Monday, February 28, 2011
The Southern Conference Tournament will begin Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn. Here’s how the field stacks up:
THE FAVORITES
College of Charleston (22-9) – The Cougars were on the way to solidifying itself as the clear favorite before stumbling in back-to-back road losses, by 15 and eight points, to Appalachian State and Western Carolina. Those losses should give the rest of the field increased hope.
Wofford (18-12) – The defending SoCon champs have heated up down the stretch. The Terriers have won five straight games – including a 39-point road win over Chattanooga and a closing road win over Furman to tie Charleston for first place in the South. The Terriers were swept by the Cougars in the regular season, but were 8-1 in SoCon road games.
THE HOME TEAM
Chattanooga (16-15) – The Mocs won the SoCon Tournament both times it was played at McKenzie Arena, in 2005 and 2009. They haven’t been impressive down the stretch this season, however, losing five of six before squeaking out a win over Samford in the regular-season finale. But they are 8-1 at home against SoCon opponents this season. The lone home loss came last Wednesday, 97-58 to Wofford.
THE OTHER FIRST-ROUND BYE
Western Carolina (17-14) – The Catamounts reeled off seven straight wins before blowing a 21-point lead and falling to The Citadel at home last Thursday. Still, the Catamounts rebounded nicely with a 70-62 victory over Charleston on Saturday. The Catamounts have a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the North. After going 0-3 against the other three top seeds, they won the most recent meetings – beating Chattanooga and Charleston.
THE OTHER CONTENDERS
Appalachian State, Davidson and Furman will have to do it the hard way – without a first-round bye and the challenge of having to win four games in four days. That’s something that has yet to be done since the league went to a four-day format in 1993, although three teams without a bye – Furman, Elon and Charleston – have made it to a final.
Furman (20-9) – The Paladins have had a nice turnaround, improving from 13 wins in 2009-10 to 20 this season. But they have lost their last two games – 75-59 at Chattanooga, and 79-65 to Wofford at home.
Davidson (17-13) – The Wildcats have been on a tear, winning five straight and nine of their last 10 games. Their only loss since Jan. 26 came at Furman, 88-79.
Appalachian (15-14) – Things are looking up for the Mountaineers and first-year coach Jason Capel, who is a victory over 5-26 Georgia Southern away from clinching a winning season. The Mountaineers were 7-1 in February, which could bode well for March.
THE OTHERS
Elon (13-16), The Citadel (10-21), UNC Greensboro (6-23), Samford (12-18) and Georgia Southern (5-26). The only program among this group to win a SoCon title is UNC Greensboro, in 2001.
Final SoCon ranking
Teams get two points for a road win, one point for a home win, minus-one for a road loss and minus-two for a home loss (conference games only).
1. College of Charleston (15 points)
Wofford (15)
3. Furman (9)
Western Carolina (9)
Chattanooga (9)
6. Appalachian State (3)
Davidson (3)
8. Elon (-6)
9. The Citadel (-9)
UNC Greensboro (-9)
11. Samford (-15)
12. Georgia Southern (-24)
Friday, February 25, 2011
After leading the Southern Conference in scoring last season, Donald Sims knew that he would be in for a rough ride from opposing defenses this season.
Sims, often double teamed and pressed away from the perimeter in an effort to contain his long-range ability, has become more adept to driving the ball, often against bodies larger than his 170-pound frame.
So, this season, Sims has come up with a way to prepare himself for the contact. He displays it during breaks – a bright yellow mouthpiece that he gnaws on methodically and almost ceremoniously in preparation for his excursions.
“It’s a way to remind me to be physical,” Sims said. “Because teams are being physical with me.”
He said that he has been through five of the mouthpieces this season, but has a reserve supply.
“I chew ‘em up,” Sims said. “I chew the corners up and they don’t fit anymore.”
Read more on Sims and his ASU career in Saturday’s Winston-Salem Journal
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Five seeds locked for Southern Conference Tournament
College of Charleston (No. 1 South), Appalachian State (No. 3 North), Davidson (No. 4 South), The Citadel (No. 5 South) and Georgia Southern (No. 6 South) all are locked into seeds for the SoCon Tournament, which will begin March 4 at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Appalachian will play Georgia Southern in the first round on March 4. The winner of that game will face either Furman or Wofford, whichever locks the No. 2 seed in the South later this week, in the quarterfinals on March 5.
ASU’s first-round game time will depend on the seeding for Chattanooga, which will be accommodated with an evening game in its home arena. If the Mocs are the No. 1 seed in the North, the ASU-Georgia Southern game will tip off about 9:30 p.m. If the Mocs are No. 2, the ASU-Georgia Southern game will begin about 4:30 p.m.
SoCon ranking
Teams get two points for a road win, one point for a home win, minus-one for a road loss and minus-two for a home loss (conference games only).
1. College of Charleston (17 points)
2. Furman (11)
Wofford (11)
4. Western Carolina (10)
5. Chattanooga (9)
6. Appalachian State (1)
Davidson (1)
8. Elon (-7)
9. The Citadel (-10)
UNC Greensboro (-10)
11. Samford (-13)
12. Georgia Southern (-19)
Stock watch: Elon up two spots from last week.
Hot and cold:
College of Charleston and Western Carolina (7-game winning streaks), Wofford (3-game winning streak)
The Citadel (7-game losing streak), Samford (5-game losing streak), UNCG (4-game losing streak)
North vs. South:
South Division leads 24-16.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Dexter Coakley, Appalachian State’s all-time leading tackler and a three-time Pro Bowl participant in the NFL, will be inducted in the Southern Conference Hall of Fame on May 24.
Coakley totaled 616 tackles as a linebacker at ASU from 1993 through 1996, and had seven games with 20 or more tackles. He was a three-time All-America selection, the only player to win the SoCon’s defensive player of the year award three times and is the only two-time winner of the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the top defensive player in the FCS.
“He’s very deserving,” Coach Jerry Moore of ASU said. “He played the game the way it was meant to be played.”
Coakley, from Charleston, S.C., was a running back in high school and was recruited by the Mountaineers out of Fork Union Military Academy.
“He even returned some kickoffs for us, he was that kind of athlete,” Moore said.
Moore said that Coakley was instrumental in the start of ASU’s summer program, getting players actively involved in that. “If they weren’t here, he’d get on the phone and call wanting to know why they weren’t here,” Moore said.
Coakley was a third-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys, and played eight season with the Cowboys and two with the St. Louis Rams.
He will join basketball player Valorie Whiteside and track-and-field stars Mary Jayne Harrelson and Melissa Morrison as SoCon Hall of Fame members from ASU.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Coach Jerry Moore says he’ll stick to coaching rather than offer any opinions as to whether Appalachian State should move from FCS to FBS football.
“It’s an administrative decision, not a coaching decision,” Moore said in regard to ASU’s study of a possible move being conducted by a consulting group and feasibility committee. “They’ll make the right decision.
“I think they have a nice committee together and, from all indications, they are involving all the right people and they’re trying to do it right. They’re involved in the Xs and Os of that, talking to the right people to find out and I think they’ll make a decision that’s best for this university, not just for football but what’s best for the university. I have all the confidence in them.”
Moore has said and still believes that if a move is made that the Mountaineers would need to do it as part of a conference and not as an Independent, and assumes that a conference affiliation is probably a given component of the decision. Other than that, he said his focus is only on his family, his faith and coaching football.
“I think all of us as a staff have a burning desire to make this the best football program we can make it,” Moore said. “I’ll leave the (FBS) decision to them. That’s their job. Ours is to field a good football team here, whoever and wherever we play.”
By Tommy Bowman at 06:38 PM
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Of the 21 victories that Appalachian State’s women’s basketball team has racked up this season, perhaps none are more definitive than last night’s 57-56 victory over Chattanooga.
The Mountaineers clinched at least a share of the Southern Conference regular-season title – their first since 1996 – and locked up the No. 1 seed for the SoCon Tournament, which will begin March 3 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The milestone victory came on the road against a Chattanooga program that has dominated SoCon basketball for more than a decade. The Mocs, whose string of 11 straight Southern Conference regular-season titles has ended, hadn’t lost to an ASU team at home since 1998.
Kelsey Sharkey, a sophomore forward, put the Mountaineers ahead for good after securing an offensive rebound and scoring on a layup with 11 seconds left to propel the Mountaineers to their 11th straight victory, their longest winning streak since the 1993-94 season.
ASU (21-4 overall, 15-2 SoCon) has a 2½-game lead over second-place Samford with three regular-season games remaining. The Mountaineers, whose 15 SoCon victories are the most in program history, can secure the regular-season title outright with one more victory, or a loss by Samford.
The Mountaineers will close the regular-season with home games against Wofford, Georgia Southern and UNC Greensboro.
SoCon ranking:
Teams get two points for a road win, one point for a home win, minus-one for a road loss and minus-two for a home loss (conference games only).
1. College of Charleston (14 points)
2. Furman (10)
3. Wofford (9)
4. Chattanooga (8)
5. Western Carolina (6)
6. Appalachian State (3)
7. Davidson (0)
8. The Citadel (-7)
UNC Greensboro (-7)
10. Elon (-8)
Samford (-8)
12. Georgia Southern (-20)
Stock watch: Furman up two spots from last week; Chattanooga down two.
Hot and cold:
Appalachian State, College of Charleston and Western Carolina (4-game winning streaks)
Georgia Southern (14-game losing streak), The Citadel (4-game losing streak), Chattanooga (3-game losing streak)
North vs. South:
South Division leads 21-15.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Less is proving to be more for Appalachian State’s Petey Hausley.
Hausley, a 6-6, 245-pound junior forward from Marion who transferred from Iowa Western, was a starter for 17 games this season but seems to have accelerated his contribution the last four games coming off the bench. And the Mountaineers have won four straight games.
“Honestly, I feel like I play better coming off the bench,” said Hausley, who scored 12 points in a 78-68 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday. In other recent games off the bench, he had nine points in 17 minutes against UNC Greensboro and four rebounds in 18 minutes against Elon.
Coach Jason Capel went to a four-guard starting lineup beginning with the UNCG game Feb. 2, which has allowed Hausley to rotate with fellow post player Andre Williamson and has led to less fatigue and less chance of foul trouble.
“I think Petey’s production has gone up because he’s not playing so many minutes,” Capel said. “He doesn’t have to focus for 35 minutes. He can focus for 18 or 20. He can play as hard as he possibly can for those minutes.”
“He’s attacking the basket more, things that we’ve stressed to him all year. He’s giving us a presence inside we knew he was capable of.”
Friday, February 11, 2011
Omar Carter showed no signs of an identity crisis, despite some good-natured ribbing from teammate Donald Sims during an amusing exchange in last night’s postgame media gathering following Appalachian State’s victory over Samford.
The 6-5, 220-pound Carter has moved to more of an inside role the last three games as part of a four-guard lineup to add overall quickness and bolster rebounding, one of Carter’s strengths.
Asked about the change, Sims grinned and poked some fun at new post player Carter.
“Omar’s not a guard,” Sims said. “He’s a ‘tweener.’ A 3-4 in-between guy. A small power forward. I’m not quite sure which one he is.”
Carter laughed.
Sims added, “I’m a combo guard.”
Carter’s role has changed. But he still knows what he is.
“It was actually an easy switch,” Carter said, who then moved his eyes toward Sims to clarify. “I’m a guard…”
Carter said he did play more of a post position at Charleston Southern, when he was heavier, before transferring to ASU.
“I think I create some problems for the 4 men in this league because they’re slower than me and I use that to my advantage and I think Coach recognized that,” Carter said. “And it gives (post players) Petey (Hausley) and ‘Dre (Williamson) more time to get rest.”
Sims said that Carter is doing a good job at it.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
SoCon ranking:
1. College of Charleston (11 points)
2. Chattanooga (10)
Wofford (10)
4. Furman (8)
5. Western Carolina (4)
6. Appalachian State (1)
7. Davidson (-1)
8. The Citadel (-5)
9. UNC Greensboro (-6)
Samford (-6)
11. Elon (-8)
12. Georgia Southern (-18)
Stock watch: Appalachian State up two spots from last week; The Citadel down two.
Teams get two points for a road win, one point for a home win, minus-one for a road loss and minus-two for a home loss (conference games only).
Hot and cold:
Davidson (4-game winning streak)
Georgia Southern (12-game losing streak), Elon (4-game losing streak)
North vs. South:
South Division leads 19-14.
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