The Cougars improved to 20-9, 13-4 (SoCon) and clinched a 3rd-seed in the SoCon Tourney next week, with their win over the Citadel Bulldogs, 50-40. (Link is to the Post & Courier's article). The Bulldogs dropped to 7-21, 4-13 (SoCon) but don't count the Dogs out yet as we all know how formidable they can be in the SoCon Tournament. (Photo by Alan Hawes of the Post & Courier)
The Cougars shot 40% against the Bulldogs 22.7% as the College held the Citadel to a paltry 10-points in the first half, but as the Cougars rested on a lead of 24-points (shooting 53.3% from the field) in the 2nd-half, the momentum changed in favor of the Bulldogs as Dontaye Draper earned his 4th foul and the Bulldogs' defensive-press took effect: forcing 13 Cougar turnovers as the Bulldogs went on a 14-0 run (shooting 41.4% from the field), closing the Cougars' lead to 10 with less than 6 minutes left on the clock. The pressure of the Citadel press and the absence of Draper on the court allowed the Bulldogs to become dangerously close to putting a damper on Senior Night for the College's 4 seniors on the hardwood of Kresse Arena.
Despite Draper's return in the final 5-minutes, with a quick exit after getting his 5th foul with less than 3-minutes on the clock, the Cougars did not hit a field-goal in the final 9 minutes of the game as the Citadel closed the gap-trailing by 8-points (44-36). The Bulldogs have been plagued with injuries and tired legs all season, and it showed in the final moments of the game as the Dogs ran out of bite, despite closing the gap to 7 (45-38). The Cougars would find their salvation through "charity" as they added 5 crucial points from the charity-stripe, ending with their 10th straight victory over the Citadel, 50-40. Demetrius Nelson led the Bulldogs with 19-points.
College of Charleston Basketball Seniors in Action
In their final home game, in front of the 3rd largest crowd at Kresse Arena the Cougars' 4 seniors did not have the blow-out victory they wanted, but a "W" is a "W" and there is still a lot of basketball for the Cougars to play before they move to greener fields.
Renardo Dickerson: Nardo only played for 4-minutes, and wasn't able to increase his stats, but he was a dependable presence on the court in transition.
Dontaye Draper: Dontaye went 4-6 from the field, scoring 8-points with 3-boards in his 27-minutes of play.
David Lawrence: David was a rock star for 30-minutes, putting 21-points on the board, hitting 7-13 from the field, 3-4 from the charity-stripe, grabbing 5-rebounds and he was 4 for 8 from behind the arc.
Philip McCandies: Philip was limited to only 5-points, but he played fantastic defense and grabbed 11-rebounds for the College in his 30-minutes of play. He took advantage of the Citadel's pressure-defense, hitting 3 for 4 from the charity-stripe. Philip is averaging 8.3-boards in the last 3-games.Teams---1st half---2nd half---total
El Cid---10---30---40
CofC---22---28---50
1 comment:
Josh Jackson had 8-points, and 4-boards.
Jermaine Johnson had 5-points and 4-boards.
Tony White Jr. had 1-point, going 1-2 from the charity-stripe.
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