San Francisco, North Texas, Campbell, Jacksonville State advance to CBI semifinals

San Francisco, North Texas, Campbell, Jacksonville State advance to CBI semifinals

March 19, 2018

San Francisco, North Texas, Campbell, and Jacksonville State will play for the chance to advance to the CBI Finals after posting quarterfinal wins on Monday evening.

In addition, North Texas’ Roosevelt Smart and Campbell’s Chris Clemons (pictured) became just the second and third players in CBI history to score at least 31 points in two tournament games, joining Tyron Criswell of Nevada, who accomplished that feat in leading the Wolf Pack to the 2016 CBI title and earning tournament MVP honors. Last week, Smart led North Texas with 34 points in a win at South Dakota, while Clemons had 32 in the Camels’ win over Miami (Ohio).

This evening, in Denton, Texas, Smart and Jordan Duffy scored 31 points apiece to lead North Texas to a 96-67 win over Mercer. Smart and Duffy are the first teammates in CBI history to score at least 31 points in the same CBI game. Smart also pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds. Ryan Woolridge posted 12 points and 11 assists.

The Mean Green were red hot from the field, connecting on 33-of-59 (.559) of their shots, including 12-of-29 (.414) from behind the arc. Defensively, North Texas limited Mercer to 23-of-64 (.359) shooting and 5-of-25 (.200) from three.

Jordan Strawberry led Mercer with 25 points. Desmond Ringer registered 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The 29-point margin of victory is the largest in CBI history. Utah Valley’s 74-49 win at Georgia Southern last year was the previous record.

In San Francisco, Jordan Ratinho and Chase Foster scored 20 points apiece and San Francisco withstood a furious Utah Valley rally to earn a 78-73 win.

The Dons led by 22 points, 64-42, with just 9:02 to play before Utah Valley stormed back, cutting the margin to three, 74-71, with 1:40 left in regulation. However, San Francisco survived the onslaught to advance to the CBI semifinals.

In addition to scoring 20 points, Foster also hauled down a team-best eight rebounds. Jimbo Lull joined his teammates in double figures with 15 points.

The Wolverines, who reached the CBI semis a year ago, were paced by the 26-point effort of Kenneth Ogbe. Brandon Randolph posted 22 points and seven rebounds and Akolda Manyang had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

In Buies Creek, N.C., Cory Gensler’s 15-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds left gave host Campbell a 71-69 win over New Orleans.

With the game tied at 66-all, Clemons nailed a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left to put the Camels up 69-66. The Privateers answered when Ezekiel Charles hit a trey with eight seconds remaining to tie it at 69 – the 10th tie of the game. It was then Gensler’s turn to be the hero, advancing Campbell to the CBI semifinals.

Clemons ended the game with a tournament-high 35 points, four shy of the CBI record. Damontez Oliver added 13 points while Gensler’s jumper gave him four points on the night.

Charles scored a team-best 19 points for New Orleans. Scott Plaisance tallied 11 points and Makur Puou registered 10 points and 11 rebounds.

In Conway, Ark., Jacksonville State never trailed in taking an 80-59 decision from host Central Arkansas. Malcolm Drumwright and Marlon Hunter led all scorers with 17 points apiece for Jacksonville State, which also received 13 points and 13 rebounds from Jacara Cross and 10 points and nine rebounds from Jason Burnell.

As a team, the Gamecocks outscored Central Arkansas 16-4 from the foul line in converting 16-of-19 free throws as opposed to 4-of-7 for the Bears. JSU also doubled up UCA from three, shooting 10-of-23 against 5-of-22. The Gamecocks also converted 15 Central Arkansas turnovers into 19 points.

The Bears were paced by Jordan Howard, who netted 15 points, and Mattieu Kamba, who had 10 points.

The Semifinal Round of the CBI will be played on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, North Texas will host Jacksonville State and on Thursday, Campbell will be at San Francisco. The winners will then meet in the best-of-three CBI Finals which begin on Monday, March 26. The Finals will air on ESPNU with Roy Philpott and Jason Capel on the call.

Share this Post