Southern Conference Tournament 2013: First Round Recap

The UNCG Spartans registered 55 second half points en route to their comeback win over the 7^th seeded Chattanooga Mocs in the first round of the SoCon Tourney. Senior guard Derrell Armstrong led the Spartans with 25 points and posted 8 rebounds, while SoCon leading scorer, Trevis Simpson, added 17 points for the Spartans in their 87-81 win. The Mocs led by 11 with 10 minutes to play but could not hold on against the 10^th seeded Spartans.

UNCG will now play the #2 seed, Elon University, in the SoCon quarterfinals.  Elon swept the season series, including the regular season finale on Senior Night at Alumni Gym, 80-66.

The first round of the SoCon Tourney featured two other lower seeded teams finishing victorious.  The #9 seeded Georgia Southern Eagles crushed the #8 seeded Wofford Terriers, 60-44. Georgia Southern will play the #1 seed, Davidson, in the SoCon quarterfinals.  The Eagles were the only Southern Conference team to beat Davidson in the regular season.

The #12 seeded Furman Paladins pulled off the upset of the day, defeating the #5 seeded Samford Bulldogs, 55-51. Furman now plays the #4 seed, Appalachian State in the SoCon quarterfinals. Appalachian State won the lone regular season meeting, 72-66.

Elsewhere in the SoCon Tournament, Western Carolina took care of business against Citadel, 76-61. The Catamounts, the 6 seed, cruised to victory behind junior guard Trey Sumler’s 27 points to beat the 11^th seeded Bulldogs.

Western Carolina will face off against College of Charleston, the # 3 seed in the SoCon Tournament.  This will likely be the best quarterfinal matchup, with the lone regular season meeting between the two clubs being a two point Charelston win, as senior guard Andrew Lawrence connected on two free throws with one second remaining to beat the Catamounts, 67-65, on February 20^th.

Below is an updated bracket for the Southern Conference Tournament.

	First Round Friday, March 8					Quarterfinals Saturday, March 9 ESPN3					Semifinals Sunday, March 10 ESPN3					Championship Game Monday, March 11 ESPN2
						1	Davidson	12:00 pm
						9	Georgia Southern
	8	Wofford	44
	9	Georgia Southern	60
													6:00 pm
						4	Appalachian St	2:30 pm
						12	Furman
	5	Samford	51
	12	Furman	55
																		7:00 pm
						2	Elon	6:00 pm
						10	UNC Greensboro
	7	Chattanooga	81
	10	UNC Greensboro	87
													8:30 pm
						3	College of Charleston	8:30 pm
						6	Western Carolina
	6	Western Carolina	76
	11	Citadel	61