November 7, 2002
Junior forward Max Mombollet scored 19 points, grabbed five rebounds and added six assists to help The Citadel dominate the All-Air Force Team, 88-64, in exhibition basketball action Thursday night in McAlister Fieldhouse.
"Tonight was a good indicator of how good and bad we can be," Citadel coach Pat Dennis stated. "We still have a lot of work to do, especially on defense. We allowed Air Force way too many opportunities at the rim."
The Citadel jumped out to a 38-31 lead at the end of the first half and never looked back. The Bulldogs expanded their first half lead early in the second as they went on a 14-2 run to begin the period. The All-Air Force team responded to the surge as they closed the gap to 54-48 on a jumper by forward Travis Clark. The Citadel then finished the half by outscoring their opponents 34-16 in the remaining 10 minutes of regulation.
"This was a good win for our team and I was impressed with our ability to pick up the pace in the second half," Dennis added. "We showed a lot of patience with the half-court press and that is very important for some of our younger players."
The Bulldogs received another strong preseason performance by Mombollet, who continues to impress the coaches. Senior guard Kenny Milford seemed more comfortable in the second exhibition of the year as he was second on the team with 11 points from the shooting guard position.
"Max and Kenny have been bright spots for us during the whole preseason," Dennis continued. "Moving Kenny to the shooting guard position has been one of the best moves as a coaching staff we have made during practice. I feel we did a good job getting everyone involved in the game plan as we had a lot of players get valuable playing time and the opportunity to get into the offensive system."
Dennis was right as senior center Gregg Jones led the way on the glass for The Citadel as he grabbed seven boards and added eight points. Jones was one of six Bulldogs that had eight points, with 12 Bulldogs appearing in the scoring column on the evening.
The Citadel opens up the regular season on Friday, November 22nd against Webber International University at 7:15 in McAlister Field House.
