Charleston, W.Va. – The Citadel Basketball team wraps up its first four-game road trip of the season when it meets (8/8) West Virginia in Charleston, W.Va. on Tuesday at 7 p.m. This will mark the 10th meeting between the two schools, dating back to 1958-59 when Norm Sloan brought The Citadel to West Virginia to face a squad led by Jerry West.
The current Bulldogs (3-2) have won two of their last three games, finding success against Eastern Michigan and Maryland Eastern Shore at the Hispanic College Fund Challenge. The Mountaineers have not hit the hardcourt since November 15th when they defeated Loyola University in Maryland 83-60. TWO GARNER ALL-
TOURNAMENT AWARDS: Bulldogs guard Cameron Wells and center Joe Wolfi nger were named to the Hispanic College Fund Challenge All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the three-day even on Sunday. Wolfi nger fi nished 17-for-26 from the field, including 9-of-12 from the 3-point line, and anchored the paint for The Citadel with 22 boards. He totaled 49 points and led the team with 18 points in the loss to Missouri State. Meanwhile, Wells scored 50 points and dished out 17 assists, moving into The Citadel lists of all-time 1,000 point scorers. Wells shined in a victory over Eastern Michigan, hitting 7-of-18 shots and 10-for-12 from the charity stripe en route to 24 points.
HCFC Wrap-Up: Joe Wolfinger's 17 points led five players in double figures as The Citadel cruised past Maryland Eastern Shore, 88-62. It marks the highest scoring contest for the Bulldogs since Jan. 1, 2009 when they defeated Georgia Southern 84-75. Cameron Wells scored 14 points and dished out eight assists, moving within three points of J'Mel Everhart for 23rd on the all-time scoring list. Three-point marksman Zach Urbanus knocked down three 3-pointers en route to a 14 point performance, moving into sole possession of fifth place among Bulldog 3-point shooters. Backcourt mate Austin Dahn found his rhythm with a 4-of-7 performance, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, scoring 11 points as he takes over eighth place from Jamie Jenkins. With the victory the Bulldogs improve to 3-2 and win two of three games in the Hispanic College Fund Challenge. Mike Groselle rounded out double-digit scorers for The Citadel, coming off the bench to score 14 points and grab four caroms on 4-4 shooting from the floor. He knocked down 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. In the front court, Wolfinger grabbed eight rebounds as the two teams tied with 32 boards.
WVU SPRINTS BY GREYHOUNDS: Da'Sean Butler scored 26 points to lead No. 8 West Virginia to an 83-60 victory over Loyola, Md., at the WVU Coliseum. Butler's 15 second-half points and some energetic play by freshman Danny Jennings jumpstarted a sluggish West Virginia team playing without forward Devin Ebanks, who was not on the bench for the game. Jennings nearly had a double-double in his first college game, scoring 9 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 16 minutes of action off the bench. Jennings' 12 rebounds were the most ever by a Mountaineer freshman playing in his first game. Six others in WVU history have pulled down at least 12 rebounds in their first game but not as a freshman (the last to do it was junior college transfer Carey Bailey against East Carolina on Nov. 30, 1968).
Huggins used 11 different players in search of some defensive stops and offensive rhythm. At one point, Loyola was shooting better than 70 percent from the floor and had a 20-13 lead after a Shane Walker dunk with 9:56 left in the first half.
At halftime, West Virginia's numbers were not very impressive: 32.4 percent field goal percentage including 2 of 17 from 3, 22-14 disadvantage in the paint and a 16-6 deficit in bench scoring that led to a 31-31 score.
But the Mountaineers scored the first 11 points of the second half on back-to-back 3s by Truck Bryant and Wellington Smith, a short jumper by Butler and another 3 by Bryant. The closest Loyola could get was six on a Julius Brooks dunk. Bryant contributed 15 points and five assists, Kevin Jones scored 14 points and seven rebounds and Casey Mitchell added 13 points.
Loyola (1-1) finished the game shooting 52 percent, just ninth time since Huggins has coached at WVU that the opponent has shot better than 50 percent for the game. The Mountaineers were 29 of 70 from the floor for 41.4 percent and 16 of 27 from the line for 58.3 percent. John Flowers sat out the second half with a foot injury. Huggins said after the game that Flowers was able to walk on it and should be fine. West Virginia had a 45-30 advantage on the glass that led to a 27-6 advantage in second chance points.
SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED: West Virginia University basketball coach Bob Huggins announced the signing of Noah Cottrill and David Nyarsuk to a National Letter of Intent for the 2010-11 academic year. Cottrill, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard, is currently in his senior year at Logan High in Logan, W.Va., playing basketball for coach Mark Hatcher.
Last year as a junior, Cottrill attended Mountain State Academy in Beckley, W.Va., where he averaged 25.8 points per game. He was coached by Rob Fulford. Prior to Mountain State Academy, Cottrill attended Poca High in Poca, W.Va., where he averaged 30.9 points as a sophomore and 23.8 points as a freshman, playing for coach Allen Obsorne. He hit 83 3-pointers during his sophomore campaign and 52 3-point field goals as a freshman.
Cottrill, who scored 1,164 points in two years at Poca, was the Kanawha Valley Player of the Year and runner-up for State Player of the Year as a sophomore. He earned Class AA first team all-state honors as a sophomore and was a second team all-state selection as a freshman. Cottrill is ranked by ESPN.com as the 16th-best point guard in the 2010 recruiting class and the 68th-best player overall. He is ranked No. 13 among point guards by Scout.com, and Rivals.com has him at No. 20 at point guard and No. 79 overall.
Nyarsuk, a 7-foot-1, 230-pound center, is currently attending Mountain State Academy in Beckley, W.Va., playing basketball for coach Rodney Crawford. A native of Juba, Sudan, Nyarsuk attended The Patterson School in North Carolina last year, where he averaged 10.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, playing for coach Chris Chaney.
Nyarsuk came to the United States as part of the African Hoop Opportunities Providing an Education (A-HOPE) Foundation in 2008. A-HOPE is a non-profit charity that helps student-athletes from Africa, who do not have the means to advance their education in their home countries, with educational opportunities in the United States. Nyarsuk is ranked No. 19 at his position by ESPN.com/Scouts Inc., and is rated as a 3-star by Rivals.com.
TWO ALL-AMERICA NOMINEES: West Virginia men's basketball players Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks each received votes in the Associated Press' 2009-10 Preseason All-America team, announced today by the AP. Both players have earned preseason accolades heading into the 2009-10 season. Butler, a 2009 all-Big East second team player, and Ebanks, a member of last year's conference rookie team, were already named to the watch list for the Naismath Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy. Butler, a Newark, N.J., native, led the Mountaineers with 17.1 points and averaged 5.9 rebounds during his junior campaign. Ebanks, a Long Island City, N.Y., native, averaged 10.5 points and led the team in rebounding with 7.8 boards per game.
MOUNTAINEERS PICKED SECOND IN BIG EAST: The West Virginia men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the Preseason Big East Coaches' Poll. The Mountaineers earn their highest preseason conference ranking since joining the conference in 1995. WVU garnered five first-place votes and 215 points, finishing just three points shy of Big East favorite Villanova. Both teams have been tabbed not only as conference favorites, but preseason top 10 squads because of several returning players.
The Citadel returns to home to host the CollegeInsider.com Skip Prosser Invitational on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29. The Bulldogs will face UVA-Wise on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. followed by a Sunday evening contest with Central Connecticut State at 7:30 p.m.
