Duinker performs as Richmond wins opener

RICHMOND -- Kevin Anderson scored 17 points to lead Richmond to an easy 81-57 win over Randolph-Macon Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.

Six Spiders scored during a 17-2 spurt early in the first half. Richmond also went on a 14-6 run for a 45-28 halftime lead.

The Spiders led by as many as 28 points in the second half as the Yellow Jackets never got within 14. Richmond was 30 of 65 from the field while holding Randolph-Macon to 20-of-60 shooting.

Josh Duinker (Hornsby, NSW) added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds in his collegiate debut for the Spiders, while Ryan Butler chipped in 12 points and David Gonzalves 11.

Justin Short led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points.

Nevill 28 & 14 but Utes lose to D2 SW Baptist

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tomas Brock scored 16 points to lead five Southwest Baptist players in double-figures as the Division II Bearcats beat Utah 80-79 in the season opener for both teams Saturday.

The Bearcats made 16 three-pointers and led most of the game, while the Utes missed 11 free throws.

The Utes trailed by one after Brock missed a shot with 10 seconds remaining. With no timeouts remaining, Utah's Lawrence Borha missed a wild runner with about three seconds left.

It was believed to be the Bearcats' first victory over a Division I team.

Utah's Luke Nevill (Perth) scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and made two free throws with 11.1 seconds left to pull the Utes to within one. But he also missed six foul shots.

D'ante Harris and Brandon Clemons added 15 points for the Bearcats, and Nick Kovacevich had 14. Matt Rogers had 12 points and five rebounds, but fouled out in just 17 minutes.

Nate Tomlinson impresses in first collegiate game

BOULDER, CO — Sophomore Casey Crawford and freshman Austin Dufault scored 14 and 13 points, respectively leading the University of Colorado men's basketball team to a 76-56 season opening victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Friday night.

"It was what I hoped would happen," said CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik. "This team is unselfish; you just have to look at the box score and see that four players were in double digits."

"They are passionate and they are coachable. They are extremely young and we are going to be all over the map this year. I think that we need to rebound better and make more free throws, but those things are all correctable and we will continue to work on them."

With 10 underclassmen on its roster — five freshmen and five sophomores — Colorado headed into the season with one of the youngest teams in school history, and youth figured prominently in the Buffaloes strong start.

Nate Tomlinson (Sydney), part of a starting lineup that included two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior, added 12 points in his first college game. Cory Higgins also had 12 points and a team-high six assists for CU, which opened a 40-20 halftime lead.

Colorado outscored the Golden Lions 19-5 over the final 7:07 of the first session with Tomlinson, Higgins and Crawford all hitting 3's during the run.

Lebaron Weathers led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with game-high 22 points. Tavaris Washington added 18 points despite fouling out with 4:27 remaining.

CU shot 50% from the field in both halves (51.9% for the game). The Buffaloes made 10 three-pointers from the new NCAA 3-point line of 20'9", one of the new NCAA rule changes instituted for the 2008-09 season.

The ten three-pointers are the most for the CU team since making ten against Oklahoma State Feb. 3, 2007. CU also added 18 assists to their 27 field goals made for the game.

The Buffaloes (1-0) continue their homestead throughout the month of November, hosting Big Sky Conference opponent Montana State Tuesday November 22 at the Coors Events Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. (Wednesday at 1pm AEDT).

Opacic contributes 14 in Furman win

Greenville, S.C. - Jordan Miller poured in a game-high 22 points and Alex Opacic added 14 to lead Furman past NCAA Division III Emory University 67-51 in the season opener Friday evening at Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.

With the game knotted at 32-32 and just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Furman began a 13-2 run highlighted by seven points from Miller to open up a 45-34 lead with 15:38 to go in the game. The Paladins outscored the Eagles 31-19 over the final 20 minutes while holding Emory to 28.0% (7-25) shooting from the floor in the second half.

"It was a good game for us, especially defensively and on the boards," said Furman coach Jeff Jackson. "We've got to do a better job taking care of the ball. I thought we were probably trying too hard early -- a little too anxious, but overall okay for the season opener."

Furman managed a 37-23 edge in rebounding and shot 54.5% (24-44) from the field and 72.2% (13-18) from the foul line for the night. Miller added six rebounds and four assists to go with his 22 points while Opacic snatched a game-high seven rebounds.

Emory, who shot just 34.6% from the floor, was led by Dan Curtin's 18 points on 4-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc. Forward Anthony Fernandez chipped in with 11 points for the Eagles.

Furman begins a four-game road trip on Monday when it visits Charleston Southern for a 7:30 p.m. game at the CSU Fieldhouse.

 

 

St. Mary's opens season with easy win

Moraga, CA – The Saint Mary's men's basketball team got the 2008-09 season started on the right foot with an 86-55 win over the Seattle Pacific Falcons in front of a sell-out crowd at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels used timely shooting and pressure defense to cruise to the win over the Division II opponent.

The Gaels used the entire bench, as 12 players took the court in the season opener, and 11 of the 12 had at least two points. SMC had three players in double figures with Olympian Patrick Mills and Omar Samhan leading the way with 15 points each. Carlin Hughes added 11 points and Diamon Simpson chipped in with nine.

Mills and Hughes were pressing the Falcons' defense all night, as the two combined for 15 of the 19 assists by the Gaels. Mills finished with eight assists and four steals in 25 minutes, while Hughes has seven assists and a pair of steals in 23 minutes.

Samhan was just two rebounds shy of a double-double, as he had eight rebounds and a game-high five blocked shots. Simpson had a game-high nine rebounds and Ian O'Leary finished the game with six points and eight rebounds, with six boards coming on the offensive glass. O'Leary also added two assists, two steals, and one blocked shot.

Saint Mary's got out to a quick start, taking a 12-3 lead over the first three and a half minutes. The Falcons clawed back into the game, closing the deficit to 3-points (18-15) with about eight and a half minutes left in the half. From there the Gaels exploded for an 18-0 run that was sparked by a Patrick Mills 15-foot jumper at the 8-minute mark.

With SMC leading 22-15, the freshman from Queensland, Australia, Cliint Steindl, hit back-to-back threes for his first points as a Gael. Steindl finished the game with eight points in 17 minutes of action. Saint Mary's finished the first half with a 41-19 advantage.

In the second half, Saint Mary's continued to extend its lead. SMC held a 68-38 advantage when Ben Allen, who finished with four points and four rebounds in his Saint Mary's debut, hit a pair of free throws at the 10:27 mark. SMC's lead would reach 40-points at 83-43 when Lucas Walker scored a bucket with 3:48 remaining.

Saint Mary's will return to action on Monday night when the Gaels host the Fresno State Bulldogs in a late night affair. The game between the Gaels and Bulldogs will tip-off at 11 p.m. from McKeon Pavilion and will be televised on ESPN. The game can be seen on ESPN in Australia on Wednesday at 2am and 10pm on tape delay.

Saint Mary's vs. Seattle Pacific Game Notes

- The Gaels continue their streak of at least one three per game to 475 games.
- Clint Steindl's first two points as a freshman came from a break away two handed dunk off a behind the back assist from Hughes.
- Randy Bennett is now 76-30 in McKeon Pavilion, and the Gaels improve to 37-6 against non-conference in the last five year, and 16-2 in the 18 home games against non-conference opponents.
- Saint Mary's has played Seattle Pacific eight times since 1968, SMC leads the series 5-3.
- Patrick Mills and Omar Samhan finished with a team high of 15 points each.
- Samhan finished with a game high of 5 blocks. The five blocks marked just the second time in his career the he has had five or more in a game.
- Carlin Hughes had a season high of seven assists, which is one shy of his career high.
- Patrick Mills ties his career high with eight assists.

Southern Utah signs 2 Aussies for 2008-09

Southern Utah's men's basketball team signed a pair of Australian centers to National Letters of Intent Wednesday, Matt Hodgson and Nathan Crombie, who will join the Thunderbirds next year as freshmen. 

Hodgson is a 6-foot-10, 225-pound center from Booval, Queensland, while Crombie is a 7-foot, 200-pound center from Carina, Queensland. Both are members of the Australian Junior National Institute Team.

Nate Bendall will rejoin the Utah State program beginning in the 2009-10 season. Bendall, a 6-foot-8 forward, will have two years of eligibility at USU. 
He is currently a sophomore at Salt Lake Community College.  As a freshman at Utah State during the 2005-06 season, Bendall averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 13 games

 

 

How long will Iliadis be out?

by Jamie Frankenberry

 

Looks like Old Dominion's Trian Iliadis, a freshman guard from Australia, will miss a few more weeks as he recovers from a stress fracture in his right foot.

 

Iliadis is off crutches, but he still wears a protective boot (which, by the way, has been dubbed "Lucky"). And he's still limping noticeably. When he was introduced before Sunday's Blue-White scrimmage, Iliadis' jog turned into a gingerly walk.

 

Iliadis said afterward the prognosis looks "really good" after visiting the doctor last week.

"He felt around with it and it's a lot better than it was a couple weeks ago," Iliadis said. "In a couple weeks I'll be getting an X-ray and CAT scan on my foot. The doctor said the healing was coming along really well."

 

Still, it's too early to tell just how long Iliadis will be sidelined.

 

"The doctor doesn't have anything in mind without seeing the X-ray and CAT scan," he said. "I'm hoping to play soon. I want to be out there sooner, but ..."

 

Iliadis has been on the shelf since before the Monarchs began practice. He watched Sunday's scrimmage from the bench.

 

"It's pretty tough," Iliadis said. "I've gotten to think about it a long time. It's been good just to watch as well to see how everybody plays, but I just want to get out there."

 

Youthful exuberance

 

Here's what ODU coach Blaine Taylor had to say about his young roster, which features 10 underclassmen, after Sunday's Blue-White game.

 

"I just like our demeanor. We're enjoying being part of this program, we're enjoying being part of this campus, we're enjoying our recent history and we're enjoying the challenge of together trying to really be a good team and do something as the season unveils."

 

"We've just got to get under the lights more often, and as that happens we're going to have a lot of fun just seeing how far we can go."

 

 "We really need to make sure that we embrace our youth. I don't want any excuses, but we need to embrace it: 'Hey, we're good and we're going to be around for a long time.' "