The Southern Conference tournament started on Friday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C. The top four seeds received first-round byes, but the other eight teams were in action. There were plenty of first-round upsets, as the higher-seeded team lost three of the four first round games.
Southern Conference Tournament 2013 results and bracket: UNC Greensboro pulls off 1st-round upset
The first round of the Southern Conference tournament featured plenty of upsets, as the higher-seeded teams lost three out of the four first-round games.
Grant Halverson
The No. 9 Georgia Southern Eagles won the first game of the tournament, defeating the No. 8 Wofford Terriers, 60-44. Georgia Southern used a 14-0 run late in the first half to give themselves a comfortable 30-18 halftime lead over Wofford that they would never relinquish. Junior forward Eric Ferguson led the Eagles with 17 points, shooting 7-12 from the field.
Georgia Southern will play Saturday at noon ET against the No. 1 Davidson Wildcats. Davidson went 17-1 in the league, with its only loss a 70-57 defeat from the Eagles on Jan. 14.
The No. 12 Furman Paladins pulled off an upset in the second game of the first round, defeating the No. 5 Samford Bulldogs, 55-51. Guard Bobby Austin led the Paladins with 17 points, and hit two clutch free throws with 11 seconds left to ice the game for Furman.
Furman will now face the No. 4 Appalachian State Mountaineers at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Appalachian State won the only meeting between the two teams earlier this season.
The No. 10 UNC Greensboro Spartans continued the trend of upsets by winning their first-round game, 87-81, against the No. 7 Chattanooga Mocs. Derrell Armstrong had impressive numbers for the Spartans, leading the team with 25 points and eight rebounds.
UNC Greensoboro will move on to face the Elon Phoenix at 6 p.m. ET. Elon has already beaten the Spartans twice this season, including an 80-66 victory last Saturday.
The No. 6 Western Carolina Catamounts ended the run of upsets, defeating the Citadel Bulldogs, 76-61, in the final first-round game. Catamounts redshirt junior Trey Sumler led all scorers with 27 points.
Western Carolina will face off against the College of Charleston Cougars at 8:30 p.m ET on Saturday. College of Charelston won the only meeting between these two teams this season.
Here is the full bracket for this year’s tournament.
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