Nov. 29, 2004

Box Score

Charleston, SC - J'mel Everhart, a sophomore forward, scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead The Citadel over Chowan 80-61 in nonconference basketball action from McAlister Field House. Guards Travis Smith and Dante Terry added 16 and 14 points, respectively, to Everhart's double-double.

"I have to give credit to Chowan because they hung in there," Citadel coach Pat Dennis stated. "We came out hot after the half and never let them back in it."

Everhart was the Bulldogs' go to man as he hit his first nine shots, including four dunks. He was a perfect 6-6 with 13 points at halftime giving The Citadel a 44-35 first-half advantage. Everhart's first double-double of the 2004-05 season is only the second of his career. He posted 11 points and 13 boards against Davidson during his freshman campaign.

"J'mel was great tonight," added Dennis. "He isn't a pure shooter, but he is great scorer who is always around the basket and that was evident tonight by his four dunks."

With a nine-point half-time advantage, the Bulldogs used a 12-point run that encompassed six minutes, including the final 3:30 of the first half, to pull away. The Citadel continued to pull away building a game-high 21-point lead with 1:48 to play on Smith's fourth three-pointer of the night.

"We didn't shoot great from behind the arc tonight," Dennis commented. "But Travis [Smith] hit four and I'll take that any night.

Chowan (1-5) kept it close in the first half on 13-26 shooting, but the Braves could not keep up the hot shooting finishing the game 23-58 (39.7%) from the field. Chowan, however, had three players post double-digit points, Roland Brown led all Braves with 14 points, while Isaac McCall and Marcus Artis both tallied ten apiece. Brown also was Chowan's high rebounder with nine.

Several other Bulldogs chipped in with solid efforts, including sophomore Aaron Xia who tied a career-best with eight points. Junior Matt Davis continued his hard work on the glass as he ripped down five boards and scored seven points, while freshman Warren McLendon continued his solid play with nine points and four rebounds.

The Citadel picked up its third win of the season, marking the Bulldogs best start since 2000-01 when Dennis' squad started 3-1.

The Citadel will return to the court on Thursday, December 2 at 7:15 pm as the Bulldogs host Voorhees in nonconference action.