College of Charleston
3-4
The Citadel
3-4
Cougars Champion 92nd Holy City Clash
12/3/2014 4:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NICK VLATTAS
CofC Athletics Communications
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston men's basketball team downed The Citadel, 59-55, in the 92nd edition of the crosstown rivalry in front of 3,462 fans on Tuesday night at TD Arena.
The win extends CofC's edge to 53-39 in the all-time series, and both teams move to 3-4 overall on the season.
Indicative of the programs' proximity and long-contested history, the gameplay was extremely physical and often swung rapidly from end-to-end in quick transition. CofC's stingy defensive play willed the Cougars to victory, ultimately forcing the overpowered Cadets into 17 turnovers on the night.
Charleston displayed an innate ability to distribute offensively, finishing with an 11-4 bench-point advantage and seven different players with at least four points. Sophomore Canyon Barry (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished with 14 points including a game-sealing dunk in the waning seconds.
Freshman Donovan Gilmore (Greensboro, N.C.) scored 11 points in his inaugural Holy City showdown, while senior Adjehi Baru (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) finished with nine points and nine boards.
Charleston swarmed on defense from the outset, forcing the Bulldogs to settle for contested, outside shots and quickly opening a 6-1 lead. The Citadel's shooting woes were fleeting, however, as the Bulldogs stormed back to tie the game at 8-8, and the teams clawed at each other in true rivalry fashion for the bulk of the opening period.
Charleston's defense strengthened yet again and forced The Citadel into a four-minute, 0-for-6 shooting stretch, and Anthony Stitt's old-fashioned three-point play opened a six-point Cougar lead at the five-minute mark, the largest lead for either team in the first half.
For the rest of the half, however, it was all Bulldogs as the Cadets opened a 12-1, five-minute run to close the first half with a 33-28 advantage. The Cougars shot 50 percent (10-for-20) from the field in the first half, but The Citadel poured in 15 points (5-for-10) from behind the arc to lead at the break.
Just like the opening to the first half, the Cougars began the second with stout defense and created six consecutive defensive stops following the break. After limiting The Citadel to just 1-of-6 shooting and creating eight turnovers in 10 minutes, the Cougars led 40-35 at the midway point of the second half.
The Cougars would lead by as many as nine, but The Citadel's Ashton Moore kept the Bulldogs in the game by knocking down three consecutive three-point buckets and four free-throws, accounting for all of The Citadel's points in a 13-4 run which leveled the score at 50-50 at the two-minute mark.
After two successful sophomore Joe Chealey (Orlando, Fla.) free throws, Moore knocked down yet another three pointer – he finished the game with five, four in the second half – which swung The Citadel back in front in the final minute.
After dynamic ball movement in the Cougar end, Gilmore was fed the ball under the basketball and made a layup through contact, and after capping the three-point play with a free throw, the Cougars were back up by two.
Moore was sent to the charity stripe with a one-and-one opportunity which could have tied the game with ten seconds left, but his first attempt rattled out, and Barry went coast-to-coast after the rebound to finish the game with a two-handed slam, sending the crowd into perpetual celebration.
Charleston now breaks for nine days, before hosting South Carolina State on Thursday, Dec. 11 at TD Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be televised live locally on MyTV Charleston.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the second time this season and second-straight game, the Cougars used the starting five of Joe Chealey, Anthony Stitt, Canyon Barry, Donovan Gilmore and Adjehi Baru (1-1). It marked the second career start for Gilmore.
• With the win, the Cougars extends their lead in the 92-game, all-time series to eight consecutive games. Seniors Adjehi Baru, Anthony Stitt and Pat Branin are now 6-0 in their CofC careers against The Citadel.
• The four-point margin of victory was the closest in the series since a six-point margin of victory in favor of the Cougars (61-55) at McAlister Field House on Jan. 9, 2010.
• Donovan Gilmore is currently on a career-best three-game double-digit scoring streak with 11 points against The Citadel. He also made a career-high three steals in the ballgame.
• First-year CofC Head Coach Earl Grant claimed his first career home victory at TD Arena. He previously served as an assistant coach at The Citadel from 2002-04.
• Canyon Barry registered a team-high 14 points to mark his third game this season in double figures.
• CofC committed its second-fewest turnovers in a single game this season (11) and The Citadel went to the free throw line an opponent season-low 13 times (10-for-13).
• The Cougars are now 3-1 this season when holding opponents below 60 points. They also made a season-high 10 steals against the Bulldogs.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the rivalry game …
“I knew it was going to be a hard game, for a couple of reasons. No. 1, my first (NCAA) Division I job in 2002 (at The Citadel), I sat on that bench and knew that this was the biggest game on the schedule. I knew it would be a dogfight. No. 2, I was concerned they had two senior guards who had been playing well and a senior big guy who had been competing well. No. 3, we were coming off road trips to Puerto Rico and Morgantown where we were beaten up by UConn, Texas A&M, George Mason and West Virginia. We had not practiced maybe two times in the last 10 days. We had one day to prepare, because we traveled back on Sunday and decided not to practice. We practiced Monday and played Tuesday. I was concerned for a lot of reasons, but I told our guys we better get up and celebrate. Every win is precious. We are going to celebrate every time we get a win.”
On being down at halftime …
“I give my guys credit. They showed character and persevered. It was 33-28 and we were down five heading into the locker room. I had great senior leadership from Adjehi Baru and Anthony Stitt and my freshmen came in and gave us a lift as well. I'm proud of my guys dealing with adversity and not pointing fingers (through this tough stretch). We are a developing team and it was good to see that we could fight through adversity.”
On getting his first home win as a head coach …
“First home win and first (NCAA) Division I (head-coaching) job. I don't know if I am a weirdo, but every win is just a win. I'm happy that we have nine days off. But, I'm more concerned with how are we going to get better. We have to get better. I don't know how much I will celebrate this win. But, I know I will come up with a plan for us to get better. Looking at the big picture, I'm more focused on the future of this program being established the right way. I have a lot of work to do with where we want this program to be.”
College of Charleston Sophomore Guard Canyon Barry
On the rivalry and how close the game was …
“Citadel-Charleston is one of the biggest rivalries we have down here (in the Lowcountry). It's always nice to come out with the win. They are always a tough team to play, be it their place or our place. Their guys are always hyped up and we are hyped up. I'm just happy we were able to execute down the stretch and get the win. When you are playing The Citadel and us, it's a different style than it normally is, because the rivalry is there. It's so intense on defense and offense on every possession. You're going to give it your all. We expected them to be tough. They have had some tough years, but have always been physical. We were ready for a battle coming in.”
College of Charleston Freshman Forward Donovan Gilmore
On the rivalry …
“It was a tough, tough game. It was my first time actually playing in the rivalry game as a freshman. I went in it knowing it would be a physical and chippy game. I'm just glad we came out with the win.”
Citadel Head Coach Chuck Driesell
On the game …
“We have a good basketball team. These guys work hard and are fun to watch. I love my team. We are going to win some basketball games. Shooting 39 percent (from the field) for the game. We are better than that. But, they are tough kids. You didn't get to see our game at Florida State. These guys are playing hard for me. They want to win, and man, did they have a chance tonight. They feel it and see it. There's a lot of character in that locker room.”
