Charleston, S.C. The Citadel basketball (No.11) will take on No. 6 Georgia Southern in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament at the North Charleston Coliseum on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 8 p.m. and Bulldog fans can check out the live action with Robby Robinson on CNN 1450 or through Bulldog Insider at www.CitadelSports.com. Fans can also enjoy the live audio and video stream of the game on www.SoConSports.com.
Wednesday's game will be the 37th meeting between The Citadel and Georgia Southern. The Eagles lead the series, 21-15, with both teams claiming wins this season. The first match-up earlier this season took place on Saturday, Jan. 13 at McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs topped the Eagles in a 74-69 overtime victory. Senior guard Kevin Hammack led The Citadel with 32 points, shooting 16-of-17 free throws.
The second match-up between The Citadel and Georgia Southern this season took place just a week and a half ago when the Bulldogs traveled to Statesboro, Ga. The Eagles defeated The Citadel, 81-62. Hammack led the Bulldogs with 18 points, however GSU guard Donte Gennie led the game with 30 points, shooting 6-of-6 from long range.
The Bulldogs wrapped up their regular season on Saturday, Feb. 24 with an 87-70 loss to Davidson at home at McAlister Field House. The defeat, which fell on Senior Day, was The Citadel's sixth consecutive loss, making their regular season record 7-22 overall and 4-14 in Southern Conference action.
Georgia Southern (14-15 overall; 7-11 SoCon) is on a three-game winning streak, which includes a win over The Citadel on Monday, Feb. 19. The Eagles are coming off a 74-65 win over the College of Charleston on Saturday, Feb. 24 in Statesboro, Ga. The 2006 South Division Champions finished this season fourth in the division only ahead of Wofford and The Citadel.
For a game recap, stats or more information on Bulldog Basketball or The Citadel Athletics, go to www.CitadelSports.com.
More Notes:
Bulldogs vs. Eagles
Tonight's game is the 37th meeting between The Citadel and Georgia Southern. The Eagles lead the series, 21-15, with both teams claiming wins this season. The first match-up earlier this season between the two teams took place on Saturday, Jan. 13 at McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs topped the Eagles in a 74-69 overtime victory. Senior guard Kevin Hammack led The Citadel with 32 points, shooting 16-of-17 free throws. The second match-up between The Citadel and Georgia Southern took place just a week and a half ago when the Bulldogs traveled to Statesboro, Ga. The Eagles defeated The Citadel, 81-62. Hammack led the Bulldogs with 18 points, however GSU guard Donte Gennie led the game with 30 points, shooting 6-of-6 from long range... The Citadel has lost the last nine of 15 match-ups againt the Eagles. Before this season's overtime victory, the Bulldogs had not claimed a win against GSU since 2005.
Bulldogs in the Tournament
The Citadel has only claimed three Southern Conference Tournament wins in the last 20 seasons. The wins came in 1998 when they defeated VMI, 77-66, in Greensboro, N.C., in 2002 against VMI, 80-70, at the North Charleston Coliseum and in 2006 against Furman, 65-53, also at the North Charleston Coliseum. The last time the Bulldogs claimed more than one victory in a SoCon Tournament was in 1959 when they defeated Furman, 93-88, followed by a 53-52 victory over Georgia Washington. The Bulldogs lost the final game, played in Richmond, Va., to West Virginia, 85-66. Jerry West played for WVU at that time.
Facing GSU in Tourney- A Thing of First-Year Coaches
The Citadel has faced Georgia Southern in the tournament only on one previous occasion. It was in 1993, Pat Dennis' first-year as head coach at The Citadel. The Southern Conference Tournament was held in Asheville, N.C. and the Bulldogs lost, 72-41. The Citadel finished the season, 10-17 overall and 10-10 in SoCon action. The Citadel hopes to even the tournament series record against the Eagles tonight at the North Charleston Coliseum.
Most Minutes Played Ever
Having played in every game of his collegiate career with the exception of two just this season and having started 111 of those games, it is no surprise that senior forward J'Mel Everhart has racked up a lot of minutes. However, he has not only played quite a bit of basketball, he's played more than any Bulldog in the history of the basketball program. As he wrapped up his last week of regular season collegiate basketball, Everhart broke Coach Conroy's teammate Leon Bryant's (1986-89) record for the most minutes played in a career (3,496). Everhart, who now totals 3,608 minutes will replace Bryant in the record book for the Bulldog with the most minutes played in the program's history.
Among the Ranks in the SoCon
While The Citadel basketball may not hold the top spots in Southern Conference statistics, several Bulldogs are among the conference's top-15 players in categories such as scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, assists as well as many others. Those among the ranks in SoCon only statistics include:
Bulldogs in SoCon Rankings
Scoring: Kevin Hammack, 11th (14.7)
Donny McLendon, 24th (11.0)
Demetrius Nelson, 30th (9.8)
J'Mel Everhart, 40th (7.8)
Rebounds: J'Mel Everhart, 15th (5.9)
FG %: Demetrius Nelson, 5th (.605)
J'Mel Everhart, 8th (.576)
Assists: Kevin Hammack, 8th (3.44/gm)
FT %: Kevin Hammack, 11th (.763)
Steals: Kevin Hammack, 12th (1.39/gm)
3pt Made: Donny McLendon, 8th (2.28/gm)
Asst/Turn Ratio: Kevin Hammack, 10th (.98)
O. Rebounds: J'Mel Everhart, 9th (2.38/gm)
Minutes: Kevin Hammack, 2nd (36.28/gm)
Hammack Moves to Sixth
With his two 3-pointers against Davidson on Saturday, Feb. 24th, senior guard Kevin Hammack improved to seventh all-time on The Citadel's career 3-point chart. Hammack, who now has 133 from long range, knocked Jamie Jenkins (132, 1995-98) from the No. 7 spot. Senior guard Donny McLendon remains sixth all-time with 158 baskets from behind the arc.
Bulldogs in the Record Books
The Citadel senior guard Kevin Hammack and forward J'Mel Everhart will leave their mark all over the Bulldogs' record book as they prepare to depart the military college. Everhart started every game as a freshman and all but two games of his career at The Citadel. Only missing three games in the entire four seasons just this year after suffering with knee injuries, Everhart still broke the school's record in most games started with 111. Everhart holds down the No. 3 spot all-time at The Citadel with 817 career boards. He just recently became the 24th Bulldog to reach 1,000 points, currently totaling 1,020 career points. He also holds the school's record for the most minutes played by any Bulldog in the program's history with 3,608... Hammack has played a Citadel all-time record of 117 games of which he started in 106. Hammack's career-performance came this season when he racked up a career-high 32 points, five boards, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot in the Bulldogs' overtime victory against Georgia Southern. Hammack shot an impressive 16-of-17 free throws, tying the most made free throws of any SoCon player this season and the third highest in The Citadel's history. Hammack's two free throws against the College of Charleston on Thursday night put him in The Citadel's all-time top-10 for free throws in a career with 288. He now has 292. He will also leave holding the school's record in assists and steals with an all-time total of 454 assists and 222 steals. Hammack became the 23rd Bulldog to reach 1,000 points with a total of 1,221 career points the 10th highest of all-time.
Bulldogs Second in SoCon
The Citadel holds the No. 2 spot in the Southern Conference in rebounding defense, allowing opponents to average only 31.9 boards a game. The Bulldogs recorded their best rebounding performance on Monday, Feb. 5 when out rebounding Elon 41-26 in the 52-49 overtime victory. Holding the top spot is Appalachian State with 31.8 boards allowed a game.
