Charleston, S.C. Forward Dominique Archie had 16 points and eight rebounds while guard Tre' Kelley added 15 as South Carolina defeated The Citadel, 74-59, in front of 3,802 fans at McAlister Field House on Monday night.
Senior guard Donny McLendon had 17 points, including four from beyond the arc, to lead the Bulldogs while senior guard Kevin Hammack added 16 points and three steals. Senior forward J'Mel Everhart, who came into the contest leading the Southern Conference in rebounding, pulled down 14 boards to top everyone in the game as the Bulldogs outrebounded the Gamecocks, 34-32.
“I was extremely proud of our team's effort,” head coach Ed Conroy said. “I was not happy with our start, especially on the defensive end, but we came back and put ourselves in position to be competitive so I was very excited about that.”
The Gamecocks blocked seven of The Citadel's shots, including five by forward Brandon Wallace who also added 10 points. After shooting 48 percent in the first half, South Carolina went 13-for-19 from the floor in the final 20 minutes for a blistering 68 percent. The Citadel shot 38 percent from the floor in the contest and went 8-for-19 from beyond the arc.
“We are becoming better and better shooters every day,” Conroy said. “We have some guys who are very capable of being good shooters, and although it's been a problem spot for us from the free throw line and from the field in general so far this season, our guys are going to start knocking more shots down the more comfortable we get.”
After jumping out to an early 17-6 lead, the Gamecocks saw their lead slip away as a lay-up by junior forward Demetrious Nelson tied the game at 19 with 8:56 left in the first half. Forward Dwayne Day gave South Carolina the lead back with a three-pointer and the Gamecocks built their lead back up to eight after a lay-up by Archie made it 27-19 with 5:43 remaining until halftime. A 5-0 run by The Citadel cut the Gamecock lead to five as a lay-up by Hammack made it 27-22. That was as close as the Bulldogs would get until the break, however, as Archie hit a lay-up for the last points of the half with 31 seconds remaining to give South Carolina a 35-28 advantage going into the locker room. Archie scored 12 of his points in the first half to lead the Gamecocks while Hammack scored nine to pace the Cadets.
The Citadel came out of the locker room and cut the lead to four on a three-pointer by McLendon with 17:17 remaining in the contest. After expanding the lead back to 10 at 43-33, the Bulldogs eventually cut it back to a four-point game after a three-pointer by Hammack made it 45-41 with 14:06 remaining. Kelley hit a jumper to push the lead back to six, but sophomore guard Vytautas Valiulis made a lay-up with 12:43 left to make it 47-43. But that was as close as The Citadel would get as the Gamecocks went on a 9-2 run to push the advantage to 11 at 56-45 with 9:19 left in the game. The Cadets scored the next two baskets as a lay-up by Hammack made it 56-49 with 6:32 left, but the Gamecocks scored the next five points to take control of the game for good.
The Bulldogs will play the third contest of their four-game homestand on Saturday at McAlister Field House as they host Army. Tip-off is set for 1:05 p.m. and the contest can be heard live on CNN Radio 1450 AM in Charleston. Live audio and video of the contest will also be available through Bulldog Insider at www.CitadelSports.com.
