CofC Earns Victory over The Citadel, 74-62

Tuesday, January 9

Charleston, SC

7:05 p.m.

College of Charleston

The Citadel

1/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: CofCSports.com

Marcus Hammonds' career-high 21 points and Donyate Draper's 25 points and a career-high tying eight assists lifted the College of Charleston to a 74-62 win over The Citadel before 5,157 at McAlister Field House on Tuesday.

The victory improves Charleston's record to 10-7 overall and 3-2 in the SoCon. The loss drops The Citadel to 5-10 overall and 2-3 in the SoCon.

The teams traded baskets early in the game and a converted free-throw by sophomore Jermaine Johnson tied the game, 5-5, at the 16:41 mark of the first half. However, a three-pointer by Draper with 8:38 in the first half capped an 18-8 run by the Cougars to gain their largest lead of the first half, 23-13. The Citadel made its own strong offensive run and a jumper by J'Mel Everhart with two seconds remaining in the half ended its 16-6 run to tie the game, 29-29, going into halftime.

For the first half, Charleston shot 44.0 percent from the field (11-25) and made four three-pointers, while The Citadel shot 48.1 percent (13-27) and made two three-pointers.

The Cougars started the second half strongly and a lay-up by senior David Lawrence 3:17 into the half capped a 13-2 run to give CofC the lead, 42-31. The Citadel made a comeback and a jumper by Demetrius Nelson with 14:42 left in the game made the score, 43-39, in favor of the Cougars. This would be the closest The Citadel would get in the game. Freshman Tony White, Jr.'s three-pointer with 9:03 left in the game gave Charleston a double-digit lead, 52-42. Hammond's free-throw with 1:03 left in the second half gave CofC its largest lead in the game, 72-54.

For the game, Charleston shot 53.1 percent from the field (26-49), which is the second highest percentage the Cougars have shot this season. CofC shot a season high 55.8 percent (29-52) at Western Carolina on Dec. 21, 2006. Charleston also shot a season-high 45.8 percent for three-point field goals (11-24) in the game and had a season high 12 steals. The Cougars made 11 out of their 13 free-throws.

The Citadel shot 48.1 percent from the field (25-52) in the game and made four out of 16 three-pointers. The Bulldogs also made eight out of their 15 free-throw attempts.

The Citadel grabbed more rebounds than CofC, 28-27, and had more turnovers, 19-18.

For the Cougars, Lawrence had 15 points to go with four rebounds and two steals. Junior Josh Jackson led the Cougars in rebounds with seven. Both Draper and senior Philip McCandies had four steals for CofC.

Nelson led The Citadel in scoring with 16 points, while Kevin Hammack scored 12 points for the Bulldogs. Bryan Streeter led The Citadel in rebounds with six.

The Cougars will return to action on Jan. 13 when they face fellow SoCon team, Furman, at the John Kresse Arena on Jan. 13. The game will begin at 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted on CSS. The Citadel's next game will also be on Jan. 13, but against another SoCon foe, Georgia Southern, at the McAlister Field House beginning at 2 p.m.