College of Charleston
The Citadel (CSS)
Cougars Drop First Home Game of the Year, Fall to The Citadel, 72-65
2/9/2010 3:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Zach Urbanus scored a team-leading 17 points, including a three-pointer that gave the Bulldogs a five-point lead with 36 seconds remaining, as The Citadel snapped the College of Charleston's 12-game home-winning streak with a 72-65 victory in front of 5,154 fans at the Carolina First Arena. Charleston's last loss at the arena was a 72-58 decision against the same Bulldogs, Feb. 14, 2009.
The Citadel snapped Charleston's three-game winning streak and improved to 13-12 overall and 7-6 in the Southern Conference. The Cougars fell to 16-9 and 11-3 in the league. The 5,154 fans was the fourth largest crowd in Carolina First Arena history.
"That was a terrific basketball game," said Head Coach Bobby Cremins. "I congratulate The Citadel. They played a great game. Urbanus made a great shot. It was a really exciting game and they played great. The Citadel is as good as anyone in our league. They've lost some really close ball games and they could be right there at the top."
The second half saw four ties and four lead changes with The Citadel taking the lead for good at the 2:56 mark off a layup by Bryan Streeter, who ended the game with eight points. After Urbanus hit a three at the 2:19 mark to give the Bulldogs a four-point lead, Casaan Breeden scored two of his eight points of the night to cut the margin to two, 65-67, with 1:16 to go.
With seven seconds to go on the shot clock, The Citadel lost control of the ball and as it was going out of bounds a Bulldog player knocked it into a CofC player to retain possession and set up Urbanus, who with three seconds to go on the shot clock and 36 seconds to go overall, connected on the three-pointer for the five-point lead. Andrew Goudelock (Lilburn, Ga.), who led the Cougars with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his third career double-double, missed the ensuing three-point attempt with 23 on the clock, forcing the Cougars to foul. Harrison DuPont hit both free throws with nine seconds remaining to help the Bulldogs seal the 72-65 win.
The Citadel built a 19-10 lead with 10:57 to go in the first half before Charleston went on an 11-2 run, led by Jeremy Simmons (Lithonia, Ga.) who scored five of his 14 points during the stretch, to knot the game at 21-21 with 6:08 remaining before intermission. All told, the College of Charleston outscored the Bulldogs, 21-8, after being down 10-19, and went into the locker room with the four-point, 31-27 lead. The loss was just the second this season for the Cougars when leading at the half; they are now 14-2.
The Cougars tied their season-low with six three-pointers, shooting just 26.1 percent for the game, while The Citadel was seven-for-13. The Cougars shot 44.3 percent overall from the field, while The Citadel shot 50.8 percent. The Bulldogs out-rebounded Charleston 37-39 and had four more turnovers, 13-9.
"We didn't shot the ball real well tonight. It was a tough game and we expected that. I thought we were alright. We got up three or four points after half but we just had trouble stopping them. The Citadel is well coached and they're good."
Following Urbanus' 17 points was DuPont and Cameron Wells, who each had 15 points. Dupont also led in rebounds with six. The other Cougar in double-figures, behind Simmons and Goudelock, was Tony White, Jr., with 15 points.
Charleston is next in action Thursday, Feb. 11 against Elon. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Carolina First Arena. For ticket information visit www.CofCSports.com or call 843.953.CofC (2632).
