One week after their meeting with the College of Charleston, which showcased the two division leaders of the Southern Conference, the Bucs met the University of North Carolina Greensboro with the winner receiving sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference North Division.
The Bucs (15-9, 10-3) held off a strong second-half rally by the Spartans (15-9, 9-4) to win 84-75 Tuesday night in Memorial Center, putting themselves alone atop the North Division standings and securing a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
After a disappointing loss last Saturday to Georgia Southern, the Bucs came out in front of their home crowd with their usual intensity as they quickly built a double-digit lead.
“I’m proud of our guys tonight,” Head Coach Ed DeChellis said. “The first half we came out and kept them off balance.”
“We came out flat with no energy at Georgia Southern. It was a long ride back,” Senior Adrian Meeks said. “We played good tonight and came out with the victory.”
The Bucs jumped out to an early 22-9 lead with 11:46 to go in the first half behind back-to-back three pointers from sophomore Ryan Lawson and six early points from Meeks.
A steal by senior Renaldo “Scooter” Johnson, which resulted in a bucket by Meeks, extended the Bucs lead to 19 with 3:31 to go in the half at 38-19, with the game in danger of becoming a blowout.
The Bucs went into intermission with a 43-26 lead, but the second half would be a totally different game.
“We struggled the first half,” UNCG Head Coach Fran McCaffery said. “Their defensive intensity had a lot to do with it.”
The Bucs kept the Spartans out of sync in the first half with their smothering defense that leads the conference in holding opponents to shooting just 39.9 percent from the field.
“The way we were changing up, going from zone and man-to-man, messes (their) rhythm of the game up,” Lawson said.
At the start of the second half the Spartans came out with an 11-2 run, cutting the Bucs lead to 45-37 at the 17:20 mark.
The Bucs went back up by 10 off of a steal and dunk by Johnson, but Spartan Courtney Eldridge drained a three pointer to cut the lead back to seven at 47-40.
With the momentum swinging in the favor of the Spartans, the Bucs needed someone to step up and take over at the offensive end, and Lawson answered the call.
“They were making a strong run at us,” he said. “The guys just got the ball in my hands.”
Lawson nailed his third three-pointer of the night, putting the Bucs up, 50-40, but a three by Eldridge answered Lawson’s, and the Bucs saw their lead once again cut to seven.
Then Lawson got the call again and began putting nails in the Spartans’ coffin.
Lawson rolled off nine straight points in a span of 1:41 to put the Bucs back up by 16 at 61-45 with 11:32 to go in the game.
Eldridge tried to keep the Spartans close, cutting the lead back down to nine at 74-65, hitting one of two free throws off a foul by Lawson, his fifth with 2:38 to go in the game.
With 2:09 to go, the Spartans Nathan Jameson cut the Bucs lead back down to seven, but the clock was still running and the Spartans had to begin fouling.
“We wanted to foul people (shooting) in the 60s (percent from free throw line),” McCaffery said. “We ended up fouling (Dimeco) Childress, who hit all four (free throws).”
Childress’ four, along with free throws from Cliff Decoster, Jerald Fields and D.J. McDuffie, who hit just 5 of 9 from the line throughout the game, but 3 of 4 down the stretch, were enough to enable the Bucs to hold on for the win.
“I knew the game would go down to the wire,” DeChellis said. “They’re too good a team.
“I knew they weren’t going to quit and they played especially well the first five minutes of the second half,” he said.
The Bucs needed another perimeter player to step up this season, according to DeChellis, and they got it from Lawson Tuesday night.
“Ryan shot very well at Georgia Southern and very well tonight,” he said. “We need another perimeter scorer. He’s done what we’ve asked him to do.”
DeChellis has been pleased with the contributions from all the members of his team this season.
“We’ve had a guy step up every night and do something big for us,” he said.
Lawson led the Bucs with 18 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. He tied a career-high with four three pointers to boot.
Joining Lawson in double digits were Childress and Meeks with 16 points apiece.
The Bucs also received a strong game from Decoster, who scored 13 points and had team-highs with four assists and four steals.
The Spartans’ Eldridge was the game’s leading scorer with 30 points on 9-17 from the floor and 8-11 from the free throw line.
The Bucs continue their march for the Southern Conference North Division Championship with a home contest against the Davidson Wildcats Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Memorial Center.
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