The Inaugural No Room for Racism Classic is almost here. The event, which is set to take place at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center and span from Dec. 10-12, will feature eight different schools in four intriguing matchups.
The first game is Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. between the High Point University Panthers and the South Carolina State University Bulldogs.
The Panthers are off to a 3-3 start with wins against Shenandoah, Howard and Chowan, and losses to Northwestern, Notre Dame and Georgia State. Their loss to Notre Dame on the road was by just nine points (70-61).
High Point is averaging 76 points per game, led by Big South Conference first-teamer John-Michael Wright, who is averaging nearly 20 points per game this season.
The Bulldogs have a worse record to start the season, with just one win (67-53) against St. Andrews University through their first eight games. The team from Orangeburg, SC only lost by four points to Big South member USC Upstate (82-78), but the Bulldogs’ worst loss so far this season came against former Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey and his new College of Charleston squad by a score of 106-74.
SC State’s Cameron Jones, a redshirt sophomore, leads the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game, though four other players average at least eight points per game for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs average 70.8 points per game as a team, while their opponents are averaging 80.8 points per game.
The second game will take place on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. between the Clinton College Golden Bears and the Edward Waters University Tigers.
Clinton, which competes in the USCAA’s Eastern Metro Athletic Conference, has started its season 6-1. The team’s lone non-exhibition loss came by a score of 106-105 against Paine College on Oct. 27.
The Golden Bears are averaging 100.1 points per game, though the number is inflated due to Clinton’s 152-82 victory over South Carolina Faith A&M. Clinton’s leading scorers are senior Devin Campbell (21.6 ppg) and junior Tyler Bourne (19.2 ppg). Clinton’s roster also features 3 Rock Hill natives (JC McCorn, Jermirian Davis and Andarius Boulware) and Cameron Shannon from York.
Edward Waters, who joined the NCAA’s DII ranks this summer after previously competing in the NAIA, currently sits at 4-4 on the season. Unlike Clinton, the Tigers defeated Paine College (84-77).
The Tigers are averaging 73.8 points per game and their leading scorer is 6-foot-6 senior Elias Harden, who is averaging 19 points per game.
The Winthrop University Eagles face Carver College on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. in the third game of the event.
Winthrop is 3-3 coming off a tough four-game road stretch. The Eagles dropped three-straight games to Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Washington State before capping off their trip out west with an 82-74 win over the Washington University Huskies.
Winthrop’s scoring leaders are Big South Preseason Player of the Year DJ Burns, Jr. and graduate transfer Patrick Good. Burns, a 6-foot-9 redshirt junior, is averaging 17.3 points per game, which is slightly higher than Good, who is averaging 16 points per game.
The Eagles are averaging 11.3 three-pointers per game, shooting 42.77% from behind the arc as a team (a percentage that ranks top-10 in Division I).
Carver College, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, is 0-10 so far this season, having played nine games against NCAA Division I opponents. Carver’s least-embarrassing result thus far is an 87-57 loss against NAIA opponent William Carey University.
Carver’s best performance against its many Division I opponents was a 44-point loss to McNeese State. The Big South’s Gardner-Webb beat Carver 100-38.
Finally, the heavyweight match of the event takes place on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 12 p.m., featuring the Florida State Seminoles and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Seminoles were voted 20th in the preseason AP Poll (and in the preseason Student Media Poll), but fell to the Florida Gators in their second game of the season. They recently beat Boston University by just one point, 81-80.
Florida State is averaging 75.7 points per game and holding its opponents to a respectable 63 points per game. The Seminoles have three players averaging double-digit scoring in Malik Osborne (12.5 ppg), Matthew Cleveland (10.8) and Caleb Mills (10.5).
South Carolina also lost its second game of the season — a four-point loss to Princeton. The Gamecocks more recently escaped UAB by the skin of their teeth with a 66-63 victory.
Frank Martin’s squad is averaging 71.8 points per game and allowing 64.2 points per game. The Gamecocks have four players averaging double figures with Keyshawn Bryant (17 ppg), Jermaine Couisnard (13.5 ppg), Erik Stevenson (13.3 ppg) and Wildens Leveque (10.3).
