Well the halfway point of the season has been hit, earlier in the week (literally yesterday), I released my Big South Midseason Award watchlist, so if you haven’t read it I encourage you to read it, or don’t, I am not your parents.
With us hitting the halfway point, that also means I will unfortunately be cutting the recaps of games in the previews to save precious writing time for some postseason content, I will still give shine to the best performances of the previous gameday and recap any BIG milestones players hit the previous gameday.
Best Performances and Major Milestones for Jan 29th:
UNC Asheville beats Gardner Webb 69-50
UNC Asheville Notables:
DJ Patrick with a game high 16 points, all from the 3PT Line with 1 Free Throw
Daniel Thomas with his FIRST CAREER Double Double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Kameron Taylor’s streak of 20 Points Games ends at 7 as Kameron Taylor went down with an apparent leg injury early in the 2nd half only have 12 points, Taylor returned to the bench WITHOUT a boot on.
Gardner Webb Notables:
Spence Sims led Gardner Webb with 13 points and 8 rebounds.
Radford beats Charleston Southern 84-75
Radford Notables:
Del Jones led Radford in scoring with 27 points, tying his career high, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.
Jaylon Johnson had 18 points and 6 rebounds.
Dennis Parker Jr had 16 points and 9 rebounds, falling 1 rebound short of a double double.
Charleston Southern Notables:
A’lahn Sumler with 26 points, his 4th straight with 20+ points.
Armani Carraway returned from injury, getting his first action since Gardner Webb on 12/31, Carraway had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 35 minutes of game time.
USC Upstate beats Longwood 65-60:
USC Upstate Notables:
Karmani Gregory led Upstate with 19 points along with 5 assists and 4 steals, his 12th game this season with 15 or more points.
Carmelo Adkins had his SECOND Career Double Double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Coen Collier with 4 blocks, this single game is tied for 10th all time. This is the 6th game for Upstate with 4 or blocks by a single player this season and Coen Collier’s 2nd 4+ block game this season.
Longwood Notables:
Elijah Tucker led Longwood with 13 points and 12 rebounds, his 4th double double in the last 5 games.
Jacoi Hutchinson had 12 points.
High Point beats Presbyterian 84-81:
High Point Notables:
Rob Martin led High Point with 21 points, his 6th game this season with 20+ points.
Terry Anderson with 18 points and 6 rebounds.
Cam’ron Fletcher returned after missing the past 6 games with an “internal matter”, Fletcher had 5 points and 3 rebounds before injuring his wrist in the 2nd half. According to Steven Beck from Prowled Sports, Cam is good to go for their next game at Longwood.
Presbyterian Notables:
Jonah Pierce and Triston Wilson both led Presbyterian with 25 points.
Jonah Pierce recorded his 12th double double of the season also hauling in 10 rebounds, his 12 double double’s is the most in the Big South.
Presbyterian tied their season high in blocks with 7.
Jan 31st (and Feb 2nd) Previews:
UNC Asheville at Winthrop - 12pm EST
Preview: The first of two games that got moved due to YET ANOTHER winter storm, this one being moved up 2 hours, but we don’t mind. This game should be really fun one, Asheville always seems to play their best ball when it matters, and well IT MATTERS. This game could come down to Kam Taylor’s availability and I do lean towards him not playing with the quick turnaround. I do like Winthrop to take this one, especially with being at home and coming off a week of rest.
Score Prediction: Winthrop 89 - UNC Asheville 82
Radford at Presbyterian - 2pm EST
Preview: Radford is now solely in 3rd place in the Big South, but PC and train of other teams are RIGHT on their tail. This game just screams trap game for Radford, having to make a road trip to Presbyterian, looking ahead at a home game vs Winthrop. I am still not convinced they are the 3rd best team but if they win this, I will eat crow on that. Give me Presbyterian to get a win before their week long break.
Score Prediction: Presbyterian 72 - Radford 70
High Point at Longwood - 3pm EST
Preview: High Point is back tied for 1st place in the Big South, and by tip time we will know if this game will be for 1st place or once again just a tie. Last time High Point entered Farmville in 1st place, they lost to Colby Garland at the buzzer. The time before that, lost to Walyn Napper at the buzzer. Will this be 3rd times the charm for High Point? I actually think not. Longwood is coming in EXTREMELY motivated and High Point is coming off a scary game vs Presbyterian, with the slight but still noticeable rest advantage I am taking Longwood.
Score Prediction: Longwood 83 - High Point 80
Gardner Webb at Charleston Southern - Feb 2nd - 6pm EST
Preview: The only game to be moved a full day, takes us to the currently 8th and 9th seeds in the conference. Charleston Southern has been on a MASSIVE skid on 6 straight, but none by more than 9 points. Gardner Webb has been playing their best ball of the season but there is still a clear talent gap. That talent along with CSU being at home gives me the stuff I need to take CSU to win this one.
Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 74 - Gardner Webb 66