The Citadel 55, Grambling 41
CANCUN, Mexico ? The Citadel Bulldogs (4-3) were hot from behind the arc in their 55-41 victory over the Grambling State Tigers (1-4) Sunday afternoon to conclude the Cancun Challenge Tournament. The Bulldogs shot 46.2 percent from the 3-point line with Zach Urbanus leading the Bulldogs in 3-point field goals.
Urbanus had a game-high of 15 points, with all 15 coming from behind the arc. Cameron Wells recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high of 14 rebounds. Wells dished five assists on the offensive end, while Bryan Streeter contributed on defense with two blocks.
The Citadel forced 12 turnovers against the Tigers and was able to capitalize on those turnovers. The Tigers forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over just nine times. On the boards, the Bulldogs grabbed 30 rebounds, compared to the Tigers’ 25. Off the bench, the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers, 22-17.
Grambling State earned a spot on the scoreboard first after Ariece Perkins hit a 3-pointer to start the game. The Bulldogs responded right back with a 3-pointer from the corner by Matt Clark. George Akpele hit a jumper in the paint to put the Tigers back in front, but an Austin Dahn 3-pointer would give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. Akpele hit another jumper to put the Tigers back in the lead. With 12:47 on the clock, Nelson was sent to the foul line to shoot two shots. He hit both to put the Bulldogs back in control.
A layup by Marcus Coleman would tie the game 13-13 for the third tie of the game. A basket by Wells put the Bulldogs back in front. The Tigers quickly responded back with a shot by Andrew Prestley to tie the score at 15-15 for the fourth time in the game. There would be one more tie before the Bulldogs took control. With the Bulldogs up 19-18 after a layup by Streeter, the Tigers hit a free throw at 4:05 to tie the score. Jarred Riley hit the second free throw to take the lead, 20-19.
Eykyn answered the Tigers’ lead with a 3-pointer at 3:23 to put the Bulldogs back on top, and The Citadel never looked back. A 3-pointer by Dahn, a layup by Streeter and 3-pointer by Urbanus would put a damper on the Tigers’ hopes of taking the lead before halftime. With the Bulldogs up, 30-20, the Tigers would only get one more basket before halftime, which was a 3-pointer by Ibrahim Kpaka. The Bulldogs would respond back with another 3-pointer by Urbanus to keep the Bulldogs ahead by 10 with a 33-23 lead.
The Bulldogs had 17 rebounds at halftime. Eight of their nine turnovers took place in the first half. Wells led the Bulldogs at the half with seven points. Urbanus and Dahn each had six. As a team, the Bulldogs were shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from behind the arc. The Bulldog defense held the Tigers under 39 percent from the field.
Tyrell McDowell hit a layup to open the second half, extending the Bulldog lead to 12. The second half belonged to the Bulldogs, who had the lead the entire half and only let the Tigers get within nine. The Bulldogs led by as many as 17 in the half.
A jumper by Prestley with 15:31 on the clock, put the Tigers within nine, but an Urbanus 3-pointer would extend the lead to 12. A foul by Dahn on a Prestley 3-pointer would put him on the line for three shots. Prestley sunk all three to put the Tigers back within nine. Nelson responded with a layup and Wells followed with a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up by 14.
The Citadel continued to stay in control of the game and kept the pressure on the Tiger offense. The Tigers had a hard time managing against the Bulldog pressure. With 4:29 on the clock, Urbanus, who was unstoppable from behind the arc, hit another 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game, a 17-point advantage.
Two free throws by Riley cut the lead to 15, but a foul shot by Eykyn would extend the lead to 16. The Tigers managed to hit one more shot with 1:35 on the clock to give the Bulldogs a 55-41 lead. For the last minute and a half, the Bulldogs took over and controlled the clock. The Citadel took away a 55-41 victory.
The Citadel improves to 4-3 on the season, which marks the first time since 2006 that the Bulldogs started the season off 4-3. In 2006, the Bulldogs were coached by Pat Dennis and ended the season with a 10-21 record.
The Bulldogs return to Charleston on Monday, Dec.1 and then head up to North Carolina later in the week to open Southern Conference action. The Citadel will face UNC Greensboro on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., followed by Elon on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
NC State 79, UNC Greensboro 52
RALEIGH, N.C. ? A 14-4 run to open the second half broke the game open and propelled North Carolina State past UNC Greensboro, 79-52, in men’s basketball action Sunday afternoon at the RBC Center.
Courtney Fells had a game-high 22 points to lead the Wolfpack (4-0). Ben McCauley had a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Tracy Smith came off the bench to score 14 points in 15 minutes of action.
Kendall Toney, a junior from Charlotte, NC, led UNCG (1-3) with 16 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Damian Eargle chipped in with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Mikko Koivisto was held without a three-pointer in the first half, but did manage to extend his streak midway through the second half. The junior from Vantaa, Finland now has at least one three-pointer in 28 consecutive games and 43 of the last 44. He finished the game with nine points.
The Spartans had four of their 13 turnovers in the 14-4 run to open the second half as McCauley (six) and Fells (four) accounted for 10 of the 14 points.
The Wolfpack jumped out 7-2 to open the game, but UNCG settled down and took an 11-10 lead six minutes in on a reverse layup by Elhanan Bone. But that was UNCG’s last points for more than four minutes as the Wolfpack
rattled off seven straight points to regain the lead.
The Spartans, who have been hampered by turnovers in the early part of the season, were able to hang around for a while by limiting their miscues. However, a conventional three-point play by Dennis Horner gave NC State its
first double-digit lead of the afternoon, 28-18, with 4:48 left before intermission.
That was the beginning of a 16-4 run that opened up a 17-point lead for NC State, but the Spartans scored the final six points of the half to head to the locker room still within striking distance at 39-28.
But the 14-4 run to open the second half gave the Wolfpack a 21-point advantage and they were on their way to their fourth straight win to open the season.
The Spartans return home to open Southern Conference play Thursday. UNCG will host The Citadel at Fleming Gymnasium. Game time is set for 7 pm.
Notre Dame 93, Furman 61
Notre Dame, Ind. -- Senior Kyle McAlarney scored a game-high 32 points, including nine three-pointers, to lead eight-ranked Notre Dame past the Furman Paladins 93-61 Sunday afternoon before 10,037 at the Joyce Center.
Furman (1-4) jumped out to an 11-6 lead at the 13:43 mark of the first half on a pair of Justin Dehm three-pointers and a three-point play by Bryson Barnes. Ryan Ayers and McAlarney each connected from beyond the arc to help the Irish regain the lead at 14-11 with under 11 minutes left in the half.
Notre Dame (5-1), leading 19-18 with under six minutes before intermission, took control of the game reeling off 13 straight points and finishing the first half on an 18-4 run. McAlarney, who buried a Furman opponent’s record nine treys, hit three shots from long distance during
the decisive stretch as Notre Dame entered the locker room ahead 37-22.
The Irish shot 61 percent (22-36) from the floor in the second half to pull away from the Paladins. Notre Dame finished the game at 52 percent (36-69) from the field, including 14-for-35 from three-point range. They held a 45-35 edge on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds to score 26 second-chance points.
McAlarney hit 11-of-20 field goal attempts, including 9-of-17 from three-point range, for his game-high 32 points. He was joined in double figures by Ryan Akers with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Tory Jackson with 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Zach Hillesland paced the
Irish with 12 rebounds.
Furman connected on 7-of-14 three-point attempts, but shot just 38 percent (24-63) from the field. Dehm buried 4-of-6 treys to lead four Paladins in double figures with 14 points while freshman Brandon Sebirumbi posted career-highs with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Miller scored 11 points and Barnes added 10 points and six rebounds.
Furman, which wrapped up a four-game road trip with the loss, returns home to open Southern Conference play against Appalachian State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.