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The Citadel Athletics | The Military College of South Carolina

The Citadel Opens Hoop Season Against VMI at All Military Classic

The Citadel vs. VMI Game Notes

Charleston, S.C.—
The Citadel Basketball team begins the 2011-12 season against VMI at the All Military Classic on Friday, Nov. 11 at midnight. The game is the first of a two-day tournament that features host Air Force, Army, The Citadel and VMI. Coincidentally it marks the first time that the Bulldogs and Keydets have met on the hardwoods since Feb. 24, 2003. 
 
FAST STARTERS: Entering their 101st season of basketball, The Citadel is 62-38 (.620 winning percentage) in season openers. The Bulldogs are 17-4 to start off the season since 1990-91, including a seven-game winning streak that spanned from 1998-2004. That streak ranks second longest in program history behind a nine-game winning streak that spanned from 1976 to 1984, under head coach Les Robinson. On four separate occasions, The Citadel opened the season against ranked opponents, including No. 5 West Virginia (1962-63); No. 3 Indiana (1973-74); No. 13 N.C. State (1975-76) and No. 1 Duke (1988-89).

BULLDOGS TRIUMPH OVER TENNESSEE WESLEYAN IN EXHIBITION: Freshman guard Ashton Moore scored a game-high 21 points behind six 3-pointers as The Citadel earned an 87-60 exhibition victory Tennessee Wesleyan at McAlister Field House on Saturday evening. Moore was one of five players in double figures, along with Mike Groselle (15 points, 13 rebounds), DeVontae Wright (13 points), Lawrence Miller (12 points) and Cosmo Morabbi (10 points).

The Bulldogs capped off the victory by hitting 31-of-59 (52.5%) from the floor, including 14-of-30 from beyond the arc. The freshman tandem of Moore (6-10) and Miller (4-7) paved the way for 14 Citadel 3-pointers. Morrabi also returned to form, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers en route to 10 points. Groselle crashed the boards for 13 rebounds, while teammate Jordan Robertson finished with seven to give the Bulldogs a decisive 48-28 edge on the glass.

The duo of Desmond Crisp (17 points) and Quincy Scates (12 points) led the way for Tennessee Wesleyan, who was held to 20-of-53 (37.7%) shooting in the contest. Crisp also posted a team-high five rebounds, snagging four on the defensive end. Senior swingman Jesse Booher was successful on 2-of-4 3-point attempts, finishing as the only TWC player to have multiple long distance conversions. Meanwhile, teammate E'Jay Ward handed out a game-high eight assists.

EARLY RETURNS FOR GROSELLE: Mike Groselle, the Bulldogs top returning scorer (358 points) and rebounder (198 rebounds) from a season ago was named preseason SoCon All-Conference by CollegeSportsMadness.com, released earlier this month. He opens the season as The Citadel's career field goal percentage leader, converting 161-of-266 (60.5%) field goals over the course of his career. Groselle will also look to extend his string of six straight games in double figures that dates back to Feb. 14, 2011.

LOOKING TO REBOUND: The player who bears the burden of leading The Citadel's group of freshmen arrivals is lone senior Cosmo Morabbi. The 6-2, 181-pound shooting guard was limited to 16 games last season after suffering a broken finger. As a sophomore, the Beverly Hills, Calif. native connected on 25-of-66 3-pointers to move himself into 31st place among the school's all-time 3-point leaders. He was especially productive down the stretch, hitting 9-25 from beyond the arc in conference action.

DOUBLED UP: Center Mike Groselle posted a team-high eight double-doubles for The Citadel in 2010-11, placing him in a tie with Craig Burgess for third most by any Bulldog player in a single-season. Groselle notched his first (19 pts., 14 rebs.) in just his third career start against S.C. State on Dec. 22. He followed with consecutive double-doubles at Clemson (14 pts., 10 rebs.) and Wofford (19 pts., 16 rebs.) in the month of January. Groselle  opened February with the fourth of his career, this time against Furman, when he tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds. He closed out the final four games of the season with double-doubles against College of Charleston (10 pts., 10 rebs.), Georgia Southern (17 pts., 10 rebs.) and Western Carolina (15 pts., 11 rebs.). In the process, Groselle became the first Bulldog since J'Mel Everhart in 2006-07 to record three straight double-doubles. He capped off the 2010-11 campaign with a 12-point, 12-rebound outing at the Southern Conference Tournament against Elon.

WHO ARE THESE KIDS?: Prior to the beginning of the summer, Citadel Head Basketball Coach Chuck Driesell completed his 2011 recruiting class when he announced the signing of Ashton Moore to a National-Letter of Intent. The commitment completed the makeup the Bulldogs 2011-12 freshmen class.

The eight athletes, signed by Driesell and his staff, hail from seven different states, including Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina (2), South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

The following is a brief look at their high school accolades:

2011-12 Citadel Freshmen Class

CJ Bray, 6-7 • 249 lbs.
(James Island HS; Charleston, S.C.; ESPN Positional Rank: 130)
•Earned All-Region honors while averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior

Marshall Harris, 5-10 • 175 lbs.
(William H. Taft HS; San Antonio, Texas; ESPN Positional Rank: 106)
•After his team reached the Final Four of the Texas Basketball State 5A, Harris garnered a nomination to the 2010-11 McDonald's All-America Team

PJ Horgan, 6-8 • 209 lbs.
(Cleveland HS; Rio Rancho, N.M.; ESPN Positional Rank: 144)
•Averaged 20.6 points per game and ranked second in the state of New Mexico in scoring as a senior

Michael Hundley, 6-9 • 178 lbs.
(Renaissance HS; Detroit, Mich.; ESPN Positional Rank: 67)
•Led the city of Detroit in blocked shots (133) during the 2009-10 season

Lawrence Miller, 6-1 • 186 lbs.
(United Faith Christian Academy; Charlotte, N.C.; ESPN Positional Rank: 121)
•Led United Faith Christian Academy to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) State Championship in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons and runner-up honors in 2010-11

Ashton Moore, 6-0 • 168 lbs.
(Nansemond River HS; Suffolk, Va.; ESPN Positional Rank: N/A)
•As a senior was tabbed as a member of First Team All-City, First Team All-District, Eastern Region All-Region team, First Team All-Tidewater and Southeastern District Player of the Year

Jordan Robertson, 6-7 • 232 lbs.
(Greensboro Day School; Greensboro, N.C.; ESPN Positional Rank: 67)
•Comes from a highly-acclaimed private school program, Greensboro Day School, which has won at least 20 games in each of the last five seasons, including a 30-4 record during his freshman season

Dylen Setzekorn, 6-7 • 189 lbs.
(The Hun School of Princeton (N.J.); Gainesville, Ga ; ESPN Positional Rank: N/A)
•Finished with 709 points (16.1 ppg.) and 374 rebounds (6.4 rpg.), while connecting on 57 percent of field goal attempts at Riverside Military Academy.

DID YOU KNOW?:
The last time The Citadel started two freshmen ...
Jan. 23, 2006 at UNC Greensboro: Vytautas Valiulis, Aaron Xia

The last time The Citadel started three freshmen ...
Jan. 14, 2008 vs. College of Charleston: Austin Dahn, Zach Urbanus, Cameron Wells

The last time The Citadel started four freshmen ...
March 1, 2008 at Wofford: Austin Dahn, Daniel Eykyn, Zach Urbanus, Cameron Wells

The last time The Citadel started five freshmen ...
March 7, 2008 vs. College of Charleston (SoCon Tournament/North Charleston, S.C): Matt Clark, Austin Dahn, Daniel Eykyn, Zach Urbanus, Cameron Wells

SoCon Coaches and Media Tab Bulldogs Sixth in Preseason Polls: Chattanooga and Davidson were chosen as the preseason favorites to capture the Southern Conference's divisional men's basketball titles in 2011-12, according to votes by head coaches and members of the SoCon media.  Davidson returns 11 lettermen and four starters for 2011-12.  The Wildcats posted an overall record of 18-15 (10-8 SoCon) and advanced to the second round of the College Basketball Invitational a season ago.  After finishing tied for first in the North Division last year, the Chattanooga Mocs were picked first for the 2011-12 season.  The Mocs boast four starters off last year's team that posted a 12-6 mark in league play.  The Citadel, who finished 10-22 overall and a 6-12 in the league in 2010-11, split the season series with Davidson.

Coaches Poll   SoCon Media Poll  
North Division   North Division  
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Total Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Total
1 Chattanooga (9) 64 1 Chattanooga (24) 172
2 Appalachian State (2) 51 2 Appalachian State (3) 136
3 Western Carolina (1) 44 3 Western Carolina (2) 123
4 UNC Greensboro 42 4 UNC Greensboro 90
5 Elon 29 5 Elon 76
6 Samford 16 6 Samford 36
South Division   South Division  
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Total Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Total
1 Davidson (10) 65 1 Davidson (18) 165
2 College of Charleston (2) 56 2 College of Charleston (10) 156
3 Georgia Southern 42 3 Wofford (1) 105
4 Furman 34 4 Furman  80
5 Wofford 32 5 Georgia Southern (1) 76
6 The Citadel 17 6 The Citadel 48

For more information on Bulldog Insider or Bulldog Basketball, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics, www.CitadelSports.com.

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