Citadel ends 12-game skid with 70-55 win at Georgia Southern

Fresh off a painful 32-point loss at Davidson, The Citadel’s basketball team picked an unlikely spot to end its 12-game losing streak.

Georgia Southern, after all, had just knocked off Davidson and College of Charleston, the two teams leading the Southern Conference South Division.

But the Bulldogs seized control at the end of the first half and were never really threatened in the second, building an 18-point lead and taking a 70-55 victory over the Eagles at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.

Freshman Matt Van Scyoc scored a career-best 21 points and Mike Groselle added 15 for the Bulldogs (4-14, 1-6), who won for the first time since Nov. 17, 2012.

“I’m so proud of them, they are as happy as can be,” Citadel coach Chuck Driesell said of his players, who shrugged off a 70-38 loss at Davidson on Thursday. “It’s going to be a good bus ride home, and we haven’t had won of those in a while.”

Indeed, it’s been nearly a a year since the Bulldogs last beat a SoCon team (Feb. 22, 2012) or won on the road (Feb. 18, 2012).

A lineup change precipitated The Citadel’s win, as Driesell started forward P.J. Horgan and guard Ashton Moore in place of Stephen Elmore and Rae Robinson, respectively.

The 6-8 Horgan added eight points and eight rebounds to the cause, while guard Marshall Harris went for 11 points and six assists. Van Scyoc, who has averaged 17 points over the last five games, hit 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

After committing a season-high 26 turnovers at Davidson, The Citadel had 15 against GSU (8-11, 2-4) and shot 60 percent from the field, including 9 of 17 from long distance.

“Fifteen is a high number,” Driesell said of the turnovers, “but it’s not what we have been doing. That gave us a chance to put the ball in the hole, and we’ve shown we can shoot it when we don’t turn it over.

“At Davidson, they ran us out of our offense. Tonight, we stayed with our offense and Matt knocked down some big shots.”

Guard C.J. Reed scored 13 points to lead the Eagles (8-11, 2-4), who shot just 35.7 percent and made 7 of 27 from 3-point range.

“Our defense was great tonight,” Driesell said. “I loved their energy and effort on the defensive end.”

The Bulldogs closed the first half on a 19-4 run, taking a 33-21 lead on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Lawrence Miller, who played for the first time in six games.

“A great example of determination and sticking in there,” Driesell said. “Lawrence did not get discouraged and really helped us tonight.”

The Citadel gets a rematch Thursday with College of Charleston, which beat the Bulldogs by 73-69 on Jan. 14. The Cougars are coming off a 77-68 loss at Davidson on Saturday.