By Josh Noel
The race for the Big South crown is heating up, as the conference standings remain in constant flux with only three and a half weeks till the Big South tournament gets underway at the Qubein Center.
Check out what happened this past week:
Wednesday, Feb. 7
Experienced Bulldogs Outlast Young Panthers:
UNC Asheville 86, High Point 81
UNC Asheville cemented why it remains very much a threat to reclaim the Big South crown, as the Bulldogs outlasted High Point at home, snapping the Panthers’ nation-leading 12-game win streak.
Drew Pember did not command the spotlight like last time (13 points), but Nick McMullen scored 19 points as one of five Bulldogs in double figures for a complete team victory.
Kimani Hamilton scored a career-high 29 points for the Panthers, and Juslin Bodo Bodo grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds.
Both teams traded baskets seemingly all game long, but the Bulldogs established some breathing room with five minutes remaining in the second half to hold on for the victory.
Blue Hose Snatch Victory to Cool off Runnin’ Bulldogs:
Presbyterian 77, Gardner-Webb 75
Marquis Burnett’s putback basket with 15.7 seconds remaining allowed Presbyterian to escape victorious against Gardner-Webb for the first time in eight attempts dating back to the 2020-21 season.
The game stayed within seven points all evening, with neither team able to separate.
Kaleb Scott scored 17 points for PC while Kobe Stewart fell one rebound short of a double-double (14 points, 9 rebounds).
DQ Nicholas (19 points) and Quest Aldridge (16 points) led the Runnin’ Bulldogs in scoring.
Spartans Steal Road Gem at Lancers:
USC Upstate 69, Longwood 64
Upstate’s three-headed attack of Trae Broadnax (20 points), Justin Bailey (14 points) and Ahmir Langlais (12 points) powered the Spartans to separate from Longwood in the conference’s basement.
Walyn Napper scored 17 points for the Lancers while Michael Christmas added 10 points. The Lancers have dropped 10 of 12 games dating back to December 20.
Upstate’s win at Longwood marks its third consecutive victory over the Lancers, the Spartans’ longest win streak in the series between the two teams.
Eagles Soar at Home Over Buccaneers:
Winthrop 67, Charleston Southern 46
Winthrop never trailed at home as they routed Charleston Southern to establish some breathing room over the Buccaneers in the conference standings.
Nick Johnson (14 points) and Sin’Cere McMahon (13 points) led a balanced Winthrop effort that ultimately held the Buccaneers to 13 first-half points.
Quentin Bolton Jr. continued his emergence for Charleston Southern with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Taje’ Kelly dropped his conference-leading eighth double-double of the season (11 points, 13 rebounds).
Saturday, Feb. 10
Panthers’ Second Half Rally Downs Runnin’ Bulldogs:
High Point 78, Gardner-Webb 62
After another sluggish start, High Point used a dominant 46-26 second half and a 26-9 run over the final eight minutes to defeat Gardner-Webb in a game much closer than the final score indicates.
Freshman Juslin Bodo Bodo did it all for HPU, tallying a career-high 18 points as one of five Panthers in double figures to go along with 16 rebounds for his second straight double-double after only recording one previous double-double this season and his tenth 10-rebound game, which leads the Big South.
Caleb Robinson and DQ Nicholas each scored 16 points for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, with Quest Aldridge adding 14 points.
Lancers Ride Early Momentum to Clip Eagles:
Longwood 84, Winthrop 74
Longwood burst out of the gates and led by as many as 19 over Winthrop to snap its four-game losing streak.
The Lancers got key contributions from Johnathan Massie and Michael Christmas erupting for career-highs at 31 and 25 points respectively.
Kasen Harrison dropped a season-high 20 points for the Eagles while Kelton Talford scored 18 points and K.J. Doucet added 15 points.
Bulldogs Shrug Off Early Jitters Against Spartans:
UNC Asheville 77, USC Upstate 64
It looked as though USC Upstate might grab a second consecutive conference win, but Drew Pember put UNC Asheville on his back in the second half to stay within reach of High Point in the conference standings.
Pember’s 28 points and 16 rebounds mark his seventh double-double of the season and his twelfth game of 20+ points, which leads the Big South.
Jalen Breazeale tallied a season-high 13 points in his third straight start for the Spartans.
More Late-Game Heroics Lifts Blue Hose over Highlanders:
Presbyterian 76, Radford 73
Earlier in the week, Marquis Burnett hit a late-game bucket to give Presbyterian a win over Gardner-Webb and its third in its last four games.
This time, Samage Teel’s 3-point jumper was the difference with 1:17 to go as the Blue Hose defeated Radford to earn its second straight one-possession win.
Teel and Marquis Burnett both scored 18 points for Presbyterian, while Bryan Antoine matched their outputs with 18 points of his own to lead the Highlanders, his seventh consecutive game scoring in double figures.
What to watch for this week:
Charleston Southern hosts Gardner-Webb in a top-five conference showdown (Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m.)
Presbyterian looks to maintain its momentum traveling to UNC Asheville (Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m.)
High Point aims to defeat Radford after getting swept by the Highlanders last season (Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m.)
Be sure to follow Matt Hackman (@mjhackman) on X for all the latest in Big South seeding probabilities!
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