Citadel Hoops Hosts Tennessee Wesleyan in Exhibition Game on Saturday

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Tennessee Wesleyan vs. The Citadel Game Notes

Charleston, S.C.— After two weeks of practice in preparation for the 2011-12 season, The Citadel Basketball team hosts Tennessee Wesleyan in an exhibition game at McAlister Field House on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. The season marks the second under head coach Chuck Driesell, whose squad features eight newcomers, two juniors, two sophomores and one senior.

"The exhibition game against Tennessee Wesleyan will be a great opportunity to see where we are as a team," said Driesell.  "We've have had two weeks of practice and games like this will help us determine some of the roles of each of our players.  I am sure our guys are looking forward to playing against someone other than themselves and Tennessee Wesleyan will be a great test for our ball club.  Hopefully there will be a good crowd following the football game against VMI."

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 in conference action.

BULLDOGS NEARING THE SEASON OPENER: The 2011-12 Citadel Basketball season opens at the inaugural All Military Classic in Colorado Springs, Colo. against VMI, on Nov. 11. The All Military Classic concludes the following day when The Citadel goes head-to-head against either Air Force or Army.  On Nov. 16, The Citadel hosts Clemson, marking the first time that the two teams have played at McAlister Field House since Nov. 28, 1989. Five days later, the Bulldogs complete a two-game homestand when they square off against Florida Christian. The Dogs complete the first month of action with a road game at High Point on Nov. 26.

KEY DATES FOR CITADEL PRESEASON BASKETBALL

Oct. 18:  Single game tickets went on sale for non-season ticket holders.
Oct. 29:  Exhibition Game vs. Tennessee Wesleyan, 5 p.m.
Nov. 11: First Regular Season game vs. VMI (Colorado Springs, Colo.; All Military Classic)
Nov. 12:  vs. Air Force or Army (Colorado Springs, Colo.; All Military Classic)
Nov. 16: Regular Season home opener vs. Clemson

HITTING THE FINER POINTS OF THE CITADEL'S 2010-11 SEASON

HIGH MARKS FOR GRADUATING CLASS: In 2010-11, The Citadel Basketball program wrapped up one of the most successful three-year spans in program history, following their 10-win season under first-year coach Chuck Driesell. The eight-member senior squad, comprised of three 1,000-point scorers (Cameron Wells, Zach Urbanus and Austin Dahn), locked themselves in a tie with the 1960 class, who also totaled 46 wins. The 1961 class, who had three straight seasons of 15 or more victories holds the mark with 47 wins from 1958-61.

WELLS FINISHES RECORD SETTING CAREER: Cameron Wells, who became The Citadel's all-time leading scorer during the 2010-11 season also joined exclusive company when he became the 20th player among the current SoCon schools to reach 2,000 career points. Wells joined fellow seniors Andrew Goudelock (College of Charleston) and Donald Sims (Appalachian State) as the third player in 2010-11 to reach the benchmark. The Citadel became the 10th SoCon school to have at least one player with 2,000 or more points during their career. Wofford leads the way with four players that have eclipsed 2,000 points.

Wells finished his career with 2,049 career points, 646 rebounds and 485 assists to his credit.
 
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Citadel finished with double-digit offensive rebounds in 19 games over the course of 2010-11, including 10 against Southern Conference opposition. Behind 71 offensive boards from Bryan Streeter's, the 2010-11 Bulldogs managed 350 rebounds on the offensive glass, moving them to sixth most in program history. The Citadel had a 60-rebound advantage over its opposition on the offensive front. The Bulldogs' high marks on the offensive glass came in a 20-rebound effort against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Clemson, when center Mike Groselle hauled in 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.

MOUNTING THE COMEBACK: In the final weekend of the regular season The Citadel completed its largest second half comeback in program history with a victory at Western Carolina. Trailing by 17 points at the intermission, which grew to a 21-point deficit at the 17:29 mark of the second half, the Dogs rallied to complete the 70-62 win. The 2010-11 squad topped a 16-point comeback that came against Wofford on Jan. 17, 2005. The victory over the Catamounts marked the ninth time in Citadel history that a team came from behind by double figures at halftime, on the road, to earn a win.

URBANUS FINISHES FIRST IN CITADEL HISTORY, FIFTH IN SoCon HISTORY: The Citadel's all-time 3-point shooter, Zach Urbanus, finished with six treys in his final collegiate game at the Southern Conference Tournament against Elon. With 295 career 3-pointers to his credit, Urbanus closed his career in fifth on the all-time Southern Conference list for most 3-pointers, four shy of Wofford's Ian Chadwick. Urbanus, who entered the season with the most 3-pointers in Citadel history, left as the only player in school history to lead the team three consecutive seasons in made 3-pointers. He also became the first player in program history to to convert 60 or more in each of his of his four seasons in a Bulldog uniform.

QUICK HITS ABOUT TENNESSEE WESLEYAN

TWC PICKED SIXTH IN APPALACHIAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL: Milligan (Tenn.) and Reinhardt (Ga.) are the preseason favorites to win the Appalachian Athletic Conference title, according to a vote by the league's head coaches released on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Milligan and Reinhardt each received 69 total points in the poll with Milligan collecting five first-place votes and Reinhardt two. Virginia Intermont came in fourth in the poll with 51 points, while Bluefield (Va.) garnered the remaining first-place vote to land fifth with 45 points. Tennessee Wesleyan is sixth at 40 points, Bryan (Tenn.) seventh at 34, Montreat (N.C.) eighth at 21, and Point (Ga.) ninth at 11.

TWC SEASON ENDS IN SEMIFINALS OF APPALACHIAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNEY: Reinhardt (Ga.), the third seeded team at the 2011 Appalachian Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, was able to pull out the 88-82  overtime victory against seventh seeded Tennessee Wesleyan in the first of two semifinal games on Feb. 26. The Eagles, who were pushed to the limit by the Bulldogs, finished with six players scoring in double figures, led by Ishmael John's 21 points.

BULLDOGS DOWN VIRGINIA INTERMONT IN OPENING ROUND OF APPALACHIAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNEY: Tennessee Wesleyan came out to a strong lead, 53-39, at the end of the first half, but allowed Virginia Intermont to come back in the second half and tie the game 88-88 at the end of regulation. The Bulldogs outscored VI 12-10 in the 5 minutes of extra play to win 100-98. The Bulldogs were 34-of-61 from the floor, knocking down 14-of-23 attempts from beyond the arc. Tennessee Wesleyan out rebounded the Cobras 42-40 and forced 12 turnovers. The Bulldogs had 16 turnovers themselves. Justin Hicks and Matt Harper each put in 23 points for the Bulldogs. Also scoring in double digits was E'Jay Ward (15), Sean Bridges (12), Jesse Booher (12), and Andy Cooper (10). Ward had seven rebounds, while Harper and Gregory each pulled down six rebounds apiece.

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