season.

Big South Conference 2007-08 Preview

by Phil Kasiecki

For quite a while now, the Big South has largely been Winthrop’s to lose. They have had challenges, even serious ones like those from Birmingham Southern before they left Division I and Coastal Carolina a couple of years ago, but they’ve prevailed in the end each time. Finally, last March the Eagles broke through in the NCAA Tournament and won a game after several close calls, including in 2005 when they were a controversial No. 15 seed and almost knocked off Tennessee, a controversial No. 2 seed.

Now, those familiar with the Big South will see how much of Winthrop’s success was simply the work of Gregg Marshall and whether or not it can be sustained. After interviewing for several head coaching vacancies, Marshall ultimately left to take the head coaching job at Wichita State. His former assistant of the past four years, Randy Peele, takes over. Peele has been a head coach before, as he led UNC Greensboro from 1995 to 1999. Included was a Southern Conference championship in 1996, his first season. The Eagles have lost star players before, and they lose a couple this time around from last season’s team, but now the coach has changed and that is different from losing players.

If this opens the door for others, who will walk through? The top candidate looks to be High Point, a team with good veterans and the conference’s top returning player, as well as something Winthrop still does have: a solid and underrated floor leader. A team that almost knocked off the Eagles in 2005-06, Coastal Carolina, also has the personnel to do it. That year, the Chanticleers beat the Eagles both times in the regular season, but the Eagles won when it counted in the Big South championship game.

Winthrop wasn’t the only school that changed coaches, as three others will also have new faces patrolling the sidelines this season. Buzz Peterson left Coastal Carolina to take a job with the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA, rejoining longtime good friend Michael Jordan. Cliff Ellis, most recently the head coach at Auburn, replaces him. Radford replaced Byron Samuels with Brad Greenberg, the older brother of Virginia Tech head coach Seth and most recently his top lieutenant.

Preseason Awards
Player of the Year: Arizona Reid, High Point
Top Newcomer: TeeJay Bannister, Liberty
Top Freshman: Tovi Bailey, Charleston Southern
Defensive Player of the Year: Travis Holmes, VMI
Best NBA Prospect: Jack Leasure, Coastal Carolina

All-Big South Team
Chris Gaynor, Sr. G, Winthrop
Michael Jenkins, Sr. G, Winthrop
Jack Leasure, Sr. G, Coastal Carolina
Arizona Reid, Sr. F, High Point
Reggie Williams, Sr. F, VMI

Winthrop Eagles (29-5, 14-0 Big South)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Chris Gaynor (7.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.5 spg)
Sr. G Michael Jenkins (14.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 spg)
Sr. G Antwon Harris (5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
Sr. F Taj McCullough (7.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 spg)
Jr. C Andy Buechert (junior college transfer)
Schedule Highlights: The Eagles open the season in the Paradise Jam, taking on Illinois-Chicago and either Georgia Tech or Charlotte in the second game. Six home games are on tap in the non-conference schedule, including good matchups with Missouri State, MAC contender Akron, Colonial contender Old Dominion and a BracketBusters game. Among the road games are trips to West Virginia, Mississippi, Miami (Orange Bowl Classic) and improved Marshall. In Big South play, they get an immediate test against a contender as they head to High Point for the opener. A few weeks later, they play three straight on the road.
Outlook: There’s a new leader in town, but the key players aren’t new and know how to win. New head coach Randy Peele has won before as a head coach and now takes over after being an assistant for four years, so everything appears to be in place for the Eagles to win again. They won’t be big, as there’s not much size on the roster, but McCullough should anchor the inside along with junior college transfer Andy Buechert. Freshmen Chris Malcolm, Charles Corbin and George Valentine provide depth inside. The perimeter is where this team will win, as Jenkins will be the go-to guy and Gaynor just simply wins at the point. Gaynor will be counted on to score more while being the consummate floor leader that he is, and he led the conference in assist/turnover ratio last season. Sophomore Mantoris Robinson also returns and will play on the wing. The Eagles were the best defensive team in the conference last season, and expect Peele to emphasize more of the same this season as the key to another championship.

High Point Panthers (22-10, 11-3 Big South)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Mike Jefferson (13.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.3 spg)
So. G Eugene Harris (8.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 spg)
Sr. F Jerald Minnis (8.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Sr. F Arizona Reid (21.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg)
So. C Cruz Daniels (3.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.0 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Panthers will have six non-conference home games, including part of in-season home-and-homes with Longwood and Savannah State. They open the season at Charlotte before departing for Washington in the NIT Season Tip-Off, where they play Utah and either the hosts or New Jersey Tech. Other notable road games are at Dayton and Florida. Big South play will give an early measure of this team’s chances to take the title, as they open with Winthrop at home as the first of three home games in a four-game stretch.
Outlook: If personnel losses and the coaching change make Winthrop vulnerable, the Panthers are sure to be right there to take their place atop the conference. Reid gets much of the publicity, but Jefferson is as much a key to this team as anyone as he runs the show and is the prime complementary scorer. Harris could take some of that burden off him after a nice freshman season, while Minnis helps Reid out inside along with Daniels, who looks to have a high ceiling as well. Right now, Daniels is mainly needed to be a defensive presence, and his ability to block shots will do just that. Tim Burns and Melvin Crowder add backcourt depth, while the frontcourt has several holdovers who haven’t played much and would get a good boost if Josh Lamons bounces back from an injury that limited him to four games last season. Only Winthrop was a better defensive team than the Panthers last season, and expect them to hang their hat on that once again this season.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (15-15, 7-7 Big South)
Projected Starters:
So. G Joshua Mack (12.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.5 spg)
Sr. G Jack Leasure (15.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.5 spg)
Sr. G Everage Richardson (7.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 spg)
Jr. F Joseph Harris (8.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.3 bpg)
Jr. F Matt Brennan (2.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: Six home games plus a neutral site game against Georgia State are on tap in non-conference play. After two home games to open the season, they head on the road to play at Cincinnati, then later play at Southland contender McNeese State and Conference USA contender Houston. They have an in-season home-and-home with UNC Wilmington. After two straight home games to start Big South play, they get tested with three straight road games, starting at High Point and finishing at Winthrop.
Outlook: Buzz Peterson has moved on to an NBA job after bringing the Chanticleers close to the NCAA Tournament a couple of years ago and becoming a consistent contender in the Big South. He didn’t leave the cupboard bare, as a solid perimeter trio returns led by Leasure and Mack. Leasure is set to close out an excellent career, while Mack made an instant impact in his freshman season. Richardson complements both on the wing, and the three played well together last season. There isn’t much size in the frontcourt, but Harris plays bigger inside and Brennan will be asked to do more. Junior college transfer Derek Gillam and freshman Jon Pack, who stand 6’11″ and 6’10″ respectively, were brought in to add size to the front line. Opponents shot over 46 percent from the field against the Chants last season, so an improvement on defense will be a key to success.

UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (12-19, 6-8 Big South)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G K.J. Garland (12.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.5 spg)
Sr. G Bryan Smithson (14.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.9 spg)
Sr. F Vincent James (9.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Sr. F Garrett Moles (3.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Jr. F Reid Augst (6.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Bulldogs will play nine non-conference home games, all of them coming in bunches. They open with three straight at home and have consecutive home games three more times. Most notable on the non-conference slate are trips to Virginia Tech, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. Three of the first four Big South games are at home.
Outlook: The senior-laden Bulldogs qualify as the dark horse in the conference, especially with the solid senior backcourt of Garland and Smithson. Both can score, with Garland’s ability to score keeping defenses honest, and both are good defensively. The frontcourt has steady veterans in James and Moles, while Augst has the inside track for the other starting spot, although they wouldn’t be very big with that threesome. Transfer Matt Kittrell is a skilled forward who should play right away, and they bring back the tallest player in college basketball in 7’7″ junior Kenny George, who blocked more than two shots per game in 23 games and 10 minutes per game. The Bulldogs will need to improve primarily at the offensive end, as they tied for the worst field goal percentage in the conference and tied for next-to-last in turnovers.

VMI Keydets (14-19, 5-9 Big South)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Adam Lonon (2.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.4 spg)
Jr. G Chavis Holmes (19.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.8 spg)
Jr. G Travis Holmes (15.0 pg, 4.9 rpg, 3.2 apg, 3.4 spg)
Sr. F Reggie Williams (28.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.7 spg)
Jr. F Willie Bell (5.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.5 spg)
Schedule Highlights: The Keydets will play seven non-conference home games, including a visit from improved James Madison. They open the season in the Air Force Classic in Colorado Springs, and after that the most difficult game by a good margin is at Ohio State. Three of the first four Big South games are on the road.
Outlook: Dugger Baucom’s team led the nation in scoring thanks to a game plan that emphasized quick possessions, but such a game plan also brings issues like turnovers and defense. The Keydets didn’t do well in the latter area, allowing teams to shoot a whopping 53 percent from the field and allowing more points than any other team by far, and they were out-rebounded by over 10 per game. There is plenty of firepower returning, as Williams declared for the NBA Draft after leading the nation in scoring but returns, and the Holmes twins (one of two pairs of twins in Division I with that last name) also return. Seven-footer Stephen Sargent will add some size inside, but expect this team to try and play at the same speed and try to out-gun teams again this season. With a year together, some improvement would seem likely, and if that happens the Keydets may be able to hit .500 in Big South play.

Liberty Flames (14-17, 8-6 Big South)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G TeeJay Bannister (transfer from Virginia)
Jr. G Anthony Smith (11.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Sr. F Rell Porter (2.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Sr. F Alex McLean (14.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.0 apg)
So. F-C Tyler Baker (4.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Flames host seven home games in non-conference play, highlighted by part of an in-season home-and-home with Longwood and a visit from defending MAAC champion Niagara. They open the season at the World Vision Classic at Fresno State, where they will play San Diego State in addition to the host school and Portland. Later road games include trips to Kentucky, Virginia Tech and George Mason.
Outlook: New head coach Ritchie McKay takes over a team that lost its top two scorers, but the cupboard isn’t entirely bare. Bannister is eligible and will boost the backcourt, and his presence should help Smith now that he’ll be the most proven backcourt player. McLean leads the frontcourt after a quietly solid junior season, while Porter is a capable player who should give them more and Baker has some good upside. Junior Justin Holland gives them some depth at the point, while senior Russell Monroe is the most experienced frontcourt reserve. With over 35 points lost from the departures of Larry Blair and Dwight Brewington, the Flames will be hard-pressed to be second in scoring again, so cutting down on their 15 turnovers per game and riding the frontcourt holdovers to another good rebounding margin will go a long way towards another .500 or better season.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers (8-22, 2-12 Big South)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Chris Moore (14.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.9 apg in 16 games)
So. G Shelton Carter (6.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.1 apg)
So. F Marquise Duvall (4.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
So. F Brandon Macklin (4.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
Jr. F Giedrus Knysas (8.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Buccaneers have eight home games in non-conference play, two of which (Tulane and Auburn) will be played at the North Charleston Coliseum. They play a third game, against cross-town rival College of Charleston, at the North Charleston Coliseum. Also on tap is an in-season home-and-home with Gardner-Webb, with other notable road games being trips to play Florida and Virginia Tech. About halfway through Big South play is a tough five-game stretch that has Winthrop and High Point at home sandwiched around a three-game road swing.
Outlook: Injuries didn’t help the Buccaneers last season, as Moore missed half the season and Knysas missed time at the end of the season due to injuries. Moore will need to stay healthy even more now that Dwayne Jackson and Donnell Covington are gone, and they’ll be counting on Shelton Carter for more in his sophomore year. The guards will be pushed by younger talent, as the Bucs signed good guards in Jamarco Warren, Tovi Bailey and Omar Carter, and all three could get good minutes this season. Knysas keys the frontcourt, with Duvall and Macklin showing some promise last season. The Bucs were last in the conference in scoring last season and lost their top two scorers, so that’s a major area of concern entering this season. In light of that, it will be imperative that they not repeat last season’s defensive effort, when opponents shot 46.5 percent from the field against them.

Radford Highlanders (8-22, 3-11 Big South)
Projected Starters:
So. G Amir Johnson (11.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.0 spg)
Jr. G Kenny Thomas (9.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.0 spg)
Jr. G Martell McDuffy (9.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.2 spg)
Sr. F-C Duane Ricks (1.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
So. C Joey Lynch-Flohr (2.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: A mid-December date with West Virginia is the highlight of six non-conference home games. They have in-season home-and-homes with Presbyterian, Campbell and Gardner-Webb. Notable road games include the season opener at Michigan, Air Force, Georgetown and South Carolina. Three of the first four Big South games are on the road, and the one home game is against Winthrop, so it won’t be easy out of the gate.
Outlook: The Highlanders struggled down the stretch last season and continued to hit a rough patch after some success early in the decade. New head coach Brad Greenberg will try to reverse that trend, and he has a few holdovers to start with. The perimeter trio of Johnson, who looks to be the point guard for the next three seasons, along with Thomas and McDuffy, will be a good start. The latter two should reach double figures this season, and they’ll have to for this team to succeed because there’s not much firepower in the frontcourt. Ricks is one of just three seniors, so Greenberg can build for more than just this season with the core of this team. The Highlanders led the conference in turnovers last season, and with the backcourt needing to carry this team, improving on that will be essential.

Conference Outlook

For the first time in a while, Winthrop enters the season not being a clear favorite to win the conference. But they still have plenty of talent and experience returning, and their holdovers have done a lot of winning, so they’re still the team to beat until someone knocks them off. High Point should be next in line with their solid inside-outside combination of Arizona Reid and point guard Mike Jefferson, and Coastal Carolina figures to be a little further back as Cliff Ellis takes over for Buzz Peterson. UNC-Asheville and VMI are dark horses, the former with a senior backcourt to lead the way.

At the bottom of the conference are a couple of rebuilding teams, although Charleston Southern has young guards with talent that could surprise some people and finish higher. The Bucs have just three seniors and only one among their starters, so they could be a year away.

Big South Conference Tournament Semifinal Recap

by Jerry Hinnen

After chaos reigning in the Big South tournament brackets the past several seasons, the 2006 conference championship will be decided by the top two seeds: one the league’s most on-paper talented team and regular season champion, the other its personal nemesis and the conference’s hottest squad. The championship game, airing on ESPN2 at noon Eastern Saturday, should be the proverbial “doozy,” and will be an excellent chance for the up-and-coming league to show why it has risen all to No. 19 in this season’s conference RPI ratings, far surpassing rival leagues the SoCon (No. 23) and Atlantic Sun (No. 28).

No. 1 Winthrop 77, No. 5 High Point 65

The defending Big South champions and 2006 regular season titlists will play for an NCAA berth on their own floor Saturday after a late run turned away a valiant effort from fifth-seeded High Point, 77-65.

After a three-point play by Mike Jefferson brought the visiting Panthers within two at 57-55 with 4:58 to play, Winthrop’s All-Big South guard Torrell Martin connected for back-to-back treys that pushed the lead back to eight less than 60 seconds later. High Point would come no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Martin scored 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor. He got a big hand from point guard Chris Gaynor, who took only one shot in last Saturday’s regular season-title clinching win over Birmingham-Southern, but Thursday connected on 5-of-7 three-pointers to tie his career-high with 17 points. (Gaynor also dished out a team-high five assists while turning the ball over twice.) Senior forwards James Shuler and Craig Bradshaw each finished in double figures with 11 and 16 points, respectively, and sophomore forward Taj McCullough continued his strong play off the bench with 9 points.

Despite the loss, there was plenty for High Point fans to be encouraged about the team’s prospects for the 2006-07 season. The Panthers – whose roster is Division I’s second-youngest, featuring only two seniors and one junior – were led by sophomore guard Mike Jefferson’s 25-point explosion on 46 percent (6-of-13) three-point shooting. Jefferson also collected five assists (though with five turnovers) and All-Big South forward Arizona Reid, a sophomore, finished with 17 points.

The Winthrop big men did an excellent job, however, keeping the aggressive Reid off the boards. “A.Z” finished with only three rebounds in 39 minutes, well off his season average of 8.9 a game and nine fewer than he grabbed in the Panthers’ quarterfinal win over Radford. Bradshaw, Shuler, and Martin each shared game-high honors with eight boards apiece as the Eagles owned a 45-30 edge on the glass.

The only ill omen for Winthrop heading into Saturday’s title tilt? The Eagles committed an ugly 21 turnovers in the semifinal, eight of them by Bradshaw alone.

No. 2 Coastal Carolina 73, No.6 Charleston Southern 67

A late Charleston Southern surge fell short as the second-seeded Chanticleers advanced to face Winthrop and potentially complete a devastating season sweep of the conference favorites.

Over the past two seasons, Winthrop has posted an overwhelming 27-1 record against Big South opponents – all opponents, that is, except Coastal, who handed the Eagles their only 2005 Big South loss and took both meetings this season, including a 64-57 win in Rock Hill Jan. 24 that remains Winthrop’s only home Big South loss either year.

At halftime of their semifinal against CSU, the Chants looked like they would cruise into their showdown with the Eagles. They led 40-22 with conference Player of the Year Jack Leasure having scored 13 points and freshman dynamo Joseph Harris having already grabbed 10 rebounds.

But Charleston Southern fought back, eventually coming within three, 67-64, on a Trent Drafts three-pointer with 44 seconds to play. But Coastal senior guard Pele Paelay responded with a three of his own to push the lead back to six, before CSU’s Chris Moore hit yet another trey to make it a one-possession game again with 16 seconds remaining. With no choice but to foul, CSU sent Paelay to the line where he sank both shots to ice the win.

CCU junior forward Moses Sonko continued his red-hot play down the stretch by pouring in a game-high 21 points to go with 8 rebounds. Leasure scored an even 20, but by his standards had an off-night shooting the ball, going only 3-of-12 from deep. Paelay added 17 while Harris finished with a huge 16 rebounds, powering the Chants to a 40-27 edge on the glass.

A game after shooting an eye-popping 9-of-11 from outside in the first half against Birmingham-Southern, the Buccaneers went 0-9 in the first half against Coastal and finished only 7-of-26. Moore and Drafts (the latter in his final game as a Buc) shared team-high honors with 16 points each.

As a team that relies on accurate three-point shooting to open things up for its energetic but undersized forwards – only Birmingham-Southern shot for a higher percentage in Big South play from behind the arc – CCU will need to do better than the 5-of-20 from outside it posted against CSU. Winthrop won’t make it easy for them. The Eagles were the conference’s best team at defending the three.

Big South Conference Quarterfinal Recaps


by Jerry Hinnen

No. 6 Charleston Southern 96, No. 3 Birmingham-Southern 76



The curse of the Big South’s third seed continued Tuesday as Charleston Southern upset Birmingham-Southern in Birmingham 96-76 in the Big South quarterfinals. BSC won both regular-season meetings handily, but behind 45 points from guards Chris Moore and Donnell Covington the Buccaneers became the fourth consecutive Big South sixth-seed (and sixth in seventh years) to advance to the semifinals.



For several weeks, Birmingham-Southern’s Achilles heel had been three-point defense, as the Panthers finished last in the conference in opponent’s three-point percentage. Although the Buccaneers hit only 4-of-20 threes in a 62-46 loss to BSC Feb. 20, they took full advantage Tuesday, hitting an unconscious 9-of-11 from deep in the first half on their way to a commanding 48-33 halftime lead.



BSC drew within 13 points twice in the early going in the second half, but Charleston Southern outscored the Panthers 27-15 over a 10-minute period to take an 80-55 lead and put the game well beyond doubt.



Covington hit 8-of-10 from the floor to finish with a game-high 24 points. Moore knocked down 4-of-7 threes to score 21, while Terrell Brown (with 11) and Dwayne Jackson (with 10) also finished in double figures. For the game, Charleston shot 62 percent from the floor and an even 60 percent (12-of-20) from deep.



After starting the season 15-0 at home, BSC lost their final two home games of the season: a battle with Winthrop for the regular season crown Saturday and Tuesday’s crushing defeat, which denied the 19-9 Panthers a shot at a 20-win season. The loss was the worst for BSC in 25 years of games at the Bill Battle Coliseum. Sredrick Powe concluded his BSC career with a team-high 14 points.



Charleston advances to face in-state rival Coastal Carolina in Thursday’s semifinals at regular-season champ Winthrop.



No. 1 Winthrop 93, No. 8 Liberty 52



Winthrop avenged a shocking upset at Liberty in the season’s final week by blasting the Flames at home Tuesday 93-52. Nine different Eagles scored at least four points as the home team opened up a 17-2 lead in the early going and cruised from there.



Liberty’s All-Big South guard Larry Blair led the Flames with 25 points, but shot only 8-of-23 from the field after his 37-point explosion in the teams’ previous meeting, could be said to have been relatively contained. Damien Hubbard finished with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double, but no other Flame scored more than seven. For the game, the Eagles held the Flames to only 38 percent shooting.



By contrast, Winthrop shot 56 percent and out-rebounded the Flames 36-24. Point guard Chris Gaynor finished with 13 points (on 5-of-5 shooting) to go with 5 assists, a steal, and no turnovers. Five other Eagles finished in double figures, including a career-high 15 for sophomore forward Taj McCullough.



As the Big South’s regular-season champion, Winthrop will host both conference semifinals. They will take on fifth-seed High Point, which Winthrop swept in the regular season.



No. 5 High Point 87, No. 4 Radford 84



High Point senior Issa Konare was named the Big South’s Defensive Player of the Year this week, but it was his offense that saved the Panthers in their 87-84 road upset of Radford Tuesday.



An Andre Bynum three-pointer for the Highlanders with 55 seconds left capped a furious Radford rally that saw them come from 11 back with 5:15 to play to tie the game at 81. But Konare stepped up to hit his second three of the game just 12 seconds later. Bynum missed a three on the Highlanders’ next possession and High Point held on for the victory.



While Konare finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, it was All-Big South forward Arizona Reid who was the Panthers’ MVP. The sophomore finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead HPU in both categories. The Panthers out-rebounded the Highlanders and conference rebounding leader Chris Oliver 45-30, despite Oliver’s game-high 15 boards.



The game marked the end of the careers of Radford seniors Oliver and Whit Holcomb-Faye. Holcomb-Faye, the conference’s third all-time leading scorer, finished with 33 points on 12-of-26 shooting, but it wasn’t enough as the Panthers took the rubber match in the season series.



No. 2 Coastal Carolina 78, No. 7 UNC-Asheville 62



The second-seeded Chanticleers pulled away from the visiting Bulldogs in the last 10 minutes to advance to the Big South semifinals with a 16-point victory. Asheville led 42-40 at halftime and 51-49 on an Oliver Holmes free throw with 11:30 remaining, but the red-hot Chants outscored UNCA 29-11 down the stretch to claim their 13th win in their last 14 games.



CCU’s sophomore sharpshooter Jack Leasure was named the Big South Player of the Year this week and showed why Tuesday, shooting 3-of-7 from deep to tie teammate forward Moses Sonko and UNCA big man Joe Barber for game-high honors with 17 points. Three other Chants joined Sonko and Leasure in double figures, including 2005 Big South Player of the Year Pele Paelay, who notched a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. Coastal also dominated at the free throw line, hitting 23-of-26 to UNCA’s 16-of-27.



The loss ended an injury-ridden and disappointing season for UNCA, which was picked to finish third in the Big South in the pre-season. Barber’s 17 and 7 boards led the Bulldogs.

Big South Conference Notebook

by Jerry Hinnen

Down to the Wire

Every year, something NFL fans look forward to is the late-season appearance of charts and lists detailing exactly what scenarios need to play out for their team to make the playoffs. Those fans now have something in common with the scenario-studying supporters of Winthrop, Birmingham-Southern, and Coastal Carolina, each of whom enters the final days of conference play with a shot at Big South title and the league’s all-important top seed for the conference tournament. (The Big South plays at the higher seed’s home court, the semifinals at the regular season champion, and title game at the top remaining seed.)

For more than a month, the Big South has looked like a two-horse race going down to this Saturday’s photo finish between Birmingham-Southern and Winthrop in Birmingham. But after smoking-hot Coastal Carolina upended BSC at home 69-59 last Saturday and cellar-dwelling Liberty shocked Winthrop 78-71 in Lynchburg Monday night, 10-4 Coastal now has their own slim shot at grabbing the Big South’s top slot. In the end, BSC’s and Winthrop’s losses could mean nothing at all, or they could cost them a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s what each team needs to happen to claim the Big South title and – to borrow a phrase from the NFL – finish with home court advantage throughout the Big South tourney.

Birmingham-Southern
Record: 12-3. Schedule: vs. Winthrop, Feb. 25

The Panthers have the simplest – and, many would say, easiest – path to the Big South championship. With Monday’s 62-46 road thrashing of Charleston Southern behind them, if BSC can hold serve against Winthrop in Bill Battle Coliseum Saturday they will claim the league title outright with a 13-3 record.

There’s plenty of reason to expect them to do so. BSC currently holds the nation’s sixth-longest home winning streak at 15 games, one boosted by a perfect 7-0 record at home in Big South play this season. Birmingham is the league’s longest road trip and Winthrop’s game Thursday night against High Point will do the Eagles no favors as they try to prepare. To boot, some Panthers – most notably 6-9 forward Thomas Viglianco, who totaled three field goals in BSC’s last four losses combined, all on the road – appear much more comfortable in the friendly confines of Bill Battle.

But lest Panther fans get too confident, there remains the matter of Winthrop’s 84-43 bludgeoning of BSC at home Jan. 5, the program’s worst loss since the 2000 season. It also remains to be seen how well the Panthers will deal with a tight endgame situation: remarkably, only one of BSC’s 15 Big South contests have been decided by fewer than 10 points.

Not that BSC will complain, but everything will ride on the game with Winthrop. Because the Panthers would lose tiebreakers with both the Eagles (who would have swept them head-to-head) and Coastal (who wins the tie by virtue of their sweep over Winthrop) there is no scenario in which BSC loses Saturday and still wins the top seed.

Winthrop
Record: 11-3. Schedule: vs. High Point, Feb. 23; at Birmingham-Southern, Feb. 25

Like the Panthers, the Eagles still control their own destiny, even after the letdown at Liberty. Defeat High Point at home and BSC on the road, and Winthrop will own another championship banner and be only three home games away from earning their second straight trip to the NCAAs. Do that, and very few fans will remember the Eagles lost three games in a conference many expected them to romp through undefeated.

It won’t be easy. High Point gave the Eagles fits in a 70-67 loss at High Point and after a brief slump, the Panthers look to be in confident form again after a spirited BracketBusters performance on the road at Loyola (Md.) and an 88-67 home whipping of UNC-Asheville Monday. And as noted above, the Eagles won’t just be playing Birmingham-Southern Saturday: they’ll be facing the Big South’s best home team, on that team’s Homecoming, in arguably that program’s biggest game in its history, all on one day of rest. Those aren’t exactly the circumstances Gregg Marshall would choose to play a winner-take-all championship game under. Losses in both games would very likely result in Winthrop’s sliding all the way to the third seed; Coastal would have to lose both their remaining games, at Liberty and at Radford, to keep the Eagles in second.

There is good news for Winthrop. For starters, they could get a mulligan on a loss to High Point. If Coastal drops either of their final two games (on the road to both Liberty and Radford) a win at BSC gives them the top seed anyway as both teams would be 12-4.

Second, the Liberty loss may have been a legitimate fluke. Winthrop had been playing well of late (their previous three games had been shellackings of Radford and UNC-Asheville and their epic 98-97 double-overtime win over Northern Illinois) and caught both Liberty and the Flames’ inspirational Larry Blair playing their best game of the season. It seems unlikely that players like point guard Chris Gaynor – who leads the Big South in assist-to-turnover ratio but had only one dish Monday – or forward James Shuler – who took only five shots against the Flames and hit just one – won’t improve in the week’s later two games.

But if they and the Eagles don’t, what has been a successful but ultimately disappointing season may end with even further disappointment.

Coastal Carolina
Record: 10-4. Schedule: at Liberty Feb. 23, at Radford Feb. 25.

Thursday night, you could find High Point fans decked out in purple face paint, purple wigs, and purple HPU t-shirts, and even they wouldn’t be rooting as hard for the Panthers as the fans down the road at Coastal. There is only one scenario in which Coastal wins the top seed and brings the Big South semifinals to Kimbel Arena: CCU wins over Liberty and Radford combined with a Winthrop loss to High Point and a Birmingham-Southern loss to Winthrop. Any other combination of results sees CCU nabbing the second seed at best.

While the Chanticleer fans might be forgiven for scoreboard watching Thursday and Saturday, the Coastal players themselves would be well-advised to focus on the opponents in front of them. Liberty and their supporters will be brimming with confidence for Thursday’s home game, while Radford dealt Coastal their only loss in their last eleven games, a 70-69 overtime win in Conway Jan. 21. A loss in either game would remove CCU from title consideration.

It would not necessarily, however, remove them the battle for second. If Winthrop loses both of their contests, CCU’s sweep of the Eagles means just one win would be enough for the second seed.

However, thanks to their season sweep of Winthrop, a pair of CCU wins guarantees them no worse than the second seed. Coastal would finish 12-4, would earn a tie with whichever team loses in Birmingham, and would win the tiebreak with either as well: with Winthrop thanks to head-to-head, and with BSC by virtue of a better record against the conference’s highest seed (i.e., Winthrop).

On the flip side, a pair of Coastal losses (assuming Radford defeats last-place VMI Thursday) would drop the Chants all the way to fourth place behind the Highlanders, who would tie the Chants at 10-6 and take the tiebreaker based on their head-to-head sweep.

Got all that?

Moving up in BracketBusters

If the Big South’s continued participation in the BracketBusters event goes as well as it did in this, its first year, it will be something the conference’s fans will look forward to on an annual basis.

The three Big South teams involved – Winthrop, High Point, and UNC-Asheville – all put together solid performances that showed why the conference, now all the way up to No. 19 in stats guru Ken Pomeroy’s conference RPI (ahead of such notable conferences as the Ohio Valley, Patriot League, and most significantly the SoCon), is on the rise.

The biggest win belonged to Winthrop, 98-97 home victors over MAC West Division leader Northern Illinois in double overtime. James Shuler poured in a career-high 27 points, including the free throws that sent the game into overtime, the three-pointer that sent the game into a second overtime, and the three-pointer that won it with 3.1 seconds remaining.

“That’s the best ball game in my tenure,” Gregg Marshall told the Rock Hill Herald. “It would have been a hard one to lose, was a great one to win.”

The Big South’s other BracketBuster teams did the conference proud as well. Although a late 16-2 Greyhound run cost High Point a road win over Loyola (Md.), behind freshman Justin Dunn’s 21 points the Panthers recovered from a recent cold streak to control the game for most of the 40 minutes. UNC-Asheville’s hometown newspaper predicted a 12-point loss in their match-up with the OVC’s Eastern Kentucky Colonels, but Joe Barber’s 21 points helped the Bulldogs to a big second-half lead and an eventual 83-77 win.

As part of the BracketBusters agreement, Loyola and Eastern Kentucky will return the home game favor to HPU and UNCA as part of either the 2006 or 2007 non-conference season.

Around the league

• The aftershocks of Liberty’s win over Winthrop weren’t just felt at the top of the Big South standings. The victory bumped the 3-11 Flames out of a tie for the conference cellar with VMI and into the eighth and final spot in the Big South tourney. Making matters worse for the Keydets, their best shot for a late-season victory slipped away Saturday when they lost 59-48 on the road to Charleston Southern in an offensive performance coach Duggar Baucom told the Chalreston Post and Courier was “pitiful.” VMI closes at home against Radford Thursday.

• The Big South’s schedule-makers could hardly have done a better job in putting together this season’s final Saturday slate. Besides the likely Game of the Year between BSC and Winthrop, Radford will host CCU in a game that could decide the third seed, and even Charleston Southern and UNC-Asheville, currently tied for sixth at 6-9, will go head-to-head to decide which team gets a one-place bump in the standings.
• It’s a great time to be a scorer in the Big South. BSC’s James Collins (with a career-high 27) and Coastal’s Jack Leasure (22) combined for 49 points in their meeting last Saturday; Winthrop’s Torrell Martin (a career-high 32) and Liberty’s Larry Blair (37) combined for 69 points in their clash Monday; and Radford’s Whit Holcomb-Faye scored 37 and 36 points, respectively, in wins over Charleston Southern and Liberty.

Game of the Week: Winthrop at Birmingham-Southern, Saturday, 7 p.m.

Well, duh. The biggest Big South regular-season game in recent memory will feature any number of intriguing match-ups, but perhaps the most significant will pair shooting guards James Collins and Torrell Martin. Both are the most explosive players for their respective teams, and if they find a hot streak from outside, could swing the balance of the game single-handedly. Statistically, the Eagles’ Martin will face a much looser three-point defense than will Collins; BSC ranks dead-last in the conference in opponent’s three-point shooting percentage. But Winthrop will also have to pay much more attention to BSC’s post players than vice versa. Center Sredrick Powe still leads the nation in field goal percentage and dangerous power forward Dwayne Paul averages 11.3 points a game, while Winthrop center Phillip Williams is coming off of a 0-6 game against Liberty and power forward Craig Bradshaw spends much of his time on the perimeter. If the Eagle defense collapses too far inside, Collins may find room enough to warm up and shoot the Panthers to their first outright Big South title.

Big South Conference Notebook

by Jerry Hinnen

Teal is the new black
It’s Winthrop and Birmingham-Southern pestering the country’s bracketologists with their tie atop of the Big South standings at 10-2, but the capital-H Hottest team in the Big South is Coastal Carolina, winners of six straight and eight of their last nine to move into sole possession of third place at 8-4 in league play. The Chanticleers now have two full games between themselves and fourth-place Radford after back-to-back road wins, 71-69 over improving Charleston Southern Thursday and an 88-70 pounding of UNC-Asheville Monday at UNCA’s Justice Center.

Third place seemed a long, long way off in the early part of Big South schedule, when the Chants started 0-3 in conference with double-digit losses to VMI, High Point, and Birmingham-Southern, all on the road. (Since that win over Coastal, VMI has gone 1-9 to fall to the league cellar.) But Tennessee refugee Buzz Peterson has since turned CCU into the team neither league leader – particularly conference favorite Winthrop, which the Chants swept in convincing fashion, 64-57 and 64-50 – will want to play come the Big South tournament.

How? A big part of it has been improved play from the CCU backcourt. Reigning Big South Player of the Year Pele Paelay and 2005 Big South Freshman of the Year Jack Leasure both struggled in the early going, the low point coming in the 77-64 loss to BSC when the two combined for 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting. But with senior point guard Colin Stevens inserted into the starting lineup to relieve some of the playmaking burden, the two have rounded into All-Conference form again. The pair combined for 44 points on 11-of-19 shooting from outside the arc (and 15-of-26 overall) in the romp over Asheville, while Stevens dished out seven assists.

But Leasure and Paelay have also benefited from the single biggest factor in CCU’s 180, namely the arrival in the starting lineup of Big South Freshman of the Year front-runner Joseph Harris. The 6-4 forward has been a dynamo on the boards in conference play, averaging an even 8 rebounds a game in the Chants’ nine-game streak, including 16 in a 78-60 win over High Point Feb. 6.

Harris has also done more than just clean the glass. He’s averaged 9.8 points a game in the streak, notching double-doubles against Charleston Southern and High Point, and his 64.6 field goal percentage in Big South play ranks third in the conference. And while Harris isn’t asked to do much playmaking, it was his clutch assist that gave teammate Moses Sonko a layup with 4.2 seconds to play to defeat Charleston Southern Thursday.

With Harris and the improving Sonko in the post, Stevens coolly running the point, and shooters like Paelay and Leasure outside, that 0-3 start is fast becoming little more than an unpleasant footnote.

Milestones
Two of the leaders for 2006 Big South accolades passed major milestones in weekend play. Radford senior Whit Holcomb-Faye scored his 1,741st career point Monday to move into third all-time in the Big South, trailing only Coastal Carolina’s Tony Dunkin and Radford’s Doug Day, with 2,151 and 2,027 points respectively. Two days earlier, Birmingham-Southern’s 73-69 victory over High Point gave head coach Duane Reboul his 400th career win, all of them at the helm for the Panthers.

Holcomb-Faye set his mark in a come-from-behind 81-76 home win over Charleston Southern Monday. The senior guard scored 37 points, tying his career high, on 12-of-22 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 nine free throws. The outburst was Holcomb-Faye’s fourth 30-point game this season and second in only a week after dropping 31 in a 75-64 win over Birmingham-Southern the previous Monday.

Before the BSC victory, the Highlanders had been mired in a three-game losing skid marked by listless play from Holcomb-Faye as he struggled with a thigh injury. But with his injury woes behind him and two more massive games under his belt, Holcomb-Faye – despite a 5-for-17 performance in the Highlanders’ ugly 71-44 loss to Winthrop Saturday – seems likely to emerge from a wide-open field to claim Big South Player of the Year honors.

Likewise, Reboul will receive heavy consideration (along with Buzz Peterson and Gregg Marshall) for Coach of the Year after molding a team with 10 new players (and only five returning lettermen) into co-league leaders with two weeks to play in the season.

The High Point win gave Reboul a career record of 400-121, an impressive 76.7 career winning percentage. The majority of Reboul’s victories came in BSC’s days as one of the nation’s strongest NAIA programs, including national championships in 1991 and 1995. But as the Big South has found out, Reboul is plenty capable of coaching at the NCAA Division I level as well.

“It’s just something that occurs if you’ve been in a program as long as we’ve been in it,” Reboul told the Birmingham News, “particularly if you’re in a good situation with good players and good assistant coaches like we have been. We were fortunate to have had some very good players. We’ve had 17 years – a long streak of good fortune.”

The waters de-muddied
After a couple of weeks spent with Winthrop and Birmingham-Southern well ahead of the pack, VMI and Liberty well behind, and every other team in the conference hovering in the middle, some separation has occurred in the race for the conference tourney’s third and fourth seeds and the first-round home game that come with them.

As mentioned above, Coastal Carolina’s recent hot streak now has them firmly entrenched in third position with an 8-4 record. 7-6 Radford’s big win over the Buccaneers Monday means they can now claim sole possession of fourth, with 6-7 UNC-Asheville lurking a game back. One plus for Radford: their schedule is much kinder, with games still to come against Liberty and VMI and their Winthrop dates behind them. One plus for Asheville: their sweep of the Highlanders means they own the tiebreaker should the two finish with identical records.

Charleston Southern has shown plenty of fire over the last several weeks, thanks in large part to Chris Moore, the sophomore guard whose 17.9 points a game in Big South play is fourth in the conference. But the Buccaneers have missed opportunities to win games against the league’s top half, losing three games to Coastal and Radford – two of them this week – by a combined eight points. They sit in seventh place at 5-8, a half-game back of 5-7 High Point.

High Point looked to be in good shape themselves after a 76-62 win over Radford Feb. 1 put them at 5-4 in conference and in a tie for third with Coastal. But the Panthers – the second-youngest team in all of Division I, with only two seniors and one junior on the entire roster – may have “hit the wall,” losing their last three to Charleston, Coastal, and BSC by a combined 42 points. The schedule eases up from here: three of their four remaining games are home dates with VMI, Asheville, and Liberty. But they will still need Radford to falter to have a shot at fourth.

Around the league

• Consider Winthrop’s mini-slump over. Since the Eagles’ second stumble against Coastal, the league favorite has come home to paste VMI and Radford by a combined 60 points. Winthrop showed again that they can win either with offense (98 points on 61.3 percent shooting vs. VMI) or defense (44 points and 28.6 percent shooting allowed vs. Radford). 6-11 forward Craig Bradshaw was named Player of the Week for his efforts.

• VMI and Liberty share the Big South cellar with 2-10 and 2-9 records respectively, and despite the Flames’ Monday night win over Longwood it’s hard to see either claiming another conference win. Neither team hosts a member of the conference’s bottom half. The best shot on paper is VMI’s trip to Charleston Southern, but the Keydets already lost to the Bucs by three at home Jan. 5. If the two teams tie for the basement, VMI would qualify for eighth place – and a spot in the conference tournament – by virtue of their win over Coastal Carolina.
• This weekend is the Big South’s first participation in the national BracketBusters event. Winthrop will host MAC team Northern Illinois, while High Point travels to take on Loyola-MD of the MAAC and UNC-Asheville visits Eastern Kentucky. A win over the current first-place team in the MAC’s West Division would be a nice feather in Winthrop’s cap and could help push for a 13-seed should the Eagles win the Big South’s automatic bid.

Game of the Week
Birmingham-Southern travels to Conway to take on Coastal Carolina Saturday on Fox Sports South at noon Eastern. As good as the Panthers have been, the Chanticleers can still pip them for the tournament’s second seed if they pick up the victory here and BSC fails to defeat Winthrop at home on Feb. 25 on the final day of the regular season. On the other hand, a Panther win likely means that BSC will be one game away from setting up a winner-take-all showdown with the Eagles for the league title. Although BSC did an excellent job containing Leasure and Paelay in the teams’ first meeting, the Panthers’ defensive performance against High Point Saturday – when they allowed the visiting Panthers to shoot 50 percent from three-point range – will not do against outside shooters of the Chanticleers’ caliber.

Big South Conference 2005-06 Preview


by Jeremy Dunlap

Change is inevitable, especially in college basketball. In the Big South, there were plenty of changes during the off-season. Three schools underwent head coaching changes while another three schools are replacing more than half of their roster from a year ago. However, the one school that saw very little change was the defending champion Winthrop Eagles, who will enter this season as possibly the most heavily favored team in Big South history. While other teams were undergoing changes in their coaching staffs and rosters, Winthrop kept its coaching staff intact (including last year’s coach of the year, Gregg Marshall) and return all but one scholarship player from a year ago. All of this from a team that had the best-ever conference record, overall record, and winning streak in Big South history.



With all that being said, the rest of the league has no plans to just give the title to the Eagles. Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, and VMI all made head coaching changes in order to improve themselves this year and into the future. Coastal Carolina made the most high-profile coaching change, as they hired Buzz Peterson to lead the Chanticleers. He inherits a team that returns the conference’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, so Coastal may have something to say about who ends up in the Big Dance come March. Other teams such as UNC-Asheville and Liberty also have talented players on their rosters and coaches that have shown that they can succeed in this league. Radford replaced its entire assistant coaching staff, but has an experienced backcourt that will give opponents fits, and since High Point and Birmingham-Southern have almost entirely new rosters, they could surprise everybody this year if the newcomers can step in right away and contribute.



On paper, Winthrop looks to have the advantage coming into the year, and if things fall right for the Eagles, they have a decent chance to become the first team in Big South history to win a first round NCAA Tournament game. But basketball games and conference titles have never been won on paper, so take all of these predictions with a grain of salt, especially since all of the change around the Big South could lead to plenty of surprises.



Pre-season All-Conference Team

Larry Blair, Liberty

Whit Holcomb-Faye, Radford

Torrell Martin, Winthrop

Pele Paelay, Coastal Carolina

James Shuler, Winthrop



Conference MVP – Torrell Martin, Winthrop



Normally, when the defending conference player of the year is still in the league the following season, he would normally take the pre-season conference MVP award by default. However, Martin is completely healthy for the first time in his collegiate career, and as the primary weapon on the league’s best team, he has the best chance to finish the season as the league’s best player.



Freshman of the Year – Anthony Smith, Liberty



Each year, this is the hardest award to project since it is nearly impossible to know which freshmen in the league will get an opportunity to shine. But with the unexpected departure of David Dees from the Liberty program, it opens up a perfect opportunity for the talented Smith to step into. Look for Smith to get plenty of chances to score and get the attention of everybody in the Big South right away.



Newcomer of the Year – Dwayne Jackson, Charleston Southern



Both in high school and in Junior College, Jackson put up amazing scoring numbers. And if there is one thing that this season’s Charleston Southern squad needs, it is a scorer. So combine those two ingredients and you have the makings of a player who is in the right place at the right time. CSU will expect Jackson to step in and contribute from day one, and based on his track record, there is every reason to believe that he will.



1. Winthrop Eagles

(Last Season: 27-6; 15-1, 1st in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Chris Gaynor, Sophomore – 5-10, 156 (6.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.6 apg)

G – Torrell Martin, Junior – 6-5, 195 (13.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 43.3 3PT%)

F – James Shuler, Senior – 6-6, 220 (12.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg)

F – Phillip Williams, Junior – 6-8, 215 (7.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 54.5 FG%, 48.8 3PT%)

F – Craig Bradshaw, Junior – 6-10, 245 (8.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 43.4 3PT%)



Returning almost the entire roster from a team that had the best season in Winthrop history and won the conference by four games, it would be nearly impossible to see a reason to not pick the Eagles to be the heavy favorites coming into this year. The entire starting lineup returns along with the top three or four options off the bench. Coach Gregg Marshall’s biggest task this year will not be teaching X’s and O’s, but primarily to make sure that the team chemistry and unselfish play that led to success last season remains intact this year.



Martin and Gaynor will once again patrol the backcourt for the Eagles again this season. Martin will be one of the primary scoring options while Gaynor will run the show. Their biggest strength for the team, though, is their ability to disrupt opponents on the defensive end of the court. They generally keep the opposing guards out of rhythm and force opponents into mistakes. Gaynor will be backed up by freshman De’Andre Adams while Martin will have sophomore Mike Jenkins and freshman Mantoris Robinson behind him. However, do not expect to see Martin and Gaynor off the court too much if they are playing well.



Up front, Shuler will hold down the small forward spot and presents a tough match-up for opponents with his inside/outside game. The other two frontcourt spots will likely feature a four-man rotation of Williams, Bradshaw, senior Otis Daniels, and senior Billy Houston. Last year, Marshall would use those four in all different combinations, so this year should not be much different. Sophomores Scott Draughn, Taj McCullough, and Jason Killeen will fill in at times, with Draughn likely getting more time than the others as Shuler’s primary back-up.



Once again this year, expect defense to be the trademark of this Eagles team. If the defense stays at the level, or improves, from where it has been in the past, then it will be very hard for the Eagles to be beaten this year. The offense does not have to be great for Winthrop to win, but with Martin and Shuler as the go-to guys, a solid point guard, and the versatile games of the inside players, the offense has the potential to be just as strong as the defense, and if that is the case, then who knows what this Winthrop team could end up doing.



2. UNC-Asheville Bulldogs

(Last Season: 11-17; 8-8, 3rd in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – K.J. Garland, Junior – 6-1, 180 (10.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.4 apg)

G – Omar Collington, Senior – 6-1, 195 (8.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg)

F – Chad Mohn, Senior – 6-8, 225 (8.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg)

F – Joe Barber, Senior – 6-9, 235 (11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg)

C – Brett Warner, Sophomore – 6-10, 235 (4.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg)



Coach Eddie Biedenbach and the Bulldogs will have one of the deepest and biggest teams in the conference. However, injuries have already crept up to put a damper on some of the pre-season excitement out of Asheville. Year after year, UNCA takes its lumps in the non-conference portion of the schedule, but ends up in the upper half of the conference standings. This year looks to be no different, though the injury situation will be an important thing to keep an eye on.



The injury bug looks to have hit the Bulldogs in the worst possible spot, the point guard position. Garland is definitely going to miss a couple of months due to an ankle injury, and there is no guarantee that he can return at all this year. As one of the league’s best point guards, this loss could really hurt UNCA, especially since they do not have a true back-up. Collington will likely have to fill in as the primary ball handler, and though his experience and ability should allow him to do a good enough job, it forces players such as senior forward Oliver Holmes to perhaps play more shooting guard than he normally would. Freshman Michael Ellis will also play some at the shooting guard spot, and could end up getting much more playing time than anyone expected a couple of months ago. The returning guards have shown some ability to shoot from outside in the past, though none of them are consistently good at it, which could mean that we will see very few three point shots by the Bulldogs this year.



While the backcourt may be lacking in depth a bit, the frontcourt has plenty of bodies and size to do some damage in the league this year. Barber returns after missing much of the last two seasons due to injuries and he gives the team some toughness, as most of the other players are more finesse-reliant. Holmes is most comfortable at the small forward spot and Mohn can play that position as well, along with being a solid power forward. The Bulldogs also have two legitimate centers in Warner and junior center C.J. Walker. Junior Joey Harrell and freshman Matt Day add some size and depth to the forward position as well. None of the frontcourt players are likely to be All-Conference First-Teamers, but they can all produce and play enough positions to give Biedenbach plenty of flexibility, which it looks like he will need.



Coming off of last season, the Bulldogs looked like a clear number two team coming into this year due to their size, depth, and experience. Garland’s injury definitely hurts this team, yet there still seems to be enough talent and depth available to keep them capable of staying at that spot. So for now, a second place finish is still possible, but if the point guard situation ends up becoming a problem, a fall to the middle-of-the-pack is definitely likely.



3. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

(Last Season: 10-19; 7-9, T-4th in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Colin Stevens, Senior – 5-9, 155 (5.5 ppg, 1.7 apg)

G – Jack Leasure, Sophomore – 6-3, 185 (14.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 42.5 3PT%)

G – Pele Paelay, Senior – 6-4, 190 (16.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.4 spg)

F – Moses Sonko, Junior – 6-5, 205 (6.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 48.8 FG%)

C – Adrian Gross, Junior – 6-7, 245 (6.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 52.7 FG)



Buzz has definitely become the new buzz-word in Conway as Head Coach Buzz Peterson takes over after Pete Strickland was dismissed following last season. Peterson’s resume is well known and he brings instant credibility to the Coastal program when the Chants were able to sign him after he was let-go by Tennessee. With last year’s Big South Player of the Year (Paelay) and Freshman of the Year (Leasure) both still on the roster, Peterson has been given a solid base with which to work with, and his hiring will likely make basketball a priority around campus, which should make the tiny Kimbel Arena a very difficult place to play in this season.



With Leasure and Paelay, Coastal has the top returning scoring duo in the conference, and there is every reason to believe that both will be even better this year, especially Leasure. So while two of the three guards that will likely to start for Coastal are locked in stone, the point guard position is a little more difficult to figure out. Stevens will likely start the season at the spot, and though he has plenty of experience and quickness, Peterson may end up giving freshman Mario Sisinni some starts later in the season due to his size and potential to be a bigger scoring weapon. If Stevens and Sisinni can be productive, then the Coastal offense should not have too many problems scoring points. Freshman Steven Sexton will back up Leasure and potentially gives Coastal another strong outside shooter.



Sonko and Gross will be the primary post weapons for Coastal, as both have a couple of years under their belt and both are strong around the basket, if not a bit smaller than the opponents they will likely face. Sophomores Noah Nichols and Chad Ferguson both return and add some depth to the inside, and Matt Brennan and Marcus White will also figure into the picture somewhat as freshmen. Along with Brennan and White, Peterson also brought in freshmen Logan Johnson and Joseph Harris. Each is 6’5″ and both will be able to play two or three different positions off the bench. Both were good scorers in high school, so they will likely be the main catalysts off the bench if they can adapt to the college game quickly.



As is almost always the case with Coastal Carolina teams, the Chants will not have much height in the paint, but the scoring punch from the perimeter can likely make up for some weaknesses inside. Where that weakness will hurt them the most is on the defensive end, as Peterson will need to instill a strong defensive mentality for a group that was pretty weak at stopping opponents last year. So while there are enough questions to keep Coastal from likely winning the conference this year, the Chants should be strong enough to be in the upper half of the league as Paelay and Leasure will be tough for anyone to stop and Kimbel Arena should be very difficult for opposing teams to emerge from with a victory.



4. Liberty Flames

(Last Season: 13-15; 11-5, 2nd in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Evan Risher, Sophomore – 6-0, 185 (3.8 ppg)

G – Larry Blair, Junior – 6-1, 185 (16.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.4 apg)

G – Anthony Smith, Freshman – 6-4, 185 (True Freshman)

F – Damien Hubbard, Junior – 6-6, 210 (JuCo Transfer)

C – Russell Monroe, Sophomore – 6-11, 235 (1.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg)



With four key players gone from last year’s team, it is safe to say that Coach Randy Dunton is looking at a transition year of sorts, but the Flames will not be rebuilding so much as moving new players into new roles. With David Dees, Leo Lightbourne, Brian Woodson, and Rashad Robinson all gone, new players will be forced to step up, however, Blair is still on the court, and the cast that will surround him seems to have the potential to keep Liberty in the upper half of the league.



The backcourt is led by Blair and his excellent scoring ability. Dees’ early departure from the program obviously hurts, but Smith has the potential to step in right away and lighten the blow from Dees’ transfer. Risher will handle the point guard duties, and though he got plenty of playing time as a freshman last year, he will be playing a more important role this season, and his production will have to increase a bit in order to help the Flames out. The backcourt will get some help off the bench from freshman Justin Holland, who can play both the point and shooting guard spots, and Hubbard will even see some time in the backcourt if needed.



However, Hubbard’s primary job will be to anchor a very young and inexperienced frontcourt. Hubbard will likely see much of his on-the-court time as the Flames’s small forward and power forward. Monroe will likely get every chance to be the everyday center, though he still needs to show that he is willing and able to battle physically with the other interior players of the league. JuCo transfer Jeremy Eck will also get some time at the center position and will join JuCo transfer Eric Bigby, and sophomores Rell Porter and Doug Stewart as players who will add some depth at the forward position. Porter could be poised to have a much bigger impact on this year’s team than he did last year when he only played nine minutes per game.



Dunton has shown that he has the ability to blend together new faces with returning players over the course of his tenure at Liberty. That ability, along with the resumes of some of the newcomers gives the Liberty program some hope coming into a season where they have to replace quite a few key parts from the second-place team of a year ago. Expect the Flames to go through some growing pains as this team adjusts to the new faces and the new roles. However, with Blair on the floor, Liberty will not slip too far, and without any seniors on the roster, the future is bright for this program.



5. Radford Highlanders

(Last Season: 12-16; 7-9, T-4th in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Andre Bynum, Senior – 6-2, 161 (6.8 ppg, 3.5 apg, 48.2 FG%)

G – Whit Holcomb-Faye, Senior – 6-1, 166 (15.1 ppg, 3.6 apg, 39.5 3PT%)

G – Kenny Thomas, Freshman – 6-3, 179 (True Freshman)

F – Chris Oliver, Junior – 6-6, 201 (14.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 54.3 FG)

C – Duane Ricks, Sophomore – 6-9, 188 (1.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg)



For a program that was one of the league’s powers for many years, Radford has seen some of the leanest year’s of its basketball history over the last four seasons. Unfortunately for Head Coach Byron Samuels, the last three of those years have been under his watch, so this is an important season for him if he wants to see his career at Radford last much longer.



Toward the end of last season, when it looked as if Radford may be in position to make a late season run, Samuels suspended four players, including Holcomb-Faye, for the remainder of the year due to an undisclosed reason. The suspensions essentially ended the Highlanders’ season and proved to be another bump in the road for the Radford program, which has had other players suspended in the last couple of years, and which saw the whole assistant coaching staff changed out this off-season.



However, despite the problems the program has seen the last few years, not all is lost. Radford will field a team that may be short in depth and not very imposing in the paint, but they do have a great guard combo in Bynum and Holcomb-Faye. Both players enter their senior seasons, and both have logged plenty of minutes during their careers. Both are able to run the offense, with Bynum being the better floor general and defender, and Holcomb-Faye being the team’s primary scorer. They will likely get some help from Thomas, who will likely play along side them as a third guard/small forward and could be an impact player in his first year.



The frontcourt is not very big, but is anchored by the versatile play of Oliver. Oliver is a tough match-up, as he is just as likely to shoot a three-pointer as he is to post up. He will get some help from senior Reggie McIntyre, who has shown steady improvement over his career and will play strong in the paint. Unfortunately for Radford, their centers on the roster are very raw, with Ricks and sophomore Colby Trent not getting much playing time last year during their freshman seasons.



There are some glaring holes on this year’s team, so it is not probable to see any sort of postseason run for the Highlanders due to their very short bench and the lack of a prominent big man. However, the trio of Bynum, Holcomb-Faye, and Oliver are good enough to win games for Radford this year, especially against the weaker teams in the Big South. There is a good chance that Holcomb-Faye is going to enter this season refocused after his suspension and put up big numbers and keep Radford around the middle of the standings.



6. High Point Panthers

(Last Season: 13-18; 7-9, T-4th in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Landon Quick, Junior – 6-1, 175 (3.7 ppg, 2.5 apg)

G – Akeem Scott, Senior – 6-1, 180 (7.3 ppg, 2.0 apg, 39.1 3PT%)

F – AZ Reid, Sophomore – 6-5, 205 (4.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

F – Josh Lamons, Freshman – 6-8, 220 (Redshirt Freshman)

F – Issa Konare, Senior – 6-8, 230 (4.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 bpg)



Head Coach Bart Lundy’s first two years at High Point have been interesting to say the least. In his first season, he took a group of mostly newcomers and successfully finished the season 19-11 and had his team one win away from the Big Dance. Last season was not so kind, as the team looked poised to be a conference power before late leads often slipped away and discipline problems haunted the team en route to a middle-of-the-pack finish.



So where does Lundy go from here? His first step was to reload with mostly high school recruits. His first teams were loaded with JuCos, and though they usually were able to step in and contribute immediately, they also did not seem to blend well together. This year’s High Point team is filled with new faces, and though the physical tools of most of these players is impressive, it might be a rebuilding year of sorts for the Panthers.



In the backcourt, Quick and Scott figure to get a bulk of the minutes. Both are solid and speedy players, with Scott being a bit more of a scoring threat. JuCo transfer Mike Jefferson will also be in the mix for playing time at the perimeter, but beyond that, High Point has very little depth at the guard position.



The frontcourt, though, has a lot of bodies. The biggest problem is that the players that will be in the paint are either new or unproven. Reid showed plenty of promise in his freshman year, and is likely to break out when given enough playing time. Konare has been with the program for a few years, but his role has been rather limited. The rest of the frontcourt is populated by newcomers or little used returnees. Lamons is the most likely of the group to have a big year, though do not be surprised to see freshmen Melvin Crowder or Troy Bowen play well either.



High Point is a hard team to read coming into this season. Lundy has proven in the past that he can blend a cast of newcomers together and get results. But he has also shown that the blend has to be done correctly, otherwise a talented group can end up underachieving. Expect High Point to show flashes of great play due to the physical skills of the players on the roster. However, also expect the Panthers to take their lumps at times as youth, inexperience, and a lack of backcourt depth will likely lead to some losses.



7. Birmingham-Southern Panthers

(Last Season: 16-14; 7-9, T-4th in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Bucky McMillan, Junior – 6-4, 180 (5.4 ppg, 2.5 apg, 39.5 3PT%)

G – James Collins, Senior – 6-4, 185 (9.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg)

F – Dwayne Paul, Junior – 6-5, 250 (JuCo Transfer)

F – Thomas Viglianco, Senior – 6-9, 230 (11.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 41.5 3PT%)

F – Sredrick Powe, Senior – 6-7, 225 (Injured Last Season)



Birmingham-Southern fans need to buy a program before they go to watch their Panthers this year, as only five players on the roster have ever played a game in a BSC uniform before. Because of the huge influx of newcomers and the loss of many key parts of coach Duane Reboul’s teams from the last few years, it is nearly impossible to figure out what to expect from this year’s edition of Birmingham-Southern basketball.



Of the few returnees, Reboul will lean heavily on Collins and Viglianco. Collins will attempt to fill Jakob Sigurdarson’s shoes, as he will be expected to score from the outside, and help point guard McMillan run the offense. Collins has played well over the last few years and is capable of exploding on the offensive end, so although he probably will not give the Panthers the same numbers that Sigurdarson did, he is likely to have a big season. Viglianco may be listed as a 6’9″ forward, but he often plays like a guard. He was one of the league’s best three-point shooters last season, but he does use his height to grab a lot of boards for the Panthers.



Collins will get some backcourt help from McMillan and newcomers such as freshmen Reggie Peyton and LeCory Ruffin, but he is about the only sure offensive threat that Reboul has at the guard position. The frontcourt, anchored by Viglianco, will see the return of Powe to the lineup after missing all of last season, and the arrival of plenty of 6’5″-6’9″ newcomers such as Paul, JuCo transfer Sam Mauldin, and freshmen Kyle Rowland, Jarryd Gearhart, and Ifenyi Ehirim. It is impossible to know which of these newcomers will be able to help out the most, but what the Panthers will lack in experience up front will be countered by plenty of depth and decent size.



Duane Reboul runs a variation of the Princeton offense as his teams usually shoot plenty of three-pointers and try to get easy lay-ups through constant motion and plenty of picks on the offensive end. McMillan, Collins, and Viglianco can all light it up from outside, so Reboul should still get enough production from behind the arc, but the question remains as to who will step up on the inside to help the shooters out. Also, even with the strong scoring of Sigurdarson present last year, it seemed that other teams in the league have started to find ways to defend the Reboul offense, so it will be interesting to see if there will be any new wrinkles this year to help the Panthers improve after a rather disappointing offensive showing last year.



Birmingham-Southern was picked by many last year to challenge for the conference title, but they ended up as a middle-of-the-pack team and never had the look of a team that could seriously challenge for the title. With the loss of Sigurdarson, they will need to find a new floor leader in order to challenge this season. The Panthers will show flashes of good play, but wins will be hard to come by this year as Reboul will be forced to continually mix and match lineups in order to find a productive combination that can run his offense.



8. VMI Keydets

(Last Season: 9-18; 3-13, 9th in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Matt Coward, Junior – 6-0, 160 (11.9 ppg, 4.9 apg, 2.0 spg)

G – Lavar Joseph, Senior – 6-2, 170 (9.4 ppg, 35.7 3PT%)

F – Reggie Williams, Sophomore – 6-5, 195 (15.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg)

F – Preston Beverly, Senior – 6-6, 240 (5.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg)

C – Tadas Mankevicius, Senior – 6-9, 230 (3.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 59 FG%)



The Bart Bellairs era is over at VMI, and in comes new head coach Duggar Baucom, who has spent the last couple of years as the head coach at Division II Tusculum College. Baucom looks to bring a controlled high-energy style of game to Lexington and has stressed discipline and conditioning for this year’s team. Obviously, he will look to limit turnovers and mistakes, as those have been the biggest problems with recent Keydet teams, along with poor outside shooting.



As with any team with a new coach, it will be hard to know what to expect until the team hits the court in November. However, given the size (or lack of it) of this year’s team and the strengths of the returning players, you can probably count on the Keydets to try and run whenever they can, and to try and get Williams the ball as often as they can, as he is one of the best pure scorers in this league.



Joining Williams as the featured offensive weapons will be Coward and Joseph. Both guards are able to put points on the board, though both need to be a bit more disciplined and handle the ball better. Junior Fred Robinson will contribute off the bench at the shooting guard position and sophomore Sean Christiansen, along with freshmen Chavis Holmes, Travis Holmes, and Craig McCargo will all see some playing time. And while the Keydet backcourt, along with Williams can be counted on to give VMI some scoring options, the interior players of the Keydets prove to be the biggest offensive question-marks. Baucom’s squad does not have any proven scorers down low, and he also has very little depth in the power forward and center positions. This also has the potential to hamper the Keydets’ interior defense and rebounding, though Williams and Beverly are very solid rebounders for their size. Mankevicius has the size to battle with anyone in the league inside, but he has yet to truly assert himself over his career. Junior Matt Murrer will join sophomore Justin Jarman off the bench to help the frontcourt.



Since VMI has only been in the league for two years, they are still a bit of a mystery to the rest of the league. With a new coach coming in, it is difficult to get a handle on what to expect out of this team. However, they have yet to appear outside of the bottom couple of spots of the standings, and though they have a couple of good players like Williams and Coward, they need to prove that they can protect and shoot the ball better. Also, the lack of depth inside could come back to haunt them this year too.



9. Charleston Southern Buccaneers

(Last Season: 13-17; 7-9, T-4th in Big South)

Projected Starters:

G – Terrell Brown, Senior – 5-9, 155 (10.0 ppg, 3.1 apg, 37.8 3PT%)

G – Thomas Harrison, Senior – 6-1, 180 (8.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

G – Dwayne Jackson, Junior – 6-4, 185 (JuCo Transfer)

F – Trent Drafts, Senior – 6-8, 185 (Injured last season)

F – Ferdinand Cain, Senior – 6-8, 210 (2.2 ppg, 53.5 FG)



The Bucs were one win away from the Big Dance last year, upsetting Liberty and High Point on the road before falling to Winthrop in the championship game. However, CSU faces a lot of questions coming into this year, as they have a new head coach and no experience in the frontcourt.



Almost two months after their season ended last year, CSU head coach Jim Platt unexpectedly resigned, taking a position as an assistant at Army. This left the Charleston Southern administration scrambling for a new coach. They ended up landing Barclay Radebaugh, who spent last year as an assistant at Miami, but before that had a year’s experience as a head coach at Queens College, along with assistant coaching stints at both Winthrop and South Carolina. He likely got the nod due to his experience at coaching in the state of South Carolina and the Big South conference.



Radebaugh inherits a team that has a ton of experience and depth in the backcourt, but having to replace a frontcourt that lost its three best players in Kurtis Rice, Nathan Ball, and Jovan Jegdic. None of the returning ‘big guys’ have any substantial playing experience, with only Cain having spent any substantial time on the court in recent years. Drafts has the height of a forward, but he is much more comfortable on the perimeter than banging bodies down low. Almost all of Radebaugh’s recruiting was aimed at bringing in bodies to fill in down low, but it is too early to tell which, if any, of the newcomers will be able to fill the shoes of the departed players.



The backcourt features plenty of experienced players, and though none of them are likely to garner any first-team all-conference honors at the end of the year, Radebaugh will be able to play a lot of different combinations and keep fresh bodies on the court. Brown will be expected to be the anchor among the guards, and he proved during the second half of his junior year that his outside shot and his speed are both dangerous weapons. Harrison, sophomore Chris Moore, and junior Donnell Covington are all versatile enough to play the one, two, or three spots on the court, though none will completely dazzle you. The X-Factor for CSU’s backcourt is Jackson. One of the Bucs biggest weaknesses is the lack of a true go-to guy, but if Jackson is able to bring the scoring ability that he had in high school and junior college to the BucDome, then he will definitely earn a lot of playing time and open up the floor for Brown, Drafts, and the rest of the team.



With a new coach and no proven players in the paint, it is hard to see CSU having much success this year. Their guards will keep them in games at times, but unless some of the unknowns in the frontcourt emerge to become scoring threats, then defenses will be able to key on the CSU guards. Also, Rice, Ball, and Jegdic were the Bucs’ three best rebounders last year and all solid post defenders. Radebaugh will have to find reliable rebounders or he will be looking at many nights where his team is out-rebounded and out-muscled around the basket. Their guards are good, but not good enough to carry the Bucs out of the bottom portion of the standings.

Big South Conference Championship Game Recap


by Jeremy Dunlap

(1) Winthrop 68, (7) Charleston Southern 46



All season long, Winthrop’s defense has carried the load, and though Charleston Southern did manage to connect on over 48 percent of their shots, the Eagles’ defense gave the Bucs fits, causing 18 turnovers and lifting Winthrop to a 68-46 win in the Big South Championship game. Winthrop’s offense had its moments as well, especially behind the three-point arc, as the Eagles made eleven of their 22 attempts from downtown. The victory gives Winthrop an eighteen game winning streak on their way to their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the last seven seasons.



Winthrop got strong performances out of versatile sophomore forwards Craig Bradshaw and Phillip Williams, along with the normal contributions from their all-conference players, sophomore guard Torrell Martin and junior forward James Shuler. Bradshaw scored eight early points for the Eagles and finished with a team-high sixteen points behind three three-pointers. Williams also drained three trifectas, all seemingly coming at big moments for the Eagles, on his way to an eleven point performance. Shuler scored fourteen points for Winthrop and Martin almost had a double-double, scoring thirteen and grabbing nine rebounds, on his way to earning the tournament MVP award.



The game was close throughout the first half, with Winthrop taking an eight-point lead at one point, but the Bucs were able to tie it up at 22-22 with four minutes left before a 9-3 Winthrop run gave the Eagles a 31-25 halftime lead. The Eagles led throughout the second half, building the lead to twelve points early in the half before CSU made its final run, cutting the Winthrop lead to 44-39 with 10:30 remaining. From that point on, the Eagles controlled the game, outscoring the Bucs 24-7 the rest of the way and icing the game by scoring the last ten points of the contest.



Charleston Southern was led by senior forward Kurtis Rice, who made all three of his three-point attempts and scored a team-high seventeen points. Junior guard Terrell Brown also played well, draining four three-pointers and scoring fourteen points. The Bucs appeared to capable of an upset in the first half, but not surprisingly ran out of gas in the second half. Charleston Southern had been on the road since Monday, winning a pair of road games at Liberty and High Point to get to the championship game as the seventh seed. The Bucs finish the season at 13-17.



Winthrop will take a 27-5 mark and its eighteen game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, with the type of defense and unselfish play that could give them a chance to spring an upset. As it stands right now, the Eagles appear to be a likely candidate for a 14-seed, though if they catch some breaks in other conference tournaments, a 13-seed is not out of the question. And do not be surprised to see the Eagles in a similar position next year. This year’s team only has one senior, and he only averaged nine minutes and two points per game.

Big South Tournament – Semifinals


by Jeremy Dunlap

(Note: All tournament games are played at the home court of the higher seeded team.)



(1) Winthrop 78, (4) Birmingham-Southern 64



Winthrop extended its winning streak to seventeen games and will appear in its fifth Big South championship game of the last seven years after beating Birmingham-Southern, 78-64. BSC played well to start the game, holding leads of 9-3 and 12-7, but Winthrop took control from that point, building the lead to double-figures late in the first half and then never letting the Panthers get closer than nine points the rest of the way.



Winthrop sophomore guard Torrell Martin was the catalyst for the big Eagles’ run in the first half, scoring eighteen of his career-high 25 points in the opening stanza. For the game, Martin connected on nine-of-fifteen field goal attempts, including five- of-eight three-pointers. Martin also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the contest to lead the way for the Eagles. The Eagles shot 50 percent from the field as a team and held the Panther shooters to only 37.3 percent for the contest. Three other Eagles joined Martin in double-figures, with sophomore forward Phillip Williams and junior forward James Shuler each scoring twelve points, while junior forward Otis Daniels scored 11 points.



Birmingham-Southern was led by senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson’s sixteen point effort. The Panthers also got a solid game from junior forward Thomas Viglianco, who scored all fifteen of his points from the three-point arc. The loss ends the Panthers’ season at 16-14 overall.



Winthrop will take its 26-5 overall record, their seventeen game winning streak, and their 15-0 home record to the championship game on Saturday against Charleston Southern. The game will be played at the Winthrop Coliseum, where the Eagles earlier beat the Bucs this season, 58-45.



(7) Charleston Southern 58, (6) High Point 55



High Point dominated the first half, but Charleston Southern came out of the locker room on fire and was able to erase a thirteen point halftime deficit and comeback to beat the Panthers, 58-55. The Buccaneers won their second consecutive road game in the Big South Tournament and will now hit the road again to face Winthrop in the championship game on Saturday afternoon.



Charleston Southern started the game flat and fell behind early due to poor shooting and tough defense by High Point. The Buccaneers only made one out of their fifteen three-point attempts in the first half, and fell behind 31-18 going into the break. However, the Bucs were able to find their outside shot in the second half, making six-of-eleven treys. Sophomore guard Donnell Covington was the spark in the second half, scoring all seventeen of his points in the final twenty minutes, making four three-pointers. Senior forward Kurtis Rice led CSU in scoring with nineteen points, and also led the team in rebounding with ten boards.



High Point did have an opportunity to tie the game at the end, but senior forward Danny Gathings was unable to connect on a three-pointer at the buzzer, leading to a celebration from the unlikely finalists from Charleston. The Panthers were led senior guard Zione White, who scored twelve points, along with junior guard Mark Wilson, who also scored twelve in the game.



The Bucs now face the task of taking on the top seed Winthrop Eagles at the Winthrop Coliseum on Saturday for the Big South Championship. CSU lost both meetings between the two teams this year, but did lead both games at the half and forced overtime when the two teams met last week at the CSU Fieldhouse before losing, 65-62. Charleston Southern is making its first appearance in the finals since 1997, when they beat Liberty to go to their only NCAA Tournament.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Regular Season Champs



With one week remaining in the regular season, Winthrop clinched its fourth regular season Big South title of the last seven years with a pair of victories this past week. The regular season championship gives the Eagles the top seed in the Big South Tournament, which starts on March 1, and also allows them to play all of their tournament games at home in the Winthrop Coliseum.



Winthrop increased its current winning streak to a school-record thirteen games and now holds a conference mark of 13-1 to go along with an impressive 22-5 overall record. Though an at-large NCAA tournament berth remains next-to-impossible, an appearance in the NIT would be likely if the Eagles were to stumble in the conference tournament due to Winthrop’s record and RPI ranking, which currently hovers around 80th in the nation.



VMI is Done



On the other end of the spectrum, VMI will not participate in the conference tournament as they cannot finish out of last place this season. The Keydets currently stand at 2-12 in the league and are three games behind eighth-place Radford with only two games remaining in the regular season.



The rest of the league is still battling for tournament seeding in this upcoming final week. Liberty has virtually clinched the second seed, but they can make it official with a win over third-place UNC Asheville this Thursday. Radford has struggled in past couple of weeks and will have to finish strong to avoid the eighth seed and a first round match-up at Winthrop. The rest of the league is in a tight battle for the third-through-seventh spots as only two games separate the five teams in the middle of the league.



Player of the Week



A badly injured ankle could not prevent Liberty sophomore guard David Dees from earning Hoopville’s Big South Player of the Week honors this week. Dees sprained his left ankle near the end of Liberty’s week-opening win against Coastal Carolina. He sat out the Flames’ next game, but returned to the lineup against Radford to close out the week. In the two games he played, he averaged 24.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.



Team Reports



Winthrop Eagles (22-5, 13-1) Last Week: 2-0



Junior forward James Shuler had the best week of his career and helped lead Winthrop to their two wins last week. Shuler scored a team-high 18 points to go along with 5 rebounds as the Eagles opened the week with a 65-55 victory at Radford. However, he was even better as he notched a career-high 25 points in a 74-66 Homecoming victory over High Point over the weekend.



Winthrop closes out its regular season on the road this week, traveling to VMI on February 23 and ending the week at Charleston Southern on February 26. With the regular season already clinched, do not be surprised if the starters get a little more bench-time this week, but do not expect the Eagles to take either of these two games lightly.



Liberty Flames (12-14, 10-5) Last Week: 2-1



The Liberty Flames withstood Dees’s injury and put themselves in excellent position for the second seed in the conference tournament with another solid week. The Flames opened the week with a tight 72-68 home win over Coastal Carolina. With Dees out of the lineup in their next game at VMI, Liberty slipped a bit and fell to the Keydets, 73-67. However, Dees returned and the Flames overcame a sluggish start in their final regular season home game to beat Radford, 70-62.



Dees led the team in scoring in their two wins with 26 points against Coastal and 23 points in the win over Radford. In the loss to VMI, senior guard Brian Woodson scored 26 points to lead the team. Sophomore guard Larry Blair had a typically strong week as well, scoring 18 points against both VMI and Radford.



The Flames will take the court only one more time in the regular season, as travel to UNC Asheville on February 24. A win for Liberty would clinch the second seed in the tournament, though a loss likely will not drop them to third unless several things happen near the bottom of the standings to cause the Flames to lose a tiebreaker with the Bulldogs.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (11-14, 8-6) Last Week: 2-0



After starting their conference season with an 0-3 record, UNC-Asheville has become one of the hottest teams in the league, winning eight of their last eleven games, including three in a row. This past week, the Bulldogs won both of their contests. They played a pair of home games, beating Birmingham-Southern, 68-59, and defeating Coastal Carolina, 83-71.



In the victory over Birmingham-Southern, junior guard Omar Collington was the star for the Bulldogs, leading the team with 17 points. Junior forward Chad Mohn stepped up in the win over Coastal, nearly getting a double-double with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Senior forward Bryan McCullough also played well against the Chanticleers, scoring 17 points and grabbing 5 boards.



Asheville looks to be in great position for a top-four finish and at least one home tournament game. They will finish their regular season with a home game against Liberty on February 24, then a road contest at Radford two days later.



High Point Panthers (12-15, 7-7) Last Week: 1-1



The swagger of the Panthers looked to be returning as they pounced on Charleston Southern at home to start the week, beating the Bucs 74-56, however, they again found the road a difficult place to play to finish the week. High Point followed up their win against CSU with a trip to Rock Hill and left with a 74-66 loss to Winthrop. The game against the Eagles saw the return of senior forward Danny Gathings, who missed the four previous games due to a suspension stemming from a technical foul two weeks ago. Gathings played 17 minutes in the contest and scored seven points.



High Point used a balanced attack in their win over Charleston Southern, with freshman forward AZ Reid leading the Panthers with 14 points. Senior center Jerry Echenique and sophomore guard Landon Quick both scored 10 points in the contest. In the loss to Winthrop, junior guard Titus Byrd was the go-to guy, scoring 17 points.



The Panthers get to face the bottom two teams in the standings this week as they look to finish in the top four of the conference and earn at least one home game in the tournament. They will host Radford on February 23 before traveling to VMI to close out their regular season on February 26.



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (10-14, 6-7) Last Week: 1-1



There was very little drama this past week for Charleston Southern, as both of the games they were involved in ended in blowouts. For the Bucs, the results were mixed as they were on the wrong end of a 74-56 score at High Point, but beat cross-town rival Citadel, 65-46, before a rowdy home crowd in a non-conference match-up.



The only bright spot for CSU in their loss to High Point was the performance of junior guard Terrell Brown. Brown used his sharp outside shooting to the lead the Bucs with 17 points in the loss. Junior guard Thomas Harrison was the hero in the win over the Citadel, scoring 17 points. Senior center Nathan Ball made his presence known with 14 points and a couple of early blocked shots, and sophomore guard Donnell Covington added to cause an 11 point, 7 rebound effort.



The Buccaneers find themselves with a busy final week, though they do not have to go too far away over the course of the week. CSU will open at in-state rival Coastal Carolina on February 21 before ending the regular season with a pair of home games. Birmingham-Southern will be the first team to visit the BucDome on February 24, then Winthrop will arrive on February 26 to end the regular season.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (9-17, 6-8) Last Week: 0-2



The road continues to give Coastal plenty of problems, as they lost both of their games this week to move their current losing streak to three games and their overall road record to 2-13 for the season. The Chanticleers opened the week at Liberty and gave the Flames a battle throughout, but fell 72-68. A regionally televised match-up at UNC Asheville proved to be worse, as the Chants could not stop the Bulldogs in the second half and fell 83-71.



Freshman guard Jack Leasure continues to put up big numbers for Coastal, as he scored 16 points against Liberty and notched 22 points against UNCA. Junior guard Pele Paelay also played well, getting to double-figures in both games this week with 11 points at Liberty and 15 points at Asheville.



The Chants will be at home to finish the regular season this week. First they will host Charleston Southern on February 21, and then they will entertain Birmingham-Southern on February 26.



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (14-12, 6-8) Last Week: 2-1



The week did not start too well for Birmingham-Southern, as they fell on the road to UNC Asheville, 68-59, however, the Panthers did manage to win a pair of games to close out the week. First, BSC hosted Texas-Pan American in a non-conference battle, and came away victorious, 78-69. The Panthers then showcased their defense in a 60-48 comeback win over VMI to finish the week.



Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson was the Panthers’ leading scorer in two of their games, scoring 15 points against UNCA and 17 points against VMI. Sophomore guard Bucky McMillan led the way for BSC with 19 points in the victory over Texas-Pan American. The biggest offensive surprise came from senior center Augustinas Vitas, who scored in double-figures in all three games of the week, a rare feat for a player who usually does not play many minutes and is relied on mainly for rebounding.



With a modest two-game winning streak in their pocket, the Panthers will travel to the coast of South Carolina to finish the regular season. On February 24, BSC will play at Charleston Southern, and then they will battle Coastal Carolina at Kimbel Arena on February 26. The Panthers are preparing for their first-ever appearance in the Big South Tournament and their first ever opportunity to advance to the Big Dance.



Radford Highlanders (10-15, 5-9) Last Week: 0-3



The short-handed Radford team is really feeling the sting from the recent suspensions that have left the team with only 10 players on the roster. This past week, the Highlanders were unable to find the win column in any of their three games. They started the week at home, but fell to both VMI (67-54) and Winthrop (65-55). The Highlanders then hit the road and gave Liberty a tough game, leading most of the way, but they were unable to stop the Flames in the second half and fell 70-62.



Senior guard Olumuyiwa Popoola reached double-figures in all three Radford games this past week, and also reached the 1000-point plateau for his career with his 13 points against Liberty. Senior forward Brandon Jeffers led the Highlanders with 15 points against VMI while Popoola’s 14 points were the team’s high against Winthrop. In the loss to Liberty, junior guard Andre Bynum was the team’s leading scorer with 14 points.



The Highlanders face a pair of stiff challenges in order to snap their current skid. They will hit the road to start the week and battle High Point at the Millis Center on February 23. Then Radford will return home to face one of the hottest teams in the league, UNC Asheville, on February 26.



VMI Keydets (8-17, 2-12) Last Week: 2-1



As mentioned near the top of this Notebook, VMI clinched last place this week, but they did not go out without a fight. After opening the season with eleven consecutive conference losses, the Keydets managed to beat Radford on the road, 67-54, and then beat Liberty at home, 73-67, before falling 60-48 at Birmingham-Southern.



Freshman forward Reggie Williams did his part to help VMI this week, leading the team in scoring in all three games with 25 points against Radford, 13 points against Liberty, and 12 points against Birmingham-Southern. Williams shared team-high honors against BSC as sophomore guard Matt Coward also scored 12 points.



Though they are only playing for pride, VMI will look to give the home crowd something to cheer about as they host a pair of games to end the season. Winthrop will be their first visitor on February 23 while High Point will come to town on February 26.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Eagles Flying High



Winthrop was faced with a busy four-game schedule this past week, due to a rescheduling of an earlier postponed game, but won all four games and now hold a commanding three-game lead over Liberty with only four games remaining in the regular season. The Eagles only need to win one more game or have Liberty lose once in order to clinch the regular season championship and the number one seed in the conference tournament. With the top seed in the tournament comes the right to host each game you play and for Winthrop, that would be beneficial as they are currently 12-0 this year at the Winthrop Coliseum.



The four wins last week increased Winthrop’s winning streak to eleven games, one short of the school record and the fifth longest current streak in the nation. Also, with a 20-5 overall record, it marks the fourth time in head coach Gregg Marshall’s seven seasons at Winthrop that the Eagles have reached the 20 win plateau, and the first time that it has occurred during the regular season.



Another Suspension



Last week’s Notebook led off with a story about Radford suspending four players for the rest of the year, including one of the best players in the league in Whit Holcomb-Faye. This week brought another high-profile suspension as High Point head coach Bart Lundy suspended senior forward Danny Gathings indefinitely before their game with Winthrop on Tuesday. Gathings, last season’s Big South Player of the Year, has not played in the Panthers’ last three games, though Lundy has mentioned that he will return to the court eventually this season. The suspension stemmed from Gathings’ reaction to a costly technical foul in a High Point loss to UNC Asheville on February 5. Without Gathings in the lineup, the Panthers have gone 1-2.



Player of the Week



Winthrop sophomore guard Torrell Martin was one of the many reasons why Winthrop came out of this week with a 4-0 record. Despite not being much of a factor in Winthrop’s latest game, he still finished the week averaging 16.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals over the four games. Martin also made 24 of 39 field goal attempts (61.5 percent) and made 12 of 22 three-pointers (54.5%)



Team Reports



Winthrop Eagles (20-5, 11-1) Last Week: 4-0



It is not often that a team will have to play four conference games in a six-day span, but the Eagles had that task this past week and seemed to be up for the challenge, winning all four games. Winthrop opened with a 67-60 win at home against UNC Asheville, then hit the road to beat High Point, 72-55, and Liberty, 69-61. Finally, the Eagles returned back home and the defense completely shut down Birmingham-Southern in a 55-41 Eagles win.



Martin was not the only impressive Eagle over the course of those four games. Junior forward James Shuler had a very strong week, reaching double-figures in three of the games and getting a double-double against High Point with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman point guard Chris Gaynor had his best scoring day of his short career against Liberty with 19 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.



The Eagles will look to extend their eleven-game winning streak with a pair of games this week. They will start with a game at Radford on February 16, and then come home for their final regular season game at the Winthrop Coliseum against High Point on February 19.



Liberty Flames (10-13, 8-4) Last Week: 1-1



With a chance to challenge Winthrop for the top spot in the league, the Flames fell to the Eagles at home, 69-61, to snap a fifteen game home conference winning streak. Liberty did get back to their winning ways two days later, though, by knocking off Charleston Southern at home, 70-66.



Sophomore guard David Dees had another stellar week for the Flames. Dees led the dropped a team-high 21 points against Winthrop to go along with 8 rebounds, and scoring 16 points points against Charleston Southern. Sophomore guard Larry Blair led the Flames with 19 points in their win over Charleston Southern and senior forward Leo Lightbourne had a double-double against Winthrop.



Liberty will have a busy week, playing three games in a six-day span. The Flames begin with a home contest against Coastal Carolina on Valentine’s Day, before hitting the road to face VMI on February 17. Their week will close out with a February 19 meeting at home against their biggest rival, Radford.



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (9-13, 6-6) Last Week: 1-1



As is normal for Charleston Southern, they had a couple of close games this week, splitting a pair of Big South games to stay at the .500 mark. The Bucs started the week at home with a nail-biting 56-50 win over VMI. CSU then traveled to Liberty and fell 70-66 in a game that was close most of the way.



Junior guard Thomas Harrison continues to improve over the course of the season. Harrison led the Bucs with 13 points in their win over VMI and scored 15 points against Liberty. He also was able to grab 8 rebounds in each of the games. Senior center Nathan Ball was CSU’s leading scorer against Liberty, scoring 17 points to go along with 6 rebounds.



The Buccaneers will be on the road at High Point in their only Big South game of the week. However, Charleston Southern will play a non-conference game, hosting The Citadel on February 17.



High Point Panthers (11-14, 6-6) Last Week: 1-2



High Point had a busier than expected week as their earlier game against Winthrop that was postponed was rescheduled this week to tip-off a three-game in five-day stretch for the Panthers. Without Gathings in the line-up, High Point only managed to win one game, a 79-72 home win over Coastal Carolina to close the week out. Before that game, the Panthers fell at home to Winthrop 72-55 and fell in a tight battle at Birmingham-Southern, 74-73.



In Gathings’ absence due to suspension, other players were forced to step up. Senior center Jerry Echenique was strong all week, averaging 14 points over the three games including a 20 point, 9 rebound effort in the Panthers’ win over Coastal Carolina. Junior guard Akeem Scott was the team’s leading scorer against Birmingham-Southern with 21 points while junior forward Mark Wilson scored 15 points to lead all High Point scorers in the loss to Winthrop.



The Panthers will look to avenge a pair of losses that they suffered earlier in the season this week. They will first host Charleston Southern on February 14, a team that beat them 76-74 in January. Then High Point will head to Winthrop on February 19 to face an Eagles team that won the first meeting, 72-55.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (9-14, 6-6) Last Week: 1-1



The Bulldogs spent this past week on the road, falling to Winthrop, 67-60, then beating VMI 77-72. Both games were close for the duration, with UNCA unable to stop Winthrop’s offense in the second half in the loss, but being able to hold off VMI in the second half in their win.



Junior forward Chad Mohn has emerged as an inside threat for the Bulldogs. In prior years, he was more known as an outside shooter, but recently he has filled in well in the paint area, as well as continuing to be effective from outside. This past week, Mohn led UNCA in scoring in both of their games with 14 points against Winthrop and 19 points against VMI. Senior forward Bryan McCullough shared team-high honors with Mohn against Winthrop with 14 points. Sophomore guard K.J. Garland had a strong all-around game in the win over VMI, scoring 15 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 6 assists.



UNCA will not have to leave the friendly confines of the Justice Center this week as they will host a pair of conference games. First the Bulldogs will battle Birmingham-Southern on February 14, then they will take on Coastal Carolina in a regionally televised game on February 18.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (9-15, 6-6) Last Week: 1-1



Coastal Carolina started the week strong, easily defeating a short-handed Radford team at home, 79-61. However, the Chanticleers were unable to take advantage of a Danny Gathings-less High Point, losing to the Panthers on the road, 79-72.



Freshman guard Jack Leasure continues to make his case for the Big South’s Freshman of the Year award. Leasure led the Chants in scoring in both of their games, scoring 22 points in the win over Radford and 23 points in the loss to High Point. Junior guard Pele Paelay also had a solid week, averaging 14.5 points over the two games and averaging 8.5 rebounds over the week.



A couple of challenging road games face the Chanticleers this week. Coastal will head to Liberty on February 14, then they will take on UNC Asheville on February 18.



Radford Highlanders (10-12, 5-6) Last Week: 0-1



Though Radford was able to win in their first game without their four suspended players, they found the going much tougher this week in their only game. The Highlanders fell on the road at Coastal Carolina 79-61 and struggled to get anything going against the Chanticleers.



As to be expected without Holcomb-Faye in the lineup, sophomore forward Chris Oliver and senior forward Brandon Jeffers were the most productive players for the Highlanders. Both forwards scored 17 points in the loss and Oliver was able to grab 6 rebounds.



The Highlanders will start the week with a pair of home contests. First they will host VMI on February 14, and then they will welcome Winthrop to the TerrorDome on February 16. Radford will then hit the road to finish the week, battling Liberty at the Vines Center on February 19.



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (12-11, 5-7) Last Week: 1-1



Things were looking up for the Panthers, as they beat High Point at home to start the week, 74-73, then got senior center Shema Mbyirukira back into the lineup before their second game after he had missed several games with an injury. However, Birmingham-Southern was unable to capitalize on Mbyirukira’s return as they fell to Winthrop, 55-41.



In their win over High Point, BSC was helped by a huge game from junior guard James Collins. Collins led the team with 25 points and also managed to grab 7 rebounds. Junior forward Thomas Viglianco also had a strong game in the win, scoring 22 points. Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson was the team’s leading scorer against Winthrop with 16 points, but the Panthers struggled on the offensive end, only making nine field goals and shooting 22.5 percent from the floor in the game.



On February 14, the Panthers will look to get back in the win column on the road at UNC Asheville. Then BSC will head back home for a pair of games. First they will host Texas-Pan American on February 17 in a non-conference match-up, then they will take on VMI on February 19 in their final regular season game at the Bill Battle Coliseum.



VMI Keydets (6-16, 0-11) Last Week: 1-2



VMI snapped a 13-game losing streak over the week as they hosted Longwood in a non-conference battle and beat the visiting Lancers, 65-52. However, that game was surrounded by a pair of conference losses, leaving the Keydets searching for their first Big South win of the year. VMI first fell at Charleston Southern, 56-50, and then hosted UNC Asheville to close out the week and losing 77-72.



The only VMI player that consistently played well this past week was sophomore guard Matt Coward. Coward reached double-figures in all three Keydet games and also dished out 8 assists against UNC Asheville.



The Keydets will have three chances this week to get in the win column for the first time in Big South play. They will play at Radford on February 14 and at Birmingham-Southern on February 19. Between those games, VMI will be at home to face the Liberty Flames.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Four Highlanders Suspended



The biggest news of the week in the Big South came out of Radford, as head coach Byron Samuels announced soon before the Highlanders’ game at Charleston Southern on Saturday that four of his players had been suspended for the remainder of the season. All four were suspended for a violation of team rules and athletic department policy. The specific actions that led to the suspension were not specified when the suspensions were handed down.



The list of players is headlined by junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye. Holcomb-Faye was the conference’s leading scorer last year and was having another solid season as he was second on the team in scoring and led Radford in assists at the time of the suspension. Junior forward Chris Goodin, freshman guard Branden Smith, and walk-on junior guard Tom Hayes were the other players suspended.



Busy Schedules



A decision was finally made over the past week as to the date of the rescheduled game between High Point and Winthrop. The two will face-off at High Point’s Millis Center on Tuesday, February 8 for a make-up game due to their January 29th meeting being postponed due to wintry weather. This creates a hectic period for both squads as the game had to be squeezed in to accommodate both squads.



Winthrop will now have a week in which they will play four games in six days beginning this Monday. The Eagles will play on back-to-back nights, with a home game Monday against UNC Asheville before heading to High Point for a game the next night. They will follow those games with a road game at Liberty on Thursday, February 10 and then close out the week at home against Birmingham-Southern on February 12. High Point’s schedule is not much easier, though they will not have to play on back-to-back days. The make-up game will start a stretch of four games in seven days for the Panthers as they will play every-other-night beginning on Tuesday, February 8 and ending on Monday, February 14.



Player of the Week



UNC-Asheville has improved quite a bit from the start of the season, and a big part of that is the resurgence of sophomore guard K.J. Garland, this week’s Player of the Week. Garland played very well for the Bulldogs as they split a pair of games. Over the two contests, Garland averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game.



Team Reports



Winthrop Eagles (16-5, 7-1) Last Week: 1-0



It was a light week of action for the Eagles, as they only took the court only once and had an easy time in a 69-44 home victory over VMI. The Keydets kept it close for the first few minutes, but the lead ballooned to double-digits in the first half and Winthrop never looked back, even stretching the lead to 30 at times in the second half. Sophomore forward Phillip Williams led the team with 16 points while junior forward James Shuler added 15 points.



As mentioned earlier in this Notebook, Winthrop faces a stretch of four games in six days, starting with a home contest against UNC Asheville on Monday, February 7.



Liberty Flames (9-12, 7-3) Last Week: 2-0



Liberty responded well after their loss last week at Radford by recovering and winning a pair of tough games this week. The Flames started the week with revenge on their mind as they hosted a High Point team that beat them by 17 points to start the conference season. In a game that was close for most of the way, Liberty was able to fight back from a nine-point second half deficit to win 84-81. Comebacks proved to be Liberty’s forte this week, as they needed to come from behind again in a 73-69 road win a Birmingham-Southern. Again, the Flames trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, and again they found a way to win in the end.



Liberty got its normal strong production from sophomore guards David Dees and Larry Blair and senior forward Leo Lightbourne. Each of those three players reached double-figures in both games last week, with Lightbourne having the biggest performance as he scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against High Point. Senior point guard Brian Woodson also had a stellar game against HPU, scoring 13 points while dishing out 8 assists and grabbing 6 rebounds. Dees led all Flames’ scorers against Birmingham-Southern with 19 points.



The Flames will begin a three-game home stand with two games this week, beginning on February 10 against Winthrop, in what could be a battle for first place depending on what the Eagles do earlier in the week. Liberty closes the week by hosting Charleston Southern.



High Point Panthers (10-12, 5-4) Last Week: 0-2



The inability to close out late leads and win on the road both came back to haunt High Point this past week as they failed to hold onto late second half leads in losses at Liberty and UNC Asheville this past week. Against Liberty, the Panthers held a nine point lead with a little under eight minutes to go, but fell victim to a big Flames run and senior forward Danny Gathings missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer in the 84-81 loss. In the loss to UNC Asheville, High Point led by twelve with less than twelve minutes remaining but could not contain the Bulldogs for the final ten minutes of the game as the Panthers fell 89-77.



The loss to Liberty overshadowed a very solid performance from junior guard Akeem Scott. He scored a career-high 21 points and added 4 assists and 5 rebounds for the Panthers. Senior guard Zione White was the go-to guy against UNC Asheville, connecting on five three-pointers on his way to a team-high 17 points.



High Point will look to snap its two-game skid with the make-up game at home against Winthrop on February 8. The Panthers will then finish the week with a road tilt at Birmingham-Southern on February 10 and a home battle with Coastal Carolina on February 12.



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (8-12, 5-5) Last Week: 1-1



As a potential game-winning shot rimmed out for Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern saw its four game losing streak end last week as they beat the Chanticleers 64-62 at home. However, the thrill of that victory was short-lived as they turned around and fell on their own court to Radford, 66-56, to close out the week.



The victory over Coastal saw the Bucs come back from a ten point deficit with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game. Senior center Jovan Jegdic had the most productive night of his career at CSU, scoring 18 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Junior guard Terrell Brown added 13 points while senior forward Kurtis Rice chipped in with 12 points. Against Radford, the Bucs were led by junior guard Thomas Harrison and his 15 points. However, his strong effort was not enough to overcome the Highlanders.



The Bucs’ current four-game home stand will end on Monday with a battle against last-place VMI. The only other game during the week for Charleston Southern will be on February 12 when the Bucs hit the road to face Liberty.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (8-13, 5-5) Last Week: 1-1



It was an up-and-down week for the Bulldogs, as they looked overmatched in a tough 70-54 road loss at Coastal Carolina to start the week, but scored 61 points in the second half to comeback and beat High Point at home, 89-77. The Bulldogs outscored the Panthers 27-11 after a late High Point technical foul as they fought back from a deficit of as much as 12 points in the second half.



Sophomore guard K.J. Garland had his best week of the season, scoring a team-high 19 points against Coastal Carolina and leading the team with 20 points against High Point. Senior forward Bryan McCullough also scored 20 points against High Point while junior forward Chad Mohn had a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.



Two road games stare the Bulldogs in the face for this upcoming week. First, UNCA will head south to face the first place Winthrop Eagles on February 7. Then the Bulldogs will head up north to take on VMI on February 12.



Radford Highlanders (10-11, 5-5) Last Week: 1-1



The suspensions mentioned at the top of this Notebook are sure to overshadow anything that happened on the court this week for the Highlanders, as they managed to split a pair of games. With their full roster, Radford fell in a tight contest at home against Birmingham-Southern, 64-62. However, while missing Whit Holcomb-Faye and the other suspended players, the Highlanders managed to win on the road and avenge an earlier loss to Charleston Southern, beating the Bucs 66-56.



Holcomb-Faye scored a team-high 15 points in his final game of the season in the loss to Birmingham-Southern. However, the junior guard did miss a pair of free throws as the Highlanders trailed by two points with just a few seconds remaining in the game. Sophomore forward Chris Oliver was the hero in the victory over CSU later in the week, leading the team with 21 points and snagging 8 rebounds.



It will be a light week for the short-handed Highlanders, as they will play at Coastal Carolina on February 7 in their only game of the week. Radford will then have a week to get accustomed to their new line-up in practice before they have to play another game.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (8-14, 5-5) Last Week: 2-1



A busy week proved to be rather successful for the Chants, as they won two out of their three games this week and sit squarely in the middle of the crowded field in the middle of the Big South standings. Home proved to be a good place for Coastal, with the Chanticleers winning their first game of the week, a 70-54 home victory over UNC Asheville, and closed the week with a 75-70 victory over VMI in Kimbel Arena. Those victories were sandwiched around a tough road loss at Charleston Southern. The Chants held the lead for most of the second half before falling 64-62.



Junior guard Pele Paelay led the Chanticleers in scoring in both of their wins, dropping 16 points against UNCA and scoring 23 points against VMI. Sophomore forward Adrian Gross also had a very strong week with double-doubles against UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern.



The Chanticleers will start this next week at home against Radford on Monday night. Following that game, though, Coastal will start a three-game road swing with a match-up at High Point on Saturday, February 12.



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (11-10, 4-6) Last Week: 1-1



Birmingham-Southern was able to hold on for an impressive 64-62 road win at Radford in a regionally televised contest, but the Panthers continue to struggle at home, falling to Liberty 73-69 to fall to 2-4 at home in league games this season. Coming into this season, the Panthers had a 330-35 record at Bill Battle Coliseum, making it one of the toughest courts to visit in the nation. This dominance at home was evident last season as they were 7-1 against the Big South in their building. However, the Panthers have been unable to find their rhythm at home this year, leading to them failing to live up to their preseason expectations.



In the victory at Radford, junior guard James Collins led the way with 18 points behind a perfect 4-for-4 night behind the arc. Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson did his best to give the Panthers a chance to beat Liberty later in the week, but his 29 point performance was not enough.



The Panthers have a pair of difficult battles ahead of them this week. First they will host a High Point team on February 10 that beat them by 13 points earlier this season. Two days later, BSC will head to Winthrop to face an Eagle squad that already knocked off the Panthers in Birmingham.



VMI Keydets (5-14, 0-9) Last Week: 0-2



The struggles continue for the Keydets, as their chances of getting out of the cellar and being able to participate in the Big South’s eight-team postseason conference tournament are getting slimmer by the week. VMI hit the road twice this past week, and was unable to come away with a win either time. Their first stop was at Winthrop, and the Keydets were quickly out of the game, losing 69-44. Coastal Carolina was their second stop, and they played much better, even grabbing the lead at one point in the second half, but they were unable to hold off the Chants at the end, falling 75-70.



Freshman forward Reggie Williams continues to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dark season for the Keydets. He led the team in scoring in both games as he averaged 16 points over the two games. Senior center Tim Allmond has also picked up his play lately, scoring 10 points against Winthrop and 11 points against Coastal Carolina.



The Keydets will have two chances this week to end their winless run in the conference, along with playing a late-season non-conference game. They will begin the week on the road at Charleston Southern on February 7 before coming home for a pair of games to close the week. Longwood will come into Lexington on February 10, and then the Keydets will host UNC Asheville on February 12.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Oh My, VMI

After a promising start to the season during their non-conference schedule, the VMI Keydets have fell on very hard times as their losing streak has now reached ten games after an 0-3 week. With a win over Virginia Tech in early December and five wins in their first seven games, it looked as if VMI could pick up a healthy share of wins in the Big South this year, however, they have found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard in all seven of their conference games, with only one of those games being decided by less than ten points.

Bart Bellairs’ squad can point to many reasons why they are struggling. They turn the ball over nearly eighteen times a game and though they take a lot of shots from behind the arc, they have rarely been able to make enough shots from there to avoid long scoring droughts. Things do not appear to get much easier for the Keydets either, as they will finish their first rotation through the conference with a game at first-place Winthrop on Monday night.

Ice Ice Baby

Speaking of Winthrop, their highly-anticipated match-up against the high-octane Panthers of High Point was postponed over the weekend due to an ice/snow storm that hit the Carolinas. The game would have pitted the top two teams in the standings at High Point’s Millis Center in front of an anticipated big crowd and regional television cameras. No make-up date was announced when the postponement decision was made.

Player of the Week

Nobody in the Big South had a jaw-dropping type of week, but UNC Asheville senior forward Bryan McCullough led the Bulldogs in scoring in both of their games, as they went 2-0 for the week and creeped back into the middle of the standings. McCullough dropped 15 points against Radford to start the week and also added 16 points in the Bulldogs’ road win at Charleston Southern.

Team Reports - (Note: Teams are now listed in the order that they appear in the conference standings)

Winthrop Eagles (15-5, 6-1) Last Week: 1-0

Though ice and snow did not allow Winthrop to play at High Point this week, the Eagles did manage to take the court once, and won an ugly battle at home against Charleston Southern, winning 58-45. Winthrop’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Torrell Martin, showed up only 30 minutes before game-time after oversleeping after taking medication for a stomach bug. Martin did not start the game and seemed sluggish at times, though his dunk on an alley-oop play in the second half energized the crowd and helped Winthrop pull away from the Bucs. Martin scored 10 points in the game as sophomore forward Craig Bradshaw led the Eagles with 12 points and junior forward James Shuler just missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Winthrop is scheduled to have a light week, with only one game on its slate, a home battle with VMI on January 31. However, there is a chance that the postponed High Point game could be made up later in the week.

High Point Panthers (10-10, 5-2) Last Week: 1-0

High Point looked a bit sluggish early on in their only game that was played this past week, as they pulled away in the second half to beat VMI at home, 88-72. The game was close for most of the first 25 minutes, but a strong shooting performance in the second half led to a convincing margin for the Panthers. Junior guard Mark Wilson led the way with 22 points and senior forward Danny Gathings had a solid night with 16 points and 7 rebounds. As mentioned above, the Panthers’ other scheduled contest, a home battle for first place against Winthrop, was postponed due to icy road conditions.

High Point will take its show on the road for its next three games, with two of those games coming in the upcoming week. The Panthers will first travel to Liberty on February 1, and then they will head to UNC Asheville on February 5. High Point had little trouble with either team when they came to the Millis Center earlier in the season, as the Panthers won both games by double-digits.

Liberty Flames (7-12, 5-3) Last Week: 1-1

Liberty moved their winning streak to five games with a 91-71 stomping of VMI early in the week at home, but could not continue the streak as they traveled to Radford and fell 69-64 over the weekend. In the win over VMI, the Flames had three players score 20 points or more. Sophomore guard David Dees led LU with 23 points, while senior center Leo Lightbourne added 21 points and 9 rebounds and sophomore guard Larry Blair chipped in with 20 points. Blair and Dees also led the Flames in the scoring column against Radford, but the Highlanders did a decent job of keeping the high-scoring duo in check, as Blair had 15 points and Dees had 13 points to go along with 9 rebounds.

The Flames will tip-off this week on February 1 with a huge game at home against High Point, a team that beat them by 17 points in their first meeting this year. Then Liberty will head to Alabama to take on Birmingham-Southern on February 5. The Flames manage to edge the Panthers in their first meeting this year, 74-72.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers (7-11, 4-4) Last Week: 0-2

The magic that accompanied the Bucs as they won their first four league games has gone away as CSU has now lost four in a row and dropped to .500 in the Big South. The Bucs opened the week on the road with a 58-45 loss to Winthrop before coming home and losing a heartbreaker to UNC Asheville, 66-63. Against UNCA, Charleston Southern blew a ten point lead early in the second half and fell behind by as many as fourteen points, before fighting back and making the game close at the end. However, with the Bucs down by three, freshman guard Chris Moore was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left and missed all three free throws.

Junior guard Terrell Brown had a breakout week for the Bucs, scoring 16 points against Winthrop and 20 points against UNC Asheville. Brown made 10 three-pointers over the course of the two games and allowed the Bucs to stay close in both contests.

Charleston Southern will remain home all week with a pair of games at the CSU Fieldhouse. The Bucs will first host Coastal Carolina on February 3 before welcoming Radford into their gym on February 5.

UNC Asheville Bulldogs (7-12, 4-4) Last Week: 2-0

After dropping their first three Big South games, the Bulldogs have found their mojo, as they have won their last two games and four of their last five contests to move to .500 in league play. This past week, UNCA held off Radford at home, 75-72, before hitting the road and knocking off Charleston Southern, 66-63. In both games, the Bulldogs got some help by late missed shots by their opponents. Against Radford, RU’s Whit Holcomb-Faye had two attempts to tie it up in the last ten seconds, but could not hit the big shot from behind the arc. CSU had a chance to tie the game at the line with a second remaining in the game, but none of the free throws fell and UNCA came away with the victory.

Along with McCullough’s very solid week (15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game), the Bulldogs also got a pair of good performances from junior forward Chad Mohn. Mohn cracked double-figures in both games this week, scoring 14 points and getting 8 rebounds against Radford, and also scoring 10 points against CSU.

UNCA will finish off their two-game road trip with a January 31 battle at Coastal Carolina. Then the Bulldogs will return home to face High Point on February 5.

Radford Highlanders (9-10, 4-4) Last Week: 1-1

The up-and-down season continued for Radford this past week as the Highlanders continue to hover around .500 for both the overall season and Big South after a 1-1 week. RU opened the week with a tough road loss, falling 75-72 at UNC Asheville before cooling off the red-hot Liberty Flames, 69-64 at the Dedmon Center.

Despite missing a couple of three-pointers in the final seconds that would have sent the game to overtime, junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye had a very solid game against UNC Asheville, leading the team with 20 points. He also added 12 points in the win over Liberty, but the hero of that game was junior guard Andre Bynum, who scored a career high and team leading 15 points.

Radford will host Birmingham-Southern to start the week with a regionally televised game on January 31. Then the Highlanders will hit the road for their annual ‘beach’ trip, starting on February 5 at Charleston Southern.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-13, 3-4) Last Week: 1-0

The Chanticleers only took the court once this past week, and in an exciting game, Coastal was able to hold on for a 69-68 win at Birmingham-Southern. The Chants held a big lead through most of the game, leading by as much as 18 points late in the first half. However, the Panthers got to within a point late in the second half, but Coastal was able to hold onto the lead and get the win. Junior guard Pele Paelay and freshman guard Jack Leasure each scored 21 points in the victory. Sophomore forward Moses Sonko was the only other Chanticleer in double-figures, scoring 13 points.

The Chants will have a busy week, playing three games in the next six days. They will first host UNC Asheville on January 31 before heading down US-17 to face Charleston Southern on February 3. Then Coastal will head back home and host VMI on February 5 to close out the week.

Birmingham-Southern Panthers (10-9, 3-5) Last Week: 1-1

Birmingham-Southern’s Bill Battle Coliseum used to be known as one of the toughest places for any visiting to win in, but the Panthers fell to 2-3 at home in Big South games as Coastal Carolina squeaked by with a 69-68 win at the Battle to open BSC’s week. Things did get better at the end of the week for the Panthers though, as they did manage to win on the road, beating VMI, 66-59.

The loss to Coastal came despite a big game by senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson. He scored 26 points and added 5 assists in the loss while junior forward Thomas Viglianco scored 19 points and grabbed 8 boards. Viglianco was the leading scorer in BSC’s win over VMI later in the week, as he tallied 13 points for the Panthers. Sigurdarson and senior guard Jimmy Amerson were the only other Birmingham-Southern players in double-figures in the victory.

The Panthers will look to try and move back towards the middle of the standings with a pair of games this week. First, they will finish off their two-game road trip with a January 31 match-up at Radford. Then the Panthers will return home and take on Liberty on February 5.

VMI Keydets (5-12, 0-7) Last Week: 0-3

The top of this Notebook noted VMI’s rocky season, and it was an ugly week for the Keydets as they dropped all three of their games. First they traveled to Liberty, falling 91-71 in a regionally televised contest. Then the Keydets headed to High Point and played the Panthers tough for a while, but ended up falling 88-72. The other Panthers of the league (Birmingham-Southern) came calling in VMI’s final game of the week, but playing on their home court did not seem to help the Keydets, as they fell 66-59.

Freshman forward Reggie Williams and sophomore guard Matt Coward continue to play well despite their team’s woes. Williams topped 20 points twice this week while Coward cracked double-digits in points in all three games and also had 13 assists over the three games.

The Keydets kick off a three game road-trip this week as they will first head to Winthrop on January 31, then battle Coastal Carolina in Conway on February 5. Coming into this week, VMI holds a 2-7 record on the road, with three of those losses coming against Big South teams.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Halfcourt Heroics



Saturday night proved to be an exciting night in Radford, Virginia as the Highlanders hosted High Point. After making a baseline jumper with about ten seconds remaining in overtime to put his team up by one, Radford junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye then had to come through again after High Point senior center Jerry Echenique gave the Panthers an 83-82 lead with under five seconds left in the game with a short jumper. Holcomb-Faye took the inbounds pass dribbled it up court as far as he could and launched a 55-foot shot as the buzzer sounded. The ball hit the front rim and sprung straight up above the basket before falling through the net and giving Radford the improbable 85-83 victory in front of their fans at the Dedmon Center.



Even before Holcomb-Faye made his miracle shot, Radford nailed a clutch shot near the end of regulation by an unlikely source. After High Point junior guard Akeem Scott only made one of two free throws with 22 seconds remaining in regulation, High Point held a three point lead as Radford freshman center Josh Fox drained a three-point basket with only eight seconds remaining to send the game to its extra period. From there, the end of game heroics occurred, making for a memorable night for all of Radford’s fans.



Eagles Alone in First



The buzzer-beater by Holcomb-Faye, combined with Charleston Southern’s 26-point loss at Birmingham-Southern and an 80-66 Winthrop win over Coastal Carolina broke a three-way tie for first place on Saturday and left the Eagles alone in first place as the week ended. Winthrop now has a 5-1 conference record as they extended their winning streak to five games and avenged their earlier loss to Coastal Carolina in their conference opener. Charleston Southern and High Point both fell to 4-2 with their losses and found themselves tied with the red-hot Liberty Flames, who won their fourth straight game on Saturday as they beat UNC Asheville.



Player of the Week



Another 2-0 week leads to another Liberty player getting the Hoopville Big South Player of the Week honor. Last week, it was Leo Lightbourne, and this week, the honor goes to sophomore guard David Dees. Dees averaged 25 points in the two Liberty victories and scored the go-ahead basket late in the game to give Liberty the win over UNC Asheville. To go along with his scoring, Dees did also add 5.5 rebounds per game.



Team Reports



Winthrop Eagles (14-5, 5-1) Last Week: 2-0



As mentioned above, the Eagles find themselves at the top of the standings after winning a pair of games this past week. Winthrop was able to go on the road and come away with a hotly contested 65-57 win at Birmingham-Southern. The Eagles were red-hot in the second half, making nine of their ten three-point attempts and made a late run to put the game away. Coastal Carolina was Winthrop’s second victim, as the Chants came into Winthrop Coliseum and left with an 80-66 loss.



Sophomore guard Torrell Martin continues to lead the way for Winthrop, as he led the team in scoring in both games, putting up a career-high 24 points against Birmingham-Southern and adding 16 points and 10 rebounds against Coastal Carolina. Junior forward James Shuler also had a solid week, looking fully recovered from an ankle injury he had a couple of weeks ago as he scored 15 points in both of the Eagles’ games.



Winthrop will face a couple of tough tests in the week ahead as they battle two of the teams right behind them in the standings. The Eagles will first host Charleston Southern on January 25 before hitting the road to battle High Point on January 29.



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (7-9, 4-2) Last Week: 0-2



An undefeated start to conference play survived four games for the Bucs, but a pair of tough losses has brought the CSU squad back to the pack a bit this week. They started the week at home and fell victim Liberty, 71-59 before hitting the road and getting shellacked by Birmingham-Southern, 67-41. The offensive woes that plagued the Bucs in the non-conference part of the schedule came back to haunt them as they struggled to find the basket, shooting just over 36 percent in both games.



With points hard to come by, there were not too many standout performances for Charleston Southern over the past two games. Senior forward Kurtis Rice did manage 13 points against Liberty, but only scored four in the loss to Birmingham-Southern. The Bucs were led by freshman guard Chris Moore’s 12 points in that game, with junior forward Ferdinand Cain being the only CSU player in double-figures with 11 points.



The Bucs will look to get back in the win column this week with a pair of difficult games. They will first travel to the Winthrop Coliseum on January 25 to battle the Winthrop Eagles, then they will return home and host UNC Asheville on January 29, in the first of four straight home games for CSU.



High Point Panthers (9-10, 4-2) Last Week: 1-1



High Point split a pair of road games this past week, easily defeating Coastal Carolina 79-64 before falling victim to Radford’s halfcourt shot mentioned at the top of this Notebook. In the win at Coastal Carolina, the Panthers were led by the scoring of junior forward Mark Wilson, who tallied 21 points. Senior guard Zione White helped the cause with 14 points and senior center Jerry Echenique scored 11 points. Echenique became the go-to guy in the loss to Radford. Besides giving High Point the late lead in overtime with his shot with five seconds remaining, he led the team with 18 points. Wilson added 16 points, with eight of them coming in the extra period. Senior forward Danny Gathings had a double-double in the game, scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.



After their recent travels, High Point will get to play host for its two games this week. First, VMI will visit the Millis Center on January 26 before Winthrop comes into town on January 29 in a game that will be regionally televised.



Liberty Flames (6-11, 4-2) Last Week: 2-0



Liberty extended its winning streak to four games, as the Flames won both of their games this week. Liberty first ended Charleston Southern’s perfect league start by winning at the CSU Fieldhouse, 71-59. Then the Flames came back home and battled back from numerous deficits in beating UNC Asheville, 72-71. Liberty trailed by eight at halftime and found themselves behind late before David Dees hit a three-pointer to cut the Bulldog lead to one point, then converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Flames a late two-point lead. Senior forward Leo Lightbourne then hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to ice the game.



Dees was the star of the week for Liberty, leading the team in scoring in both games, with 26 points against Charleston Southern and 24 points against UNC Asheville. Lightbourne had a big game against UNCA, scoring 20 points and pulling down 7 rebounds to go along with the game-clinching free throws.



In looking to extend their current streak, Liberty will have to first defend their home-court, where they have won 13 straight games against conference opponents. They will face VMI at home on January 24 before hitting the road to face rival Radford on January 29.



Radford Highlanders (8-9, 3-3) Last Week: 2-0



The Highlanders had an excellent week, winning both of their contests and putting themselves right back into the middle of the standings after falling near the bottom in the previous week. Radford first started by pulling away in the second half and broke open a close game at VMI and winning, 78-62. Then the Highlanders made the highlight reels as Whit Holcomb-Faye won the game with his halfcourt shot against High Point.



Radford has had a host of strong performances from their top three players. Holcomb-Faye averaged 19.5 points in the two games while senior guard Olumuyiwa Popoola averaged 18.5 points per contest. Sophomore forward Chris Oliver continued his strong year by scoring 17 points in each game, along with grabbing 12 rebounds against VMI and 7 boards against High Point.



UNC-Asheville will be the Highlanders’ next foe, as the Radford will travel to the mountains of North Carolina to face the Bulldogs on January 26. Then the Highlanders will return home to face neighboring Liberty on January 29.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (5-12, 2-4) Last Week: 1-1



The Bulldogs made their way from one corner of the conference’s footprint to the other last week with a pair of road games. First, the Bulldogs had to go southwest to battle Birmingham-Southern and came out of Alabama with a huge 78-58 victory. However, the travel caught up to UNCA as they headed the opposite way, northeast of their campus, and fought hard before falling late to Liberty, 72-71.



Sophomore guard Steven Rush continued his stellar second season by leading the team in scoring in both games, dropping 20 points against Birmingham-Southern and joining a pair of teammates with 15 points against Liberty. Senior forward Bryan McCullough and sophomore guard K.J. Garland were the other Bulldogs in the game to score 15 points.



UNCA will enjoy a quick stop at home as they host Radford on January 25. However, it will be back on the road as the Bulldogs will make their annual trip to the beach, starting with a contest at Charleston Southern on January 29.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (5-13, 2-4) Last Week: 0-2



The Chants had the misfortune of having to face possibly the two most athletic programs in the conference in the same week, and the results of both games were eerily similar as the Chants have now lost three games in a row. First, Coastal hosted High Point and found it hard to stop High Point’s Mark Wilson as the Panthers handed CCU a 79-64 defeat. Winthrop was Coastal’s second foe of the week, and Coastal could not stop the Eagles’ inside game as they fell 80-66.



Junior guard Pele Paelay moved into the Big South’s scoring lead with a pair of solid games. Paelay first put up 18 points against High Point before lighting up Winthrop for 30 points. Those two performances moved his scoring average up to 18.2 points per game and ahead of Liberty’s Larry Blair.



The Chants find themselves with only on game this week, but it will be a long drive as they have to travel to Birmingham-Southern. Coastal will face BSC on January 24 before taking a week off before their next contest.



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (9-8, 2-4) Last Week: 1-2



The week started ugly for the Panthers, as they fell twice on their home court, a place they rarely lose. However, they were able to save some face by defending their floor in their final game of the week. The first of the losses was an embarrassing 78-58 loss to UNC Asheville. The twenty point defeat marked the largest margin in a loss at Bill Battle Coliseum for the Panthers. Then Birmingham-Southern was unable to stop a late charge by Winthrop as they fell 65-57 to the Eagles. However, BSC was able to quickly turn things around as they completely destroyed Charleston Southern 67-41 to close out the week.



Junior forward Thomas Viglianco led the Panthers in scoring in two of the three games, tallying 14 points in the loss to UNC Asheville, and dropping 17 points in the win over Charleston Southern. Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson was the leading Panther against Winthrop, scoring 29 points, but he was the only Birmingham-Southern player in double-figures as the Panthers fell by eight points.



The Panthers finish their season-long four-game home stand with a match-up against Coastal Carolina on January 24. Then they will hit the road for a pair of games in Virginia, with the first being at VMI on January 29.



VMI Keydets (5-9, 0-4) Last Week: 0-1



The Keydets only had one chance to end their losing streak this past week, and they were unable to do so as they fell to Radford at home, 78-62, to extend their skid to seven games and remained the only winless team in Big South play. VMI was able to stay with the Highlanders during the first half, but failed to contain Radford in the second half and quickly fell behind and could not climb out. The loss overshadowed a very solid individual performance by sophomore guard Matt Coward, as he led the team with 19 points and added 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Freshman forward Reggie Williams was the only other Keydet player in double-figures, as he scored 12 points.



VMI faces a busy week, playing three games in a six day span. First the Keydets will hit the road, facing Liberty on January 24 before heading to High Point two days later. Then the Keydets will return home and host Birmingham-Southern on January 29 before hitting the road again for their next three games.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Charleston Southern?



Of all of the teams that one would have been picked to start the conference season 4-0, Charleston Southern would have probably been amongst the last taken. Not only did they finish in last place last year, but they lost at home to a Division II opponent earlier this year and faced the daunting task of three straight road contests before hosting the red-hot High Point Panthers at home to open their conference slate. However, despite the long odds, the Buccaneers find themselves all alone in first place in the Big South after winning those three road games and beating High Point in the BucDome.



Head coach Jim Platt has his team playing tough defense and crashing the boards well, giving them a good opportunity to win games. The Bucs have also been opportunistic, winning two of their first four conference games on last second shots. Last season, CSU found themselves on the wrong end of a few games decided in the final minute, but their luck appears to have turned around.



So is Charleston Southern for real? It might be too early to tell, but at this point, nobody has played as strong as the Bucs have in Big South play.



Player of the Week



Finding a Liberty player as the ‘Player of the Week’ is far from a stretch, as Larry Blair and David Dees are often putting up plenty of points and always putting themselves into consideration week after week. However, this week’s Big South Player of the Week is their frontcourt teammate, senior forward Leo Lightbourne, who made a huge impact for the Flames as they won both of their games this past week. Lightbourne averaged 22.5 points and 7 rebounds this week as Liberty beat Birmingham-Southern and Coastal Carolina.



Team Reports



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (7-7, 4-0) Last Week: 2-0



As mentioned at the top of this column, Charleston Southern finds itself alone at the top of the standings after another solid week. The Bucs opened their week with a 67-60 victory at Radford, marking their third consecutive road victory to open their Big South schedule. The Bucs closed the week with a dramatic come-from-behind victory at home over High Point, winning 76-74 as junior forward Mario Williams drilled a base-line jumper with four seconds remaining to win the game. In the game, CSU trailed by eleven points at halftime and by eight points with under five minutes remaining.



Senior forward Kurtis Rice continued his stellar play, leading the team with 23 points and 9 rebounds in the win over High Point. Senior center Nathan Ball also had a good week, leading the team with 13 points against Radford, and adding 15 points and 8 rebounds against High Point.



The Buccaneers will have a pair of difficult games this week in their quest to remain unbeaten in conference play. They open the week at home against Liberty on January 17 against a Flames team that has won two straight. The Bucs close the week at Birmingham-Southern on January 22. BSC’s Bill Battle Coliseum is one of the most difficult places to win in the league, and despite their slow start, Birmingham-Southern was picked to win the league by the coaches and SIDs in the preseason.



Winthrop Eagles (12-5, 3-1) Last Week: 2-0



The Eagles’ winning streak has reached three games after a week in which they were able to win on the road and at home. Winthrop started the week at UNC Asheville, winning 78-70. The Eagles led comfortably for most of the game and held off a late charge by the Bulldogs. Following that win, Winthrop came home and had little trouble in beating Radford, 74-54.



Against UNC Asheville, junior forward Otis Daniels was the star, scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Sophomore guard Torrell Martin was the hero in Winthrop’s other game, scoring 22 points behind a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the field (including 5-of-5 behind the three-point arc). Not to be lost by those impressive scoring performances is the playmaking ability of freshman guard Chris Gaynor. In the two games, Gaynor managed to dish out 15 assists and grab 7 steals.



Over the next week, Winthrop will travel to Birmingham-Southern on January 19 before heading home to battle Coastal Carolina on January 22. The match-up against Coastal will mark a chance at revenge for the Eagles, as their only loss so far in the Big South was against the Chanticleers.



High Point Panthers (8-9, 3-1) Last Week: 1-1



Road woes struck the Panthers as their red-hot start got derailed at Charleston Southern with a 76-74 loss. Prior to that game, High Point cruised to their third straight victory to open the conference season, winning at home over UNC Asheville, 92-73. The loss to the Bucs dropped High Point’s road record to 1-6, though the Panthers have won seven of their eight home contests this season, including all three of their home conference games. Not helping matters in the loss to Charleston Southern was the absence of senior center Jerry Echenique, who missed the game with back spasms. Echenique has averaged 10 points and almost 6 rebounds per contest this season.



Senior forward Danny Gathings continued his solid season, getting a double-double against UNC Asheville and leading the Panthers with 15 points against Charleston Southern. Senior guard Zione White led the charge against UNC Asheville with 20 points in the win.



The Panthers will have to solve their problems away from home if they wish to win this week, as they will play a pair of road games. They will open the week at Coastal Carolina on January 17 before heading to Radford to battle the Highlanders on January 22.



Liberty Flames (4-11, 2-2) Last Week: 2-0



After nearly being left for dead over the last few weeks, the Flames looked more like defending champions this past week by winning a pair of games. Liberty started the week strong by getting out to an early lead and holding off a furious second half charge in beating Birmingham-Southern at home, 74-72. The solid play continued later in the week, this time on the road as the Flames went to Coastal Carolina and beat the Chanticleers, 71-64, behind a 27 point outburst by senior forward Leo Lightbourne.



Along with Lightbourne’s amazing week was the ever-steady play from the conference’s leading scorer, Larry Blair. The sophomore guard scored 18 points in the victory over Birmingham-Southern, and then chipped in 15 points against Coastal Carolina to put his season average at 17.6 points per game.



Liberty will have a chance to make some noise in the conference, as they have a chance to knock-off the first-place Bucs when they travel to Charleston Southern on January 17. The Flames will then conclude their week’s slate back home against UNC Asheville on January 22.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (5-11, 2-2) Last Week: 1-1



Junior guard Pele Paelay lit up the scoreboard this week, putting up a career-high 38 points as the Chants beat VMI on the road to open the week, 79-68. The 38 points mark the largest point total put up by a Big South player this season. Paelay got some help in the game as freshman guard Jack Leasure tallied 15 points of his own, along with notching 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.



Paelay only managed to score 14 points in Coastal’s only other game of the week, and the Chants were unable to muster up enough offense to beat Liberty, losing at home, 71-64. Leasure also scored 14 points in the contest, but the Chants could not stop Liberty’s Leo Lightbourne, as he scored 27 points to lead all scorers.



The Chants will face two of the top teams in the league this upcoming week, as High Point heads to Kimble Arena on January 17 and then Coastal will travel to Winthrop on January 22. Coastal has already faced Winthrop once this season, beating the Eagles in Conway 76-68 in the conference opener for both teams.



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (8-6, 1-2) Last Week: 0-1



It was a slow and disappointing week for Birmingham-Southern, as the Panthers only played one game and fell to Liberty on the road, 74-72. The Panthers trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half before putting on a serious charge late in the game that fell just short. Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson led three Birmingham-Southern players in double-figures with 19 points. Junior forward Thomas Viglianco had 12 points in the game while sophomore guard Bucky McMillan added 11 points for the Panthers.



Birmingham-Southern will play its next four games at home, including three this week. UNC Asheville will be the first opponent in town as the Bulldogs invade Bill Battle Coliseum on January 17. Winthrop and Charleston Southern will be the other two schools to travel to Alabama, with the Eagles coming to town on January 19 and the Bucs arriving on January 22.



Radford Highlanders (6-9, 1-3) Last Week: 0-2



Radford’s defense was nowhere to be found this past week, as the Highlanders allowed both of their opponents to shoot over 50 percent as they dropped both of their games. Charleston Southern arrived at the Dedmon Center and shot a blistering 57.8 percent in beating Radford, 67-60. The hot-shooting of Radford opposition continued when the Highlanders hit the road to end the week, as Winthrop shot 52.2 percent. Radford could not overcome the sharp shooting from the Eagles and fell, 74-54.



Junior Whit Holcomb-Faye was the only consistent offensive weapon for the Highlanders over the past week, scoring 15 points against Charleston Southern and 17 points against Winthrop. Radford struggled offensively as a team, only making 37 of their 104 field goal attempts over the past week, which only is 35.6 percent.



Radford will have two chances this week to improve their own shooting and their defense. The Highlanders start the week on the road at VMI on January 19 before facing High Point at home three days later.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (4-11, 1-3) Last Week: 1-2



It was not a great week for the Bulldogs, but they did manage to get their first conference win of the year as they beat VMI to close the week following losses to Winthrop and High Point. UNCA started the week at home against Winthrop and were never able to control the game as they fell 78-70. Junior forward Chad Mohn led all Bulldog scorers in the game with 14 points, but it was not enough to get the win.



The Bulldogs got big production from senior forward Bryan McCullough in their other two games of the week, as he scored 18 points in a 92-73 loss at High Point, then notched 23 points in UNCA’s 87-77 victory over VMI. Junior forward Oliver Holmes also had a big game in the win, scoring 21 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.



A pair of road games appears on the schedule this week for UNC Asheville as they hope to carry the momentum from their win over VMI into Birmingham-Southern and Liberty. The Bulldogs will face the Panthers on January 17 before heading to Lynchburg, Virginia to take on the Flames on January 22.



VMI Keydets (5-8, 0-3) Last Week: 0-2



VMI’s losing streak increased to six games this past week, as they dropped to 0-3 in the league with a pair of losses. The Keydets fell at home to Coastal Carolina, 79-68, before losing 87-77 at UNC Asheville in a battle between the only two winless teams in the league.



Freshman forward Reggie Williams continues to do his part for VMI as he averaged 20 points and 6 rebounds over the two games this past week. Junior guard Levar Joseph scored 10 points in both games over the past week and sophomore guard Matt Coward led the Keydets with 23 points against UNC Asheville as they were the only other offensive threats besides Williams.



The Keydets will host Radford in their only game of the upcoming week. The Highlanders will be coming into town on January 19 on a two-game losing streak, so both teams will be hungry for a victory.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Hitting their Stride



Expectations coming into the year were very high for High Point, but until recently, the Panthers did not give many indications that they were going to be able to meet those lofty predictions. However, it seems as if the Panthers have found themselves, and have now won five of their last six contests, including winning three games this week.



With a 24-point win over Utah Valley State, and a pair of double-digit victories in their first two conference games, High Point now looks like the team that many people expected to see. The Panthers have played much better on the offensive end of the court, sparked by the addition of Mark Wilson (a transfer from North Texas), who was ineligible to play in the first nine games of the season due to NCAA transfer rules. With Wilson in the lineup, the Panthers have scored eight more points per game and have allowed almost seven points less per contest.



Road Warriors



In the eight conference games played so far, only two have been won by the visiting team, both by Charleston Southern. Not only is it somewhat surprising to see a team win a pair of road games in a week in a league where victories away from home are difficult, but this is from the team that was picked to finish last in the preseason by the coaches and SIDs. Also, the Bucs had not won a true road game yet coming into the week. CSU was able to win at UNC Asheville and VMI to start their conference season 2-0, surprising anyone that follows the league.



Player of the Week



Charleston Southern’s 3-0 week and 2-0 conference start would have been impossible without the solid and steady contributions from senior forward Kurtis Rice. Rice averaged 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over the three games as the Bucs beat Robert Morris, UNC Asheville, and VMI.



Team Reports (Note: Teams are now listed in the order that they appear in the conference standings)



High Point Panthers (7-8, 2-0) Last Week: 3-0



As mentioned above, High Point has finally started to play well, winning all three games they played this past week. After hammering visiting Utah Valley State, 75-51, the Panthers played the part of a rude host to both Liberty and Birmingham-Southern. In their league opener, the Panthers knocked off Liberty, 73-56. Just three days later, they took care of the visiting Panthers from Birmingham-Southern, 85-72.



High Point got strong contributions from many different sources this past week, with the biggest being a 31-point outburst by junior Mark Wilson in the win over Birmingham-Southern. Senior forward Danny Gathings averaged 14 points over the three games this past week and senior guard Zione White led the team with 16 points against Utah Valley State and 20 points against Liberty.



The Panthers get to play one more game at home to end their current home-stand. They will host UNC Asheville on January 12 before hitting the road to face Charleston Southern on January 15 in the first of three road games for High Point.



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (5-7, 2-0) Last Week: 3-0



Despite a very slow start to the year, Charleston Southern head coach Jim Platt never seemed that concerned. Apparently he knew what was coming, as the Bucs had a great week, going 3-0 and winning their first two conference games, both on the road.



CSU opened the week by hosting and beating Robert Morris, 79-70. Then, in an exciting finish, the Bucs beat UNC Asheville, 64-63. Trailing by one point in the final seven seconds, CSU was able to move the ball the length of the court and senior center Nathan Ball hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer to win the game. Their final game of the week was less dramatic, but the result was just as good as the Bucs won at VMI, 78-67.



CSU ends their conference opening three-game road trip on January 10 as they take on Radford at the Dedmon Center. Following that match-up, the Bucs will finally head home to battle High Point on January 15.



Winthrop Eagles (10-5, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1



Winthrop had the most successful non-conference performance of anyone in the Big South, but as they quickly found out, non-conference success does not always translate into automatic wins once conference games begin. The Eagles opened their conference slate at Coastal Carolina and quickly fell behind and were never able to catch up, falling to the Chanticleers, 76-68. Winthrop played its next game at home against Liberty, and had to fight and claw to come away with a 75-73 overtime win, despite holding a fifteen point lead early in the game.



Junior forward James Shuler only managed to play ten minutes against Coastal and missed the Liberty game due to an ankle injury. His absence allowed junior forward Otis Daniels to step in and make a huge impact. Daniels, a transfer from Gardner-Webb, scored 18 points in the loss to Coastal Carolina and 17 points against Liberty, leading the team in both games.



The Eagles open the upcoming week at UNC Asheville on Monday to take on the Bulldog team that knocked them out of the last two Big South tournaments. Afterwards, the Eagles head back home to host Radford on January 15.



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (8-5, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1



Birmingham-Southern learned the same lessons that Winthrop did, finding out that a successful non-conference resume does not guarantee easy games in the conference. The Panthers had to hold on for their lives in order to beat Radford at home, 61-59. Following that close call, BSC had to hit the road and they fell victim to a red-hot High Point team, losing 85-72.



The Panthers did have another solid week from junior forward Thomas Viglianco. The transfer from William & Mary led the team with 21 points in the win over Radford, and also scored 13 points against High Point. Junior guard James Collins was the point-leader in the loss to High Point, scoring 19 points.



The Panthers only have to worry about one game this upcoming week. BSC will battle Liberty at the Vines Center on January 10 before having a week-long break before their next contest.



Radford Highlanders (6-7, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1



Despite a strong last-minute comeback attempt, the Highlanders were unable to win their conference opener, falling at Birmingham-Southern, 61-59. However, things got much better for RU in their next game, a matchup against Coastal Carolina at home. Despite trailing at the half, the Highlanders turned on the switch during the second half, scoring 55 points in the last twenty minutes to beat the visiting Chants, 93-82.



Sophomore forward Chris Oliver continued his amazing season with a pair of solid performances. Oliver scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the loss to Birmingham-Southern, and scored a team-high 28 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the win over Coastal. Junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye also played very well in the win over the Chanticleers, scoring 23 points and chipping in with 6 rebounds.



Radford will hope their strong second half performance against Coastal will hold up as they host the upstart CSU Bucs on January 10. Later in the week, the Highlanders will head down to Rock Hill to face Winthrop on January 15.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4-10, 1-1) Last Week: 1-1



Most freshmen are not ready for the intensity that comes with the conference schedule, but freshman guard Jack Leasure appeared to be the exception to the rule, as his sharp-shooting led the Chants to a conference opening win at home over Winthrop, 76-68. Leasure was red-hot as he scorched the nets for 24 points. He was helped by a 17 point effort from junior guard Pele Paelay and a 14 point, 6 assist performance from senior guard Alvin Green.



Unfortunately for Coastal, Leasure’s hot hand cooled down a little bit as they hit the road and faced Radford, as the freshman was only able to score 13 points in a 93-82 loss to the Highlanders. Sophomore forward Moses Sonko was the leading scorer for the Chants in the loss, tallying 18 points. However, the Chanticleer defense was unable to stop Radford from scoring in the second half, and the Chants could not hold onto the 44-38 lead they had at halftime.



The Chanticleers will next face VMI as they will play in Lexington on January 10. Coastal then gets to return home to host Liberty on January 15.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (3-9, 0-1) Last Week: 0-1



UNC Asheville only had one game this past week, and the Bulldogs would just as soon forget about it, as they dropped their conference opener at home to Charleston Southern, 64-63. The Bulldogs held an eight point lead with ten minutes remaining in the game, but were unable to hold the lead. It looked as if the Bulldogs had the victory in their hands as freshman forward Brett Warner hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to give UNCA a 63-62 lead, but CSU hit a shot at the buzzer to knock off the Bulldogs.



Only two Bulldogs managed to reach double-figures in the loss. Junior guard Omar Collington led the team with 12 points while junior forward Oliver Holmes scored 10 points.



The Bulldogs may have had a light schedule this past week, but they will make up for it this week with three games. UNCA opens their week with a home game against Winthrop on January 10 before heading to High Point two days later. The Bulldogs close out the week at home, as they will host VMI on January 15.



VMI Keydets (5-6, 0-1) Last Week: 0-2



It was not a fun week for the Keydets, as they dropped a heartbreaker on the road to Loyola (MD), 70-69, and then fell at home in their conference opener to Charleston Southern, 78-67. The only good news of the week for VMI was the return of Levar Joseph to the lineup. The junior guard had missed five games with a knee injury and came back for the Charleston Southern game and scored 13 points.



Senior center Tim Allmond has struggled for most of the year, but had a very solid week, averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds over the two games last week. Freshman forward Reggie Williams continued his strong rookie year with a team-high 18 points against Loyola and a solid 11-point, 8-rebound performance against CSU.



VMI will be on the court again on January 10, hosting Coastal Carolina. Later in the week, the Keydets will travel to UNC Asheville to face the Bulldogs on January 15.



Liberty Flames (2-11, 0-2) Last Week: 0-2



The defending conference champions are having a hard time finding the win column as they dropped their first two conference games this past week. The Flames opened the week at High Point, and after a solid first half, they could not stop the Panthers in second half, falling 73-56. Liberty did play much better in their next game, but were unable to get in the win column as they pushed Winthrop to overtime, but fell again on the road, 75-73.



As has been the case all season long, the Flames were led by sophomore guards Larry Blair and David Dees. Blair had two strong scoring outputs, leading the team with 25 points against High Point, and adding 23 points against Winthrop. Dees scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against High Point, and was the game’s leading scorer against Winthrop, putting up 27 points and making all nine of his free throw attempts.



Liberty’s quest for a conference victory will not be easy this week, as they face two tough match-ups. The Flames will finally get to play at home, but will have to take on Birmingham-Southern on January 10. Then Liberty will be back on the road and will have to play at Coastal Carolina on January 15.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Time to Get Down to Business



The fun and games are now over. For the most part, non-conference season has passed and now the serious part of the schedule presents itself as every team in the Big South will tip off their conference season this upcoming week.



Though the league as a whole did not see much success against foes from other conferences, everybody essentially gets a fresh start beginning this week. The favorites appear to be Winthrop and Birmingham-Southern, as they were the only two teams in the Big South that were able to win more often than they lost to other Division I programs.



Of course, not only is the regular season conference schedule important for bragging rights and Big South Tournament seeding, but as it was last year, the higher seeds will host tournament games at their home courts this season, making every conference match-up that much more important. Expect very intense games over the course of the next two months, and though there appears to be a couple of favorites, there are a few other teams that seem capable of making a strong showing in the league.



Player of the Week



There was no Big South Notebook last week due to the holidays, so to make up for lost time (and because picking between these two was too difficult), there will be two Players of the Week this time around. High Point teammates Danny Gathings and Mark Wilson both struggled a bit in the Panthers’ first game of the past two weeks (a 74-73 loss at Marshall), but both came up huge in a blow-out road victory at James Madison. Gathings averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds over the two games while Wilson averaged 17.5 points and 7 rebounds over the same period. Against JMU, Wilson led the team in scoring with 27 points and added 8 rebounds to the cause. Gathings had a double-double, scoring 24 points and bringing down 10 rebounds.



Team Reports



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (7-4 overall, 2-1 last two weeks)



Birmingham-Southern has found great success in tournaments sponsored by soft drinks. Early in the year, the Panthers won the Pepsi Marist Classic in Poughkeepsie, New York. This past week, they brought home the champions’ trophy from the Dr. Pepper Classic in Chattanooga. In the Dr. Pepper Classic, the Panthers defeated Tennessee-Martin 64-53 in the first game before knocking off the host Chattanooga Mocs in the championship game, 64-59.



Before that tournament, BSC found trouble on the road as they fell to Texas-Pan American, 69-57. Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson has continued to lead the Panthers, scoring in double-figures in all three games, including a team high 20 point outburst against Chattanooga. Junior forward Thomas Viglianco also played well against the Mocs, notching 11 points and 10 rebounds.



The Panthers will open their conference season at home with a game against Radford on January 5. Following that match-up with the Highlanders, BSC will hit the road and will take on High Point on January 8.



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (2-7 overall, 1-2 last two weeks)



The Bucs found mixed results over the past two weeks, getting blown out at Georgia Tech, 90-48, before splitting a pair of games on their way to a second place finish at the UCF Holiday Classic. In the Classic, CSU won a tight-battle over Fordham in the first round, defeating the Rams 50-49. The low scores continued into the championship round, with Brown winning the tournament by beating Charleston Southern, 65-52.



CSU continues to struggle to find consistent offense, only scoring over 60 points twice all season in nine games. Senior center Nathan Ball, the team’s second leading scorer, has missed the last couple of games due to a back injury so the scoring load has fallen completely into the lap of senior forward Kurtis Rice. Rice was up to the task against Fordham, scoring 26 points, along with 11 rebounds. However, Rice was stifled against Brown, only managing 9 points.



Charleston Southern hosts Robert Morris on January 3, then tips off conference play with a three-game road trip. The first two games of the trip will take place this week, with UNC Asheville being the first stop on January 5 and VMI being the destination on January 8.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (3-9 overall, 1-2 last two weeks)



Coastal Carolina was involved in three blowouts over the past couple of weeks, unfortunately for them, only one ended up being a win. The Chants failed to beat its two tough Division I opponents, falling to College of Charleston, 87-69, and Tennessee, 83-51, with both games being on the road. However, they did find success at home against Division III Ohio Northern, beating the Polar Bears 63-45.



As has been the case all season, junior guard Pele Paelay continues to be the go-to guy for the Chants. Paelay averaged 15.7 points over the past three games and added 6.3 rebounds to help the Chants on the boards.



The Chants get to open their conference season at home as they will face Winthrop in Kimbel Arena on January 5. Afterwards, Coastal will head to Radford to face the Highlanders on January 8.



High Point Panthers (4-8 overall, 1-1 last two weeks)



As mentioned earlier in the Player of the Week report, High Point split its two games this past week, losing on a buzzer-beater at Marshall, 74-73, before going to James Madison and blowing out the Dukes, 82-63. Against James Madison, High Point finally put together the type of performance that many people expected them to have often coming into the season. The forward combination of Danny Gathings and Mark Wilson combined for 51 points and 18 rebounds and were virtually unstoppable all of the court.



Other Panthers that have seen recent success have been senior guard Zione White and senior center Jerry Echenique. White scored 22 points in the loss to Marshall while Echenique scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Thundering Herd.



The upcoming week will be busy for the Panthers as they will have three games, though all of the games will be at home in the Millis Center. High Point will host Utah Valley State on January 3 in their final non-conference game before facing Liberty on January 5 and Birmingham-Southern on January 8 to open up Big South play.



Liberty Flames (2-9 overall, 1-3 last two weeks)



The rough start continues for the defending Big South champions, though they did manage one win in their past four games, all of which were away from home. In the third game of the trip, the Flames notched their first win of the season against a Division I opponent as they beat Marist, 69-67, behind a combined 41 points from the sophomore guard combination of Larry Blair and David Dees.



Blair gave the Flames their only other positive of the past two weeks as he put up 30 points and 5 rebounds in an otherwise ugly 112-68 loss to Maryland in the game that preceded the win over Marist. Liberty started the four-game trip with an 88-44 loss at Miami (OH) and their most recent contest was an 82-45 loss to Seton Hall.



The Flames will remain on the road for one more week as they open up Big South play away from the Vines center for two games. High Point will be Liberty’s first conference opponent on January 5 and Winthrop will be their second stop on January 8.



Radford Highlanders (5-6 overall, 0-3 last two weeks)



It is doubtful that head coach Byron Samuels or the rest of the Highlanders will have too many fond memories of the western half of the country after losing their past three games. Radford opened their westward trip with a 74-58 loss at Colorado, and then followed that with two losses at the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic in Moraga, California. In that tournament, the Highlanders opened with a 72-60 loss to the host school (St. Mary’s) before falling on the second day to Cal-Davis, 67-63.



And not all of the bad news happened on the court for Radford. Right before the game against Colorado, Samuels suspended junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye and senior forward Brandon Jeffers for ‘lack of leadership and behavior detrimental to the team.’ Though both players returned to the court in the Shamrock Classic, there appears to be some internal problems occurring with the Highlanders.



Radford looks to snap its three-game skid with their conference opener at Birmingham-Southern on January 5. If they fail to win there, they will have a decent chance of earning a conference win with a home game against Coastal Carolina on January 8, as the Highlanders have had plenty of success against the Chanticleers in recent years.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (3-8 overall, 0-2 last two weeks)



While Radford may not have any love lost for the western part of the country, UNC Asheville probably has the same feeling for the state of Michigan. The Bulldogs spent the week leading up to New Year’s up north, losing to both Michigan State and Michigan.



In the 92-63 loss to the Spartans, the Bulldogs were led by 14-point efforts from junior guard Omar Collington and sophomore guard Steven Rush. Rush was then unable to play against Michigan two days later due to a hamstring injury, and UNCA missed his sharp-shooting from the outside as they fell to the Wolverines, 75-54. Senior forward Bryan McCullough was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs in that game, putting up 14 points in the loss.



The Bulldogs have the lightest schedule in the league this upcoming week, only playing one game. On January 5, UNCA will begin its Big South slate with a home game versus the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.



VMI Keydets (5-4 overall, 0-2 last two weeks)



The Keydets spent their week between Christmas and New Year’s in New Orleans, and came away from Creole Country with two stinging losses. In their first game of the trip, VMI found itself leading New Orleans 41-40 with a little over nine minutes left, but were never able to regain the lead the rest of the way as the Privateers won the game, 62-49. Tulane was the second opponent on the trip, and though the Keydets led by as many as 19 points in the second half and by 11 points with less than five minutes remaining, they were unable to beat the Green Wave, falling 82-74.



The biggest bright spot for VMI during the trip was the play of sophomore guard Matt Coward. Coward averaged 18.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in the two games. However, the sophomore point guard did have 11 turnovers in those games and was unable to find much help, save an 18 point performance by freshman forward Reggie Williams in the loss to Tulane.



As the rest of the conference opens up conference play on January 5, VMI will head to Baltimore to face Loyola (MD). After the Keydets get home from that contest, they will tip-off their conference season in Cameron Hall against Charleston Southern on January 8.



Winthrop Eagles (9-4 overall, 2-2 last two weeks)



The West Coast was as unkind to Winthrop as it was to Radford, as the Eagles dropped a pair of games, one to Portland and one to Oregon, in a trip out west. However, the Eagles did grab a couple of wins recently as they defeated Georgia College & State and Ferrum, a pair of non-Division I teams, at home.



Sophomore guard Torrell Martin and sophomore forward both played well in the trip out west, but the Eagles fell to Portland, 70-64, and to Oregon, 71-56. Martin led the team in scoring in both games, averaging 14 points per game on the trip while Williams averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds in the two games. Martin sat out the next two games due to a nagging hip injury, but it did not matter as the Eagles beat Georgia College & State, 69-56, and easily took care of Ferrum, 90-62.



Winthrop will look to carry its successful non-conference performance into their Big South opener at Coastal Carolina on January 5. Three days later, the Eagles will play their first home conference game as they host Liberty. Martin is expected to play after missing the past two games with the hip injury.

Big South Conference Notebook


by Jeremy Dunlap

Rough Week



Nothing came easy to anyone in the Big South this week, as the teams of the league combined to go 3-8 in a light week of action, with two of those wins coming against Division II squads. Both Winthrop and Birmingham-Southern had the week off for exams and hopefully fared better in the classroom than their conference foes did on the hardwood.



The only team that managed to win a game over a Division I opponent this week was VMI, and they struggled in an overtime battle over Division I newcomer and winless Longwood. The Keydets ended up winning the game 69-64.



Unexpected Return



Liberty found itself appealing and fighting over and over again with the NCAA over the eligibility of forward Glyn Turner, and the persistence paid off for the Flames as the NCAA granted Turner an extra season of eligibility this week. Turner played in only 45 seconds of a game during his freshman year in 2000-2001 and Liberty’s administration was originally denied in an attempt to redshirt him for that season.



Over the greater portion of the last two years, LU attempted to get the decision overturned, but had no luck. However, the NCAA finally changed its mind and after missing the first four games of this year, Turner took the court in each of the Flames’ two games this week.



Head coach Randy Dunton will be looking for Turner to add some depth and experience to a frontcourt that has struggled so far this season. Turner played in all 33 of Liberty’s games last year and averaged 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest for the Flames as they went on to win the conference championship last season.



Player of the Week



Freshman forward Reggie Williams of VMI had a stellar week as he was a scoring machine and chipped in on the boards as VMI split a pair of games. Williams averaged 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over the two games, including a strong 28 point, 9 rebound effort in the Keydets’ loss to Towson.



Team Reports



Birmingham-Southern Panthers (5-3 overall, 0-0 last week)



Birmingham-Southern had this past week off to focus on final exams. The Panthers will return to the court on December 18 at home in an exhibition game against Montreat. The next game that will count in the standings for BSC will be on December 20 when the Panthers travel to Texas-Pan American.



Charleston Southern Buccaneers (1-3 overall, 0-1 last week)



Charleston Southern came into its game at Clemson this past week 0-15 against the Tigers, hoping to somehow pull off the upset over their foe from the upstate. However, the Bucs came out sluggish, allowing Clemson to score the first nine points of the game as CSU ended up falling 73-55. Senior center Nathan Ball led all CSU scorers with 13 points while freshman guard Darius Lane added 11 points to go along with 5 assists and 5 steals.



Over the course of the next few days, the Bucs will get to stay home for a pair of games. Division II foe Lander will be the first squad to visit the CSU Field House on December 15. Following that contest, CSU will host Wofford on December 18.



Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (1-6 overall, 1-0 last week)



Usually when a team is struggling, a home game against a Division II school is the best recipe to turn things around. After starting the season with six straight losses, Coastal found itself hosting Division II Coker this past weekend and the Chants finally found themselves in the win column, crushing the Cobras 86-50.



Junior forward Pele Paelay had a huge first half, scoring 19 points on his way to a team-high 21 points. Freshman guard Jack Leasure and sophomore forward Moses Sonko each had strong offensive outputs as well, both scoring seventeen. Senior point guard Alvin Green led the team with 8 rebounds and 7 assists in the easy victory.



Coastal remains home for two more games in front of the Chanticleer faithful this week. Jacksonville State will come into Conway on December 15 before nearby UNC-Wilmington visits Kimbel Arena on December 18.



High Point Panthers (2-7 overall, 0-2 last week)



High expectations coming into the season for High Point have not translated to wins so far as the Panthers dropped both of their games this week to fall to 2-7 and 0-6 against Division I competition. They opened the week on the road and kept Michigan within striking distance most of the way before falling to the Wolverines, 67-53. The offense struggled again later in the week, this time at home as the Panthers lost 58-45 to Furman.



Over the two games, High Point only managed to shoot 32.1 percent from the field and struggled to make any type of offensive run to come back in either contest. Junior guard Titus Byrd had a breakout performance against Michigan with 17 points, but besides that performance and the typical solid games by senior forward Danny Gathings, not many Panthers have been able to find the basket with any regularity. Senior center Jerry Echenique, who is third on the High Point team in scoring and second in rebounding, was benched for the Furman game by head coach Bart Lundy for undisclosed reasons.



The Panthers will have one game this week in which to try and snap their three game skid. High Point will host Mt. St. Mary’s on December 18, a team that the Panthers beat last year, 72-64. Forward Mark Wilson, a transfer from North Texas, should be eligible to play against Mt. St. Mary’s after sitting out the first nine games of the season.



Liberty Flames (1-5 overall, 0-2 last week)



The defending Big South champions continue to struggle to start the season as they fell twice against stiff competition this past week. The Flames opened the week at home and faced a very dangerous Old Dominion squad. Liberty played well for a half before slipping late in a 70-54 loss. Sophomore guard Larry Blair had a career-high 31 points, but was the only member of the team to reach double-figures.



Blair was stellar again against North Carolina State with 22 points, but got little offensive help as Julius Hodge and the Wolfpack rolled to a 93-60 win over the Flames over the weekend. Liberty’s defense had no defense for Hodge as he scored 27 points and also added 9 assists and 9 rebounds.



In Liberty’s only game of the upcoming week, UNC-Greensboro will visit the Vines Center on December 18. Liberty is still seeking its first win over a Division I opponent this year and will hope to gain that win over the Spartans. Senior point guard Brian Woodson is expected back for the game after missing the first month of the season due to academic reasons.



Radford Highlanders (5-3 overall, 1-1 last week)



Generally, when you think of the offensive weapons of Radford, you think of junior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye or sophomore forward Chris Oliver. However, sophomore Reggie McIntyre set two career-highs in scoring this past week and led the Highlanders in scoring in both of their games as they split a pair of contests.



McIntyre scored 17 points in Radford’s first game of the week, an 89-74 loss to Hampton in a pseudo-home game at the Salem Civic Center, which is 35 miles up the road from the Radford campus. McIntyre then followed that performance up with an 18 point performance in a 97-77 win over Lees-McRae at Radford’s regular home, the Dedmon Center. Holcomb-Faye also had a strong all-around game against Lees-McRae, scoring 15 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists.



Radford does not have any games this upcoming week due to final exams. The Highlanders will not take the court again until December 23 when they begin a three-game trip out west with a game against Colorado.



UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (1-5 overall, 0-1 last week)



Despite falling behind 12-0 early to Maryland, UNC-Asheville was able to keep things respectable, playing even with the Terrapins for the rest of the first half before falling 96-72 in College Park. Senior forward Bryan McCullough had a strong game, scoring 16 points, but the Bulldogs had trouble keeping the Terrapins off of the scoreboard. Maryland shot 55 percent from the field for the game. Other UNCA players that played well against the Terrapins were senior forward Joseph Barber, who led the team with 7 rebounds, and sophomore guard K.J. Garland, who had 7 assists for the game.



The Bulldogs will host a pair of contests from neighboring non-Division I schools this week before hitting the road again. Division II Lenoir-Rhyne visits the Justice Center on December 15 while NAIA Montreat comes to town on December 17. Following those games, UNCA will take on in-state foe Charlotte on December 19.



VMI Keydets (4-2 overall, 1-1 last week)



Even though the Keydets struggled this week, barely beating winless Longwood and losing at home to Towson, they have found an emerging star in freshman forward Reggie Williams. As mentioned at the top of this column, Williams had a very strong week and has taken the role as the team leader for VMI, leading the team in scoring and rebounding early on. However, the Keydets lost second-leading scorer Levar Joseph to a knee injury near the end of the Longwood game, and his absence was felt later in the week against Towson.



The Keydets opened the week on the road and had to go to overtime to beat Longwood, 69-64. Near the end of the second half, Joseph bruised his knee and sat out the rest of the game and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. To complement Williams’ team-leading 21 points, sophomore guard Matt Coward chipped in with 15 points and 5 assists. Coward also scored 15 points and dished out 6 assists in VMI’s next game against Towson, but his effort, along with Williams’ 28 points were not enough to overcome the Tigers, as VMI lost 84-69.



VMI will have one game this week before taking a long break for exams and the holidays. The Keydets will host NAIA Bluefield on December 13 and will not play again until after Christmas.



Winthrop Eagles (6-2 overall, 0-0 last week)



Winthrop did not take the court this past week in order to finish finals and rest up after a hectic start of the season. The Eagles will finally take the court again on December 17 as they head to Greenville, NC to face East Carolina.