Story Courtesy The Citadel sports information
The Citadel 126, Atlanta Christian 61
Charleston, SC - Demetrius Nelson recorded his second double-double of the season and led a parade of seven players in double-figures scoring as The Citadel whipped Atlanta Christian, 126-61, in non-conference basketball action Monday evening at McAlister Field House.
The Bulldogs reached the century mark for the second time this season, with the previous time coming a week ago against Florida Christian. Both times The Citadel scored 126 points, which is a school record for most points in a game.
The last time The Citadel scored 100 or more points twice in a season was 1989 when the Bulldogs stopped Savannah State, 100-73, and Marshall, 100-80. It was the eighth time a Pat Dennis-coached team reached the 100-point mark.
"We played smart basketball," said Dennis. "I don't care who we play, we just have to play the way we can. We shot well and defended even better. The kids stepped up and performed tonight, and bounced back after the Charleston Southern game."
Nelson paced the Bulldogs with 17 points and 10 rebounds as The Citadel improves to 5-3 on the season. The Chargers fell to 2-12.
Also scoring in double figures for The Citadel were J'mel Everhart, Dante Terry and Joseph Thompson with 13 points. They were followed by Chris Diasparra with 12, and Matt Davis and Mark Schiavoni with 11 each.
Freshman walk-on Chayne Dawley's lay-up with 54 seconds left gave the Bulldogs' their 126th point of the night. Of note, it was Dawley's three-pointer against Florida Christian that handed The Citadel the record for most points in a game. The Citadel shot 54.8 percent from the floor as compared to 35.6 percent for Atlanta Christian. The Bulldogs also won the battle of the boards, 48-31.
The Bulldogs posted 31 assists in the contest, committed only eight turnovers, and forced the Chargers into 28 turnovers.
Atlanta Christian was led by Jermaine Barnes, who had 17 points. He was aided by Gib Roland, who had 11 points and Will de la Cruz with 10.
In the first half, the Bulldogs were helped by shooting 59.1 percent from the floor and dished 18 assists. The Citadel's largest lead in the half was 41 points, 69-28, when Chris Diasparra nailed a three-pointer with 2 seconds prior to intermission.
The Citadel scored the game's first basket 13 seconds into the contest when Nelson put in a lay-up, and Atlanta Christian tied the game at 2 apiece on a Barnes dunk. The Bulldogs then took the lead for good on a Nelson free throw with 19:21 left in the first half.
Story Courtesy Elon sports information
Elon 87, Guilford 63
ELON, NC - Chris Chalko pumped in a career-high 21 points and Brett James posted his first career double-double by collecting 13 points and 13 rebounds ? both career highs ? as Elon pulled away from Guilford 87-63 in a men’s basketball contest Monday night at Alumni Gym.
Chalko connected on seven of his 12 shots from the field, including four of his seven attempts from behind the three-point arc. He also pulled down seven rebounds.
The Quakers (4-2) claimed their only lead of the evening at 2-0 when Thomas Burge hit a jumper after just five seconds elapsed. The Phoenix (2-5) immediately went on a 21-3 run to take control early at 21-5 on a Brian Waters lay-up with 15:16 to play in the opening period.
Elon eventually built a 37-18 advantage on a LeVonn Jordan dunk with 5:33 left before the break. Guilford used a 14-2 surge to draw within 39-32 on a jumper by Ben Strong with 2:24 remaining in the first stanza. A free throw by Waters and a three-pointer by Scottie Rice ended the run and the Phoenix hung on for a 45-38 halftime edge.
Early in the second stanza, the Quakers received an inside bucket from George Neville and a three-point basket from Caleb Kimbrough to trim their deficit from 48-38 to 48-43 with 18:43 to play in the game. Elon soon went on a 33-11 run to stretch a 52-47 edge into an 87-58 cushion on a fast break lay-up by Colin Wyatt with 1:10 left.
The Phoenix received key contributions from Montell Watson (13 points), Waters (12 points, game-high six assists) and Jordan (nine rebounds) en route to advantages in field goal percentage (38.5-36.1), rebounds (67-32), assists (14-13), turnovers (17-20) and steals (14-11).
Elon also earned edges in points in the paint (32-28), points off turnovers (26-16), second chance points (24-9), fast break points (12-0) and bench points (33-30). The Phoenix out-rebounded Guilford 30-7 on the offensive boards.
The Quakers were led by Ben Strong (12 points, three blocked shots), Jordan Snipes (nine points) and Barry Wells (five rebounds). Each team tallied four blocked shots.