February 12, 2002
If The Citadel is going to make a final-week move in the Southern Conference's South Division, the Bulldogs will have to do it on the road.
In their next-to-last home game of the season Monday night, the Bulldogs ran out of gas in overtime and fell by 70-64 to Furman before 1,423 fans at McAlister Field House.
The loss, The Citadel's sixth in its last seven games, left the 14-10 Bulldogs tied for third place in the SoCon South with 13-11 Furman, each with 6-7 league records.
The Citadel trails first-place Chattanooga and College of Charleston (8-5) and second-place Georgia Southern (6-6) with just three games left - a nightmarish weekend trip from Georgia Southern Saturday to VMI Monday, and the home finale against Wofford Feb. 23.
The Bulldogs - 1-5 in SoCon road games this season - likely have to win all three to have any shot at finishing in the South Division's top two and earning a first-round bye in the SoCon Tournament Feb. 28-March 3 at the North Charleston Coliseum.
"We have to win all three," said Citadel junior Mike Joseph, who had 13 points and seven rebounds Monday. "We have to find a way to win all three and get this team back on a roll."
Said Citadel coach Pat Dennis, "Right now, I'm just worried about winning one."
Furman, winless in its last eight trips to Charleston, won this one by making 24 of 28 free throws and pounding the Bulldogs on the glass, 45-32.
No less than three Paladins turned in double-doubles, each with the same line of 13 points and 10 rebounds - forward Kenny Zeigler, point guard Guilherme Da Luz and forward Karim Souchu. Forward Anthony Thomas led the Paladins with 17 points.
"A great win for Furman," said Paladins coach Larry Davis, whose team swept The Citadel this season. "It was a game that they had to have and one that we had to have."
The Citadel had a 14-game homecourt win streak earlier this season, but now has lost two of the last three at McAlister, and turned in some tired numbers Monday. Not only where the Dogs out-rebounded, but they made just 17 of 29 free throws (58.6 percent) compared with Furman's 85.7 percent.
"To me, that's the difference in the game," Dennis said.
Travis Cantrell made 4 of 12 from 3-point range for 14 points, and center Gregg Jones added 11 for the Bulldogs.
After Cantrell missed a floating 15-footer at the buzzer with the game tied at 59, Furman scored the first five points of OT, on a basket by Zeigler and a 3-pointer from Thomas, and took a 66-60 lead with 1:46 left.
"It's tough in OT when one team gets up quick like that," Dennis said.
The Citadel's Cliff Washburn hit a free throw and a basket for 66-62, and then he and Erick Wilson trapped Da Luz near midcourt. Washburn knocked the ball free to Joseph, who sped downcourt for a basket and was fouled, making the score 66-64 with 63 seconds left.
Joseph missed his free throw, but tracked down the rebound. He drove and missed, got the rebound and missed again. Bodies hit the floor as the teams scrambled for the ball, the jump ball going to The Citadel with 42 seconds left.
But after a timeout, the best the Bulldogs could do was Joseph's 3-point try with 23.6 seconds left. He missed, and Furman made four free throws in the final 23 seconds.
"Unfortunately, I took a bad shot," Joseph said. "With that much time left, I should have drove the ball inside and tried to make something happen."
Down by six at the half, the Dogs opened the second half in a 2-3 zone and held Furman scoreless for the first 4:42. That was enough time for The Citadel to score seven unanswered points for a 41-40 lead.
Neither team led by more than three for the rest of regulation. The Bulldogs' Alan Puckett, 1 of 10 from 3-point range in a Saturday loss at UNC Greensboro, hit two huge treys down the stretch with Cantrell on the bench.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 59-59 with 1:21 left on a Jones free throw. Puckett made a clutch block of Da Luz's baseline jumper with about 25 seconds left, giving the Dogs a chance to go for the win. But Cantrell's floating jumper over Da Luz bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Furman took control of the first half with a 9-0 run, as Da Luz dished for one basket and swished a wide-open 3-pointer. That run put the Paladins up by 20-12 with 10:20 left.
The Bulldogs closed to within 30-27 as Cantrell hit his third 3-pointer and Washburn scored on a pass from Puckett.
But Furman came back with a 6-0 run, capped by Souchu's trey, and led by 40-34 at the half. The Paladins out-rebounded The Citadel by 21-9 and hit 15 of 17 free throws in the first 20 minutes.
