The Citadel 85, Davidson 75
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Cameron Wells scored a game-high 28 points as The Citadel built a 22-point halftime lead en route to an 85-75 Southern Conference men's basketball victory over Davidson at Belk Arena Wednesday night.
Nik Cochran led the Wildcats (8-12, 2-7 SoCon) with 21 points, and Jake Cohen posted 18 points and eight rebounds. JP Kuhlman added 13 points.
Wells was 9-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line for the Bulldogs (9-13, 5-5 SoCon), who have won four in a row. Mike Groselle scored 13 points, and Daniel Eykyn netted 12. Zach Urbanus scored 11.
After The Citadel led 46-24 at the break and 52-28 3:09 into the second stanza, Davidson was able to whittle the margin down to 10 with an 11-0 run. Kuhlman scored the last seven points of the run, and his two free throws made the score 66-56 with 6:31 to play.
But Wells answered the call, banking in a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down on the Bulldogs¹ next possession and scoring seven straight points for The Citadel to push the cushion back to 15 points.
The Wildcats made one last run as Cochran¹s 3-pointer, his fifth of the game, trimmed the lead to 79-71 with 44 seconds left, but the Bulldogs went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe the rest of the way to hold Davidson off.
The Bulldogs hit 19-of-27 shots in the first half (70.4 percent), scoring 30 points in the paint. Davidson, on the other hand, hit just 29 percent, including 4-of-18 from 3-point range.
Leading 17-14. The Citadel used a 23-5 run to open a 40-19 cushion on a Groselle layup with 3:21 left in the frame. Wells ignited the run with four straight points and added a runner with three ticks left on the clock as the Bulldogs led 46-24 at the break.
The Citadel shot 64.4 percent for the contest, including 5-of-11 from 3-point land, and made 22-of-24 from the free-throw line.
College of Charleston 65, Georgia Southern 61
STATESBORO, Ga. - Senior Andrew Goudelock scored 22 of his game-high 27 points in the second half to help College of Charleston escape Georgia Southern on the road, 65-61, on Wednesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
It was a low-scoring affair for both teams as the Cougars (15-6, 8-1) were forced into an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers by the Eagles' pressure defense and 28 first-half points. Goudelock made 8-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold off a young Georgia Southern (4-18, 0-9) team still searching for its first Southern Conference win.
Ben Drayton III started the second-half charge on a layup at the 14:24 minute mark to give the Eagles their first lead of the ballgame, 35-34. The lead would change five times within the next two minutes and tied four times for the rest of the second half.
A three-pointer by sophomore Andrew Lawrence put CofC ahead by nine, 59-50, with under five minutes to go in regulation. Three turnovers would follow and Georgia Southern would get within two on a Tré Bussey three, 63-61, with 44 seconds to go.
Goudelock would later be fouled and made both baskets to seal the Cougars' third consecutive regular-season series sweep over the Eagles. Senior Jeremy Simmons was the only other double-figure scorer for CofC with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Ben Drayton III led GSU with 20 points, seven assists and five steals. Senior Rory Spencer chipped in 11 points and a team-high six rebounds to go with two blocks. Freshman Jelani Hewitt scored 10 points with three steals on the night for the Eagles.