Charleston, S.C.- While the 2006-2007 basketball season may not have ended quite as well as the Bulldogs would have liked, the coaching staff, players and fans have no reason to hang their heads. First-year head coach Ed Conroy, his staff and the Bulldog squad reached several milestones, while accomplishing several goals throughout the season and signing the top recruiting class in the conference.
Starting off the year with by far the toughest schedule in the Southern Conference, the Bulldogs traveled to six states in a period of nine days during the month of November. After opening the season at home with a 79-58 win over Ohio Valley on Nov. 10, the Bulldogs traveled to Michigan State and Iowa, returned home to play Charleston Southern at the North Charleston Coliseum before heading to Notre Dame and Southern Cal, all between Nov. 12 and Nov. 21. The trip also included stops in Atlanta and a one night stay in Chicago along the way. While The Citadel was unable to claim a win on the road trip to the Big East, Big South, Big Ten and PAC 10 conferences, they returned home to earn a victory over Asbury, 81-60, at McAlister Field House.
However, the Asbury victory was the first and only win of a four-game home stretch for the Bulldogs that included the SEC's University of South Carolina, as well as Army and Appalachian State.
With a 2-8 overall record, things were not looking up for The Citadel as senior forward and four-year starter J'Mel Everhart injured his knee in practice and was forced to sit-out the next road trip to Western Carolina and West Virginia on Dec. 18 and 20. Stepping up their game, sophomore guard Jonathan Brick and freshman forward Bryan Streeter worked their way into the starting line-up and remained there for the rest of the season. Uncertain of whether Everhart's presence, or lack thereof, would have made a significant difference in the December road trip, the Bulldogs came back with two more losses, kicking off their SoCon play, 0-2, while 2-10 overall.
Returning rested off a five-day holiday break, The Citadel hosted Atlanta Christian on Dec. 30, claiming another win while breaking a school record. Not only was the 113-59 victory the 35th 100-plus performance for The Citadel basketball, but the Bulldogs broke the school's record in 3-pointers made with a total of 18 on the day. The previous record was 14, but eight Citadel players tallied 3-pointers to take the school record. Among the eight, freshman walk-on Trey Swinton came in the game and with less than two minutes to play hit two of his own from long range, while senior guard Donny McLendon recorded the game-high with five from behind the arc. All 12 Bulldogs on the roster scored points for The Citadel in the win over the Chargers.
The winning momentum continued for the Bulldogs as they headed to Elon, N.C. to take on the 2006 North Division Champions on Jan. 3. Never having defeated the Phoenix, The Citadel came up with the thrilling 53-50 victory over Elon, marking the first January win for the Bulldogs since 2005. The Citadel's impressive defensive effort held the Phoenix to 26.9 percent shooting on the night. Hammack's team-high of 11 points made him the 23rd Bulldog to record 1,000 career points.
On a two-game winning streak, the Bulldogs headed to Wofford where they claimed their only conference win of the 2006 season. Tied 30-30 at the half, senior forward Joseph Thompson had a career performance, leading The Citadel to a 74-71 victory over the Terriers before a CSS television audience. Both teams shot 55.1 percent from the field, hitting 27-of-49 baskets, but the difference in the game was Thompson, who started for the first time in his career, shooting 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 from long range, for 15 points, six boards and one steal. McLendon tied his season-high of six made baskets from behind the arc, leading all scorers with 26 points.
Returning home to face cross-town rival College of Charleston, the Bulldog winning streak came to an end at three. Before the largest crowd of the season at McAlister Field House of 5,157, The Citadel tied the Cougars 29-29 at the half, but fell short as Charleston came up with the 74-62 win. But the Bulldog spirit was still alive as a match-up against the 2006 South Division Champions fell in The Citadel's favor, recording the most thrilling victory for the Bulldogs of the 2007 season.
With the game tied at 60, Eagle guard Donte Gennie hit a jumper from the right wing to make the score 62-60. However, a full-court pass from Thompson to the opposite baseline ended up in the hands of senior guard Kevin Hammack, who passed it to McLendon for two points, tying the game at the end of regulation, 62-62. Hammack led the Bulldogs to the victory by scoring 10 of The Citadel's 12 overtime points. He finished the game with a career-high 32 points, shooting 16-of-17 free throws, tying the most of any player in the SoCon during the 2007 season and marking the third highest total of made free throws in a game in Bulldog history.
The remainder of the conference schedule, however, only resulted in one more Bulldog victory. The last SoCon win came on Feb. 5 when The Citadel hosted Elon, topping the Phoenix for the second time of the season in a 52-49 overtime final. Everhart, who had suffered all throughout the conference schedule with knee injuries, had a break-out performance, recording his second double-double of the season. Finishing with 17 points and 12 boards, Everhart's performance was the first of three consecutive double-double performances.
The Bulldogs wrapped up their regular season at home on Saturday, Feb. 24 in an 87-70 loss to Davidson as The Citadel family bid farewell to four Bulldog seniors. While, the season may not have finished to their liking, the four players went away with highlights that will remain in the Bulldog record books for quite some time.
J'Mel 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 (all three this year after suffering with knee injuries), Everhart still broke the school's record this season in the most games started with 112. He also holds the record for the most games started in a season with 30 broken last year. Everhart holds down the No. 3 spot all-time at The Citadel with 823 career boards. He also holds the No. 8 spot in rebounds in a season with 236 set in 2006. He became the 24th Bulldog to reach 1,000 points at Georgia Southern on Feb. 19, finishing with 1,033 career points. He also holds the school's record for the most minutes played by any Bulldog in the program's history with 3,643.
Kevin Hammack has played a Citadel all-time record of 118 games of which he started in 107. Hammack's two free throws against the College of Charleston on Feb. 22 put him in The Citadel's all-time top-10 for free throws in a career with 288. He finished with 296 for seventh place all-time, knocking Rick Swing out of the top-10. He will also leave holding the school's record in assists and steals with an all-time total of 457 assists and 223 steals. Hammack became the 23rd Bulldog to reach 1,000 points with a total of 1,237 career points the 10th highest all-time.
Donny McLendon, who transferred to The Citadel for the 2004-2005 season, in just three seasons as a Bulldog worked his way to a fifth place tie with Dante Terry all-time in 3-pointers at The Citadel with 160 made baskets from long range. McLendon recorded six 20-plus-point performances, while tallying two games with a career-high of six 3-point baskets. McLendon wraps up his career as a Bulldog with 889 points for a collegiate total of 1,049 points.
The Citadel (No. 11) ended their 2007 season against Georgia Southern (No. 6) in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The Citadel was defeated by the Eagles, 62-46, at the North Charleston Coliseum. They finished the season 7-23 overall and 4-14 in SoCon regular season action.
