No. 3 Belmont Abbey, No. 4 Southern Wesleyan Advance to Men’s Basketball Semifinals

3/4/2022 4:54:42 PM

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2022 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship is down to the top four seeds as No. 3 Belmont Abbey and No. 4 Southern Wesleyan each advanced to Saturday’s semifinals with wins on Friday, March 4 at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on the campus of Wofford College.

In the first quarterfinal, the Warriors of Southern Wesleyan shot nearly 50 percent from the field in a 72-55 victory over fifth-seeded Mount Olive. The Central, South Carolina program scored the first basket of the game and never trailed in the win. A Trayvon Ferrell three-pointer for the Trojans at the 8:44 mark in the first half made it a two-point game, 21-19, before SWU used a 12-0 run to push the lead to 14, 33-19, with 2:27 left in the half. The Warriors led 35-21 at the break and led by as many as 18 points in the second half in the victory.

Ta’Jay Dunlap and Davion Bradford each finished with a game-high 18 points while Bradford grabbed 10 rebounds for the Warriors. Tranard Ferrell added 13 points and 11 rebounds for SWU while Demarus Addies also had 10 rebounds. Jeremiah Phifer and Trayvon Ferrell each netted 11 for the Trojans.

The second quarterfinal saw the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey break 100 with a 108-73 victory over No. 6 Barton as they shot 62 percent (44-for-71) from the field and 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from beyond the arc. The first 1:40 of the contest featured two ties and six lead changes as the teams traded runs to 15. However, the Crusaders pulled away with a 27-10 run over the next 12 minutes for a 17-point, 42-25 advantage. After taking a 47-32 lead into the half, The Abbey outscored Barton 61-41 in the final 20 minutes for the final margin.

The Crusaders had six players finish in double figures led by Quest Aldridge’s 30 while Sean Halloran added 16. Chandler Baker (13), LJ McCoy (11), Ryan Maslow (11) and KJ Garrett (10) joined the pair with 10-plus points. Jett Fortuny paced the Bulldogs with 18 points while Donaven Hairston (15) and Marcus Boykin (11) also had double figures.

Southern Wesleyan will face top seed UNC Pembroke in the first men’s semifinal inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg on Saturday, March 5 at 12 p.m. Belmont Abbey will square off against No. 2 Emmanuel in the second men’s semifinal at 2:30 p.m.

Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium are available here.

2022 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship
First Round – Sunday, February 27
#7 Lees-McRae def. #10 Chowan at Barton, 80-73
#9 Francis Marion def. #8 King at Mount Olive, 90-83

Second Round – Monday, February 28
#6 Barton def. #7 Lees-McRae, 94-75
#5 Mount Olive def. #9 Francis Marion, 95-83

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 4
(Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Southern Wesleyan def. #5 Mount Olive, 72-55
#3 Belmont Abbey def. #6 Barton, 108-73

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5
(Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Southern Wesleyan vs. #1 UNC Pembroke, 12 p.m.
#3 Belmont Abbey vs. #2 Emmanuel, 2:30 p.m.

Final – Sunday, March 6
(Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2, 1 p.m.