Opacic 12 points in Furman loss

Charleston, S.C. - Jamarco Warren scored a game-high 28 points and Omar Carter added 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead Charleston Southern to a 75-64 victory over Furman in men's basketball action Monday evening at CSU Field House.

The Buccaneers used a 15-2 first half run to erase a seven-point deficit and take a 35-30 lead into the halftime break. Warren buried six treys on the night to lead the Buccaneers who converted on 44.4% of their attempts beyond the arc and 50.9% from the field.

Charleston Southern (1-1) opened the second half on a 13-4 run behind a pair of Warren treys to open up a 48-34 advantage. Furman (1-1) answered with a 23-6 spurt to pull within three at 57-54 on Darryl Evans three-pointer with under eight minutes remaining, but the Buccaneers converted on 6-of-8 trips to the foul line in the final five minutes to pull away for the double digit victory.

Jordan Miller led four Paladins in double figures with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Alex Opacic (Sydney) tallied 12 points and eight boards while Justin Dehm and Evans each totaled 11 points. Furman shot 41.0% (25-61) from the floor and 37.5% (9-24) from the three-point line, including Miller's 4-for-5 effort beyond the arc.

Charleston Southern held a 38-31 edge on the boards and forced 11 Furman turnovers while committing just 10. Kelvin Martin joined Warren and Carter in double figures with 11 points.

Furman continues its four-game road trip on Sunday when it visits Atlantic-10 member Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pa. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. (Monday 6am AEDT).

 

Christian Salecich Signs to Play for Billikens

 St. Louis - Saint Louis University head men's basketball coach Rick Majerus today announced that 6-foot-4 guard Christian Salecich (Gold Coast, Australia/Institute of Sport) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University and play basketball for the Billikens. Salecich will have four years of eligibility beginning with the 2009-10 academic year.

"Christian is truly Aussie-tough," Majerus said. "Like all `Boomers', he has a passion and a competitive streak to rival that of Australians like (former Utah and current NBA player) Andrew Bogut, who I was fortunate to coach, and (former NBA and Australian pro) Shane Heal. Christian has played on three continents against men. Every coach and every competitor talks first and foremost about his toughness and passion. He is coming 6,000 miles from home to play basketball. That should give our fans some indication about his love of the game."

"Like Jon Smith and Cory Remekun, Christian is a sensational student," Majerus said. "This is an honor roll class in the academic arena as well as the basketball arena. But in the area that matters the most, all of these young men have exceptional families who visited with them and got to meet and see for themselves first hand the best part of Saint Louis University - the faculty, education and the current players on the team. Christian, Cory and Jon were player favorites on their recruiting visits. Our current class really felt that their attitude and commitment to the game coincided with theirs."

Salecich is the top-ranked off guard in the 2009 class in Australia. He played the last two seasons for the Australian Institute of Sport, the elite prep school in Canberra, Australia, which has produced more than 20 Division I players, including Andrew Bogut who played at Utah under Majerus.

"Christian's Junior National Coach, Marty Clarke, is a teacher extraordinaire, therefore, Christian has a real command of the fundamentals," Majerus said.

Last season, Salecich averaged 12 points per game while shooting 43 percent from 3-point range and 89 percent from the free-throw line. Christian helped A.I.S. advance to the 2008 Southeast Australian Basketball League finals. Salecich is a member of the Junior Australian National team which will compete at the 2009 U-19 World Championships. He won the silver medal with Team Australia at the 2007 Junior Oceania Tournament, and he participated in the 2007 Adidas Nations Camp in New Orleans, when he played against current Billiken Ruben Cotto, and each remembered the other for his tenacity. Salecich scored 15 points and had four assists and helped Australia win the bronze medal game at the 2008 Albert Schweitzer Tournament with a victory over the USA. Salecich is an athletic guard who possesses deep 3-point range, and he is considered a premier defender. Last season, Salecich averaged 12 points per game while shooting 43 percent from 3-point range and 89 percent from the free-throw line. Christian helped A.I.S. advance to the 2008 Southeast Australian Basketball League finals. Salecich is a member of the Junior Australian National team which will compete at the 2009 U-19 World Championships. He won the silver medal with Team Australia at the 2007 Junior Oceania Tournament, and he participated in the 2007 Adidas Nations Camp in New Orleans, when he played against current Billiken Ruben Cotto, and each remembered the other for his tenacity. Salecich scored 15 points and had four assists and helped Australia win the bronze medal game at the 2008 Albert Schweitzer Tournament with a victory over the USA. Salecich is an athletic guard who possesses deep 3-point range, and he is considered a premier defender.

 

 

Witt plays big off bench in Valpo win

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Michael Rogers scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half Saturday night, leading Valparaiso to an 87-56 exhibition victory over Marian.

Marian, an NAIA school in Indianapolis, stayed close early in the game, but Erik Buggs had 4 points during an 11-0 run that put the game out of reach.

The Crusaders built a 28-11 lead to 43-21 at halftime and continued pulling away in the second period.

Cameron Witt (Launceston) added 16 points in his collegiate debut and Buggs finished with 13 for Valpo. Marian, which gave up 35 points on 23 turnovers, was led by Alex Sylvester with 16.

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.