Summary of Games the Week of Nov. 20-26, 2040
'Conference J
Georgia State Panthers (1-1)—82, Missouri State Bears—57 (The Panthers got out on top early in the game but the game was close throughout the 1st half. Georgia State then blew the game open in the 2nd half. SG Mike Boxler—19 pts; SF David Selby—15 pts; PF Aaron Samuels—14 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast; C Jeremy Young—13 pts, 8 reb. Coach Spencer said, “Freshman Jeremy (Young) didn’t play in our first game this season, but we felt he deserved a chance to show us what he could do, and he did one helluva job. So he's definitely earned another start.”)
Georgia State Panthers (2-1)—65, Robert Morris Colonials—50 (The colonials took an early 5 point lead but the Panthers grabbed the lead for good with 5 minutes remaining in the first half and roared to a 35-20 lead at the break by applying a daunting defense. They increased their lead to 26 points midway through the 2nd half and then cruised to an easy victory. SF David Selby—16 pts; C Jeremy Young—13 pts, 8 reb; SG Elton Sheals—11 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl.)
Conference N
Southeast Louisiana Lions (1-1)—83, Jackson State Tigers—58 (The Lions roared past the Tigers early. By the end of the first half, SE Louisiana led 42-21 and they never let up in the 2nd half. PF Mike Sanders—19 pts, 8 reb; C Travis Dixon—13 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast; SF Mike Bree—10 pts, 7 ast; reserve C Duane Simmons—10 pts, 4 reb.)
Fordham Rams—76, Southeast Louisiana Lions (1-2)—72 (The score was razor close throughout the entire 1st half and tied at 35-35 at the break. But Fordham held a small lead throughout most of the 2nd half and held off the Lions at the very end. PF Mike Sanders—18 pts, 6 reb; PG Mike Bree—17 pts; reserve forward Leroy Phillips—14 pts; C Travis Dixon—11 pts, 8 reb. “We lost a tough one, but it was good for our guys to experience a hostile crowd and not relent,” said Coach Montez.)
Conference Q
Michigan Wolverines—65, Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-2)—42 (The Leathernecks were never in this game, falling behind 33-26 at halftime and then having the Wolverines pull steadily away in the 2nd half. PG Trent Cougar—12 pts, 4 ast.)
Missouri Tigers—62, Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-3)—52 (Following 5 early lead changes, Missouri took control to lead 29-22 at the end of the half. The Leathernecks never got closer in the 2nd half. SG Brandt Kennedy—15 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl; C David Perry—13 pts, 8 reb; SF Aloysius Worley—10 pts, 9 reb. “A second straight game on the road against very tough opponents. We got beat but our guys fought the entire way,” said Coach Morillo.)
Conference R
UC San Diego Tritons (3-0)—83, Western Michigan Broncos—58 (There were 11 lead changes in the first 12 minutes. The Tritons then jumped out to a 44-27 halftime lead. UC San Diego held onto a big lead the entire 2nd half by outshooting the Broncos 49% to 42%, holding a 32-26 advantage in rebounding, and a 14-10 advantage in turnovers. C Tommy Jordan—23 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl; SG Brandon Payne—16 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk; PG Solomon Rayner—11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl; PF Bryce Stafford—11 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast; reserve PG Al LeVasseur—11 pts.)
UC San Diego Tritons (4-0)—97, Binghamton Bearcats—87 (Similar to the previous game there were 10 lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Tritons then edged ahead and took a 49-40 lead to the locker room. UC San Diego held onto a lead the final 20 minutes but the Bearcats stayed in striking distance the entire way. C Tommy Jordan—29 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk; SG Brandon Payne—22 pts; PG Solomon Rayner—16 pts, 12 ast; PF Bryce Stafford—14 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast).
Colorado Buffaloes—88, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (2-1)—63 (Following 11 lead changes, the Buffaloes pulled away late in the first half for a 47-36 halftime advantage. The Hawks let Colorado stomp them throughout the 2nd half. SF Anthony Wilks—19 pts; SG Rick Miller—10 pts; reserve C Zamiro Colter—10 pts, 5 reb. “We were competetitve for 14 minutes but then the Buffaloes talent overwhelmed us. Colorado’s SG Omar Murphy hit almost all his shots enroute to his 28 points,” said Coach McMillan.)
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (3-1)—55, American Eagles—48 (Neither team could get more than a 2-3 point lead in the first half and MD-Eastern Shore held a slim 25-24 lead at the break. The Hawks rapidly expanded their lead to 12 points in the 2nd half and then gamely held on to gain the victory. SG Rick Miller—10 pts; C Andy Cummings—10 pts; PF Rob Evans—8 pts, 12 reb. Coach McMillan said, “Our defense was rock solid and we controlled the boards (+10 but our 21 turnovers turned over my stomach.”)
Awards: Jeremy Young of Georgia State was the Conference J Freshman Player of the Week. UC San Diego’s Tommy Jordan was the Player of the Week for Conference R.
Injuries: None.
Comments: Even though the 5 teams had 4 losses in their 10 contests this week, 3 of those losses were away games against very strong opponents. UC San Diego has the 36th best NET Ranking and Western Illinois is right behind with the 37th best NET Ranking. The Tritons are averaging 85 ppg while giving up just 65 ppg thus far this season. Four teams have 6-0 records: Kentucky (ranked #1 in the polls), UNLV (ranked #5), St. Mary’s (ranked #7), and Stanford (ranked #10).