Bulldogs Put Final Preparations on Inaugural Meeting with Pioneers

The Citadel-Denver Game Notes

Denver, Colo.— For the first time in program history, The Citadel Basketball team will go head-to-head with Denver University. It is the second game of a three-game road swing for the Dogs, who tipoff at 9 p.m. EST at Magness Arena. The meeting marks the Bulldogs third trip to the state of Colorado over the course of the last 370 days, including games at Colorado University and the Air Force Academy (2011 All-Military Classic).

ONE AND ONLY: The game against Denver University marks the only team on the 2011-12 schedule that The Citadel has no previous history against.

BULLDOGS HOLD THEIR OWN IN NCAA RANKINGS: The NCAA released its fourth national statistical rankings of the 2011-12 season on Monday, Dec. 19 and The Citadel placed in the top-150 of six team categories including personal fouls (50th), assists per game (77th), scoring offense (99th), assist-turnover ratio (109th), 3-point field goal percentage (129th) and 3-point field goals per game (142nd). Individually, junior Mike Groselle has placed himself among the top-50 of three statistical categories including double-doubles (9th), rebounds per game (24th) and field goal percentage (38th).

LUCKY SEVENS: In The Citadel's loss to James Madison on Monday, center Mike Groselle registered his seventh double-double of the season and first since 19-point, 10-rebound outing at the College of Charleston on Dec. 1. In the process Groselle took sole possession of fifth place among the program's all-time double-double leaders. His 15 career double-doubles place him one behind Craig Burgess and Matt Newman, who capped their careers with 16 apiece.

The Plano, Texas junior is no stranger to consecutive double-doubles after putting together a string of seven straight that began at the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament against Elon, where he finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. He carried that performance into the 2011-12 season at the All-Military Classic (Colorado Springs, Colo.) where he recorded 25 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opener against VMI. Less than 24 hours later, Groselle finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in an 83-72 comeback victory over Army. That placed him in elite status as the first player in program history to have two separate stretches of three double-doubles in his career. Groselle extended the streak to four straight when he finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Clemson on Nov. 16, tying marks set by Regan Truesdale and J'Mel Everhart for four consecutive double-doubles. In his record-setting performance against Florida Christian, Groselle tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 97-44 victory at McAlister Field House. On Nov. 26th, in a game with High Point, Groselle scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to extend the streak to six straight. The streak ended after a 20-point, 19-rebound effort at the College of Charleston, when he became just the third player in program history to post 19 rebounds or more in a double-double effort.

SECOND HALF TEAM: In the 2011-12 season The Citadel has proven to be a better second half team, scoring 40 more points (369-329) after the intermission. Three Bulldogs, including Mike Groselle (71 points), DeVontae Wright (52 points) and Ashton Moore (51 points) have scored 50 points or more in the second frame. Groselle has also pulled down an impressive 50 rebounds (21 offensive), as the Cadets have averaged 17.9 rebounds in the second half.  

As a team The Citadel has also had more field goals (134-123), 3-point field goals (35-30), free throws (66-53), blocks (14-4) and  steals (36-29) in the second half than that of the first.

MOORE SCORES 18 POINTS IN TOUGH LOSS TO CROSS-TOWN RIVAL BUCS, 88-69: Citadel junior Mike Groselle posted his seventh double-double of the season, 11 points and 11 rebounds, but it was James Madison that emerged with the decisive 67-49 victory on Monday evening at the JMU Convocation Center. Groselle was joined in scoring by teammates Lawrence Miller (eight points) and Bo Holston (seven points).

The Citadel (2-8) was unable to find consistency in their shooting, hitting 19-of-53 (35.8%) from the floor and 6-of-21 from 3-point range. The one bright spot came in the form of rebounding, as the Bulldogs tallied 30 rebounds, including 13 on the offensive glass. Groselle was one of five Cadets to post an offensive rebound, finishing with six. Meanwhile, the tandem of Holston and Miller gave the Dogs a 23-18 edge in bench scoring.

James Madison (5-3) took advantage of 27-for-52 (51.9%) shooting, which included eight 3-pointers, to win their fourth game in their last five contests. Humpty Hitchens and Julius Wells scored 12 points apiece for game-high honors, while Andrey Semenov poured in 11 points. The trio was responsible for all eight Duke 3-pointers, as Wells and Semenov hit three each. Wells posted seven rebounds, while Semenov added six to give JMU a 33-30 edge on the glass. Hutchens and teammate Devon Moore were the catalysts to the offense with four assists each.

PREVIEWING DENVER UNIVERSITY (9-2 Overall)

PIONEER WINNING STREAK REACHES THREE FOLLOWING WIN OVER COWBOYS, 57-46: Behind a season-high 21 points from junior guard Chase Hallam, the Pioneers were able to wrangle the Wyoming Cowboys 57-46 in front of 7,168 fans at Magness Arena on Monday night.

Senior guard Brian Stafford chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and three steals, while sophomore forward Chris Udofia added eight points and eight rebounds.

The Pioneers (9-2) ended the Cowboys' nine-game winning streak and also held Wyoming (11-2) to its second-lowest point total of the season. Prior to tonight's contest, Wyoming was limiting opponents to 22.5 percent from three-point range, but Denver managed to convert 9-of-20 (45.0 percent), including six in the second half. The Pioneers also scored 57 points against a team that was ranked third in the nation in points allowed per game (49.9).

Denver got out to a slow start, missing its first five attempts and committing three turnovers before a Udofia dunk finally got the Pioneers on the board at the 14:41 mark. Following a Wyoming bucket, Denver orchestrated an 11-4 run that included a trio of three-pointers to give the Pioneers their first lead of the contest.

Denver capitalized off of three Wyoming turnovers late in the first half, including one in the waning seconds that allowed Chase Hallam to hit a jumper to give DU a 21-18 lead, heading into the intermission.

It took the Pioneers just over four minutes to record their first basket of the second half, a backdoor layup by Chase Hallam, which sparked an 11-4 run that gave the Crimson and Gold the lead for good.

With just under nine minutes remaining in the game, the Pioneers extended their lead to 11 using a 17-6 run. Denver used solid free throw shooting in the final two minutes to ice the game.

The Cowboys were led by Leonard Washington, who had 18 points and nine rebounds.

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