February 22, 2002
The Citadel will battle intrastate rival Wofford Saturday afternoon in a 1 p.m. in a key South Division matchup that will help settle the seeding for next week's Southern Conference Championships which will be held at the North Charleston Coliseum.
Additionally, the Bulldogs will see three seniors - Travis Cantrell, Alan Puckett and Cliff Washburn - play their final game in McAlister Field House.
The Bulldogs, 15-11 overall and 7-8 in league play, will attempt to avenge an earlier 73-64 overtime loss at Wofford on Jan. 9. Wofford enters Saturday's contest 11-16 overall and 5-10 in the league, and the game will also serve as the final regular-season contest for their coach, Richard Johnson. Johnson is a 1976 Citadel graduate who played for and later coached with current Citadel Director of Athletics Les Robinson. Johnson, who coached Wofford basketball for 17 years, will move into the Terriers' athletic directors' chair full-time.
Coach Pat Dennis, who has guided Bulldog teams to a minimum of 10 wins in nine of his 10 seasons, is now 12 victories shy of the all-time win record at The Citadel. His 120 victories are a dozen shy of Les Robinson's 132.
Should The Citadel defeat Wofford, the Bulldogs will have posted back-to-back 16-win seasons entering the Southern Conference Tournament. Seeding, bracketing and pairings for the championships, which begin Feb. 28, will be announced Saturday night.
The Citadel's three seniors have played significant minutes since their freshman years and highlights of their careers - with a minimum of two games to go -- are listed:
TRAVIS CANTRELL,,h The Citadel's all-time leader in three-point field goals made (249);,,h Ninth leading scorer in school history (1,236 points = 11.2 average);,,h 19th member of the school's 1,000-point club;,,h School's second all-time leader in free throw percentage (.843);,,h Along with Alan Puckett, the duo rate as the most proficient three-point field goal shooters in Southern Conference history (487);,,h Second in Southern Conference in three-point field goals in a career (249);,,h Tied for fifth in Southern Conference for most three-point field goals in a season (96 - tied with The Citadel's Noy Castillo);,,h Tied school record with nine three-point field goals in a single game (vs. WCU, 2002);,,h Also had games in which he recorded seven three-pointers and three games with six treys;,,h Currently tied for third in the NCAA for three-point field goals made per game (3.7);,,h Is currently the 13th ranked free throw shooter in NCAA Division I (.895);,,h Has played in 110 career games (three shy of the school record);,,h Gold Star student who earned a perfect 4.0 last semester.
ALAN PUCKETT,,h 20th member of the school's 1,000-point club;,,h 19th leading scorer in school history (1,082 points = 9.8 average);,,h Second in school history for three-point field goals made (238);,,h Along with Travis Cantrell, the duo rate as the most proficient three-point field goal shooters in Southern Conference history (487);,,h Had four games in which he recorded six three-point field goals;,,h Has played in 110 career games (three shy of the school record);,,h Consistently a Dean's List Student (3.4 gpr).
CLIFF WASHBURN,,h Is seven points shy of becoming the 21st member of the school's 1,000-point club (if he makes the 1,000 points, it will give The Citadel three 1,000-point scorers on the floor at the same time and the only other time that has occurred in Citadel history was in 1959-60 under Coach Norm Sloan);,,h Ranks fifth on The Citadel's all-time charts with 319 made free throws;,,h Ranks eighth on the school's all-time rebounding list (617);,,h Has played in 109 career games (four shy of the school record).
