Late Night Snacks: All Jeff Withey everything!

With less than 30 games on the slate, it was a slow Monday night. Thankfully, the one Top 10 team in action delivered a performance worth writing about. Here’s your Late Night Snacks.

Games of the Night

Kansas 70, San Jose State 57 – The game itself, nothing to really look at. The stat sheet? Another story. Jeff Withey went off for the second triple-double in program history with 16 points (a team high), 12 rebounds and an amazing 12 blocks. That in-of-itself makes this a crazy awesome  game. James Kinney tossed in 30 points by himself for the Spartans, so great performances all around at The Phog.

Murray State 88, Lipscomb 79 – Not a lot of people saw this one being close, but it was. It took 20-plus-point performances from Isaiah Canaan, Ed Daniel and Stacey Wilson to put the Racers over the top and to 5-1. A road is still a road win when you’re playing in the mid-major ranks, but for any shot at an at-large bid (remember Belmont is a contender in their first year in the Ohio Valley Conference) they’ll need to win games like that more convincingly.

Tennessee 77, Oakland 50 – The score itself was a blowout, but most people forget that the Golden Grizzlies (another great mascot) owned a two-game winning streak on the Volunteers. Trae Golden put up good numbers in the win and the Vols stay steady while Jeronne Maymon heals.

Games of Note

Morehead State 73, Norfolk State 67 – It’s not everyday games between marginal mid-major and low-major teams are posted, but this was the contest that Morehead State coach Sean Woods served his one-game suspension in. The Eagles still won, beating the Spartans who should contend in the MEAC, which is all a team like Morehead State can ask for without their head coach. It’ll be interesting if the suspension alters Woods’ public coaching demeanor going forward.

Loyola (Md.) 65, Towson 53 – A battle for Baltimore deserves some pub. Jimmy Patsos got a boost from 19 points and eight rebounds from Dylan Cromier in 38 minutes and got bragging rights for the season in the city. Although there is always a battle with Maryland-Baltimore County that can truly decide the fate of the college basketball world in The Wire’s hometown.

Starred

Ed Daniel and Isaiah Canaan, Murray State – The Racers needed every last point from these two tonight in their win. Canaan went for 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including six threes. Ed Daniel went for 20 points, 18 rebounds and five rebounds (and five fouls). It should be noted that Stacey Wilson added in 20 in the win. Big night for that trio.

Trae Golden, Tennessee – The Vols point guard helped break the two-game skid against Oakland with a game-high 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds in the win. He’s been great as the team’s on-court leader.

Colton Iverson, Colorado State – Can’t argue with a double-double in a win. The Minnesota transfer had 18 points and 13 boards in a blowout win over Northern Colorado. He hit 7-of-8 shots from the field and only committed two fouls in 32 minutes. Efficient.

Struggled

Everyone besides Jonathon Williams, Wagner – Williams went off for 26 points on 10-for-11 shooting, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line for the Seahawks. The rest of the team went for 37 points on 13-for-44 shooting. The next closest scorer? Two teammates scored eight.

Dan Trist, Lafayette – The man went for 30 a few games ago against Long Island. It’s stil lthe Jaguars lone win of the season. Trist hasn’t faired well since, either. He was averaging 18.7 points per game coming into the game with Monmouth, but managed just four points on on 1-of-4 shooting.

Stuffing the stat sheet

Jeff FREAKING Withey – Not a ton needs to be said. The man went off for 16-12-12. Triple-double (drops mic).

Fanbase that can take a breath

Murray State – You survived on the premise of your veteran guard and forward, but got some much needed help from Wilson, a UAB transfer in his first season with the program. The depth is still an issue, because playing minutes and playing valuable minutes are two totally different things. But you won, put up 88 in the process and unless you duplicate last season’s dominance, every win is going to count in non-conference.

Fanbase that can take a seat

Wagner – It’s really not fair to say this. But Wagner was picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference and they’re only 1-3 to start the season with a loss to Albany, who isn’t expected to blow up anyone’s plans in March. One of the losses was to Syracuse, but the other was to Delaware State. The Seahawks one win? A 38-36 decision over North Carolina Central. That was two halves of basketball. Keep your head up, Seahawk Nation.

David Harten is the editor of The Backboard Chronicles. You can follow him on Twitter at @David_Harten.