Home Wreckers

Harrison DuPont scored 15 points for The Citadel on Monday night against the College of Charleston, but the 6-5 freshman forward's biggest contribution may have been the hustle he showed in coming from nowhere to save an airball headed out of bounds late in the game.

With the Bulldogs holding a tenuous two-point lead, DuPont managed to snag the ball and bounce it off College of Charleston's Tony White Jr. with 46 seconds left, saving the possession for The Citadel. Eleven seconds later, Zach Urbanus converted a 3-pointer to help propel the Bulldogs to a 72-65 victory over the Cougars before a crowd of 5,154 at Carolina First Arena and a regional television audience.

"Whoever made that play, give him a lot of credit," said College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins.

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Citadel vs College of Charleston

Crosstown rivals from the Citadel faced off against the College of Charleston at the Carolina First Arena Monday February 8, 2010. The Citadel won 72-65.

"That changed the game," White said. "They got an extra possession and Urbanus hit a 3. I'll take responsibility. I wasn't aware (DuPont) was around me. I thought the ball hit the end line, and I thought the referee was going to blow his whistle."

The victory, the Bulldogs' third straight, gave The Citadel (13-12, 7-6 Southern Conference) a split in its series this year with Charleston. The Cougars, who saw their 10-game home winning streak end, dropped to 16-9 and 11-3. Both schools' next game is against Elon. The Phoenix will play at Carolina First Arena at 7 p.m. Thursday, while the Bulldogs travel to Elon on Saturday.

The Citadel coach Ed Conroy said he was proud of his team.

"We talk so much about getting better and sticking with the plan. The result hasn't always gone our way," said Conroy, whose team lost a couple of nail-biters before getting back on track with wins against Samford, Chattanooga and now Charleston.

"The results are getting better. Midway through the second half, a calmness came over our guys."

After trailing most of the first half, the College of Charleston took its first lead with a 7-0 run, and earned a 31-27 halftime lead. The Cougars trailed by as many as nine points and didn't earn their first lead until White hit a 3-pointer with 4:54 remaining. That put the Cougars up, 24-23, and was followed by a Jeremy Simmons dunk and a short jumper by White.

Most of the second half consisted of the teams trading baskets until just inside the eight-minute mark when Urbanus nailed a pair of 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 58-53 lead. But the Cougars' Casaan Breeden responded with a couple of 3-pointers of his own to set up a thrilling finish.

Urbanus hit a 3 with 2:26 left for a four-point Citadel lead, 67-63. Breeden answered for the Cougars with a short basket with just over a minute left. Austin Dahn's 3-point attempt with 46 seconds remaining missed wildly, but DuPont managed the save and Urbanus nailed the game with his 3-pointer.

Urbanus, who scored all 17 of his points in the second half, said he wasn't aggressive in the first half, but wanted the ball as the clock was running down.

"This is a tough place to play, a great atmosphere," he said. "If we can come on the road and beat College of Charleston here, then we can beat anybody anywhere."

In addition to Urbanus' 17 points, the Bulldogs got 15 each from Cameron Wells and DuPont.

"It was a heck of a basketball game. I congratulate The Citadel. They played a great basketball game," Cremins said. "It was really an exciting game. Our league is amazing. I've said before, The Citadel is as good as anybody in our league. They've lost some close games. They could be right there at the top.

"We didn't shoot the ball real well tonight. It was a tough game. We had trouble stopping them. They're well-coached, and they're good."

The Cougars, who had knocked down 35 3-pointers in their last two games, hit only 6 of 23 attempts against the Bulldogs. The College of Charleston was led by Andrew Goudelock, who had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists but was only 1 of 8 from 3-point range.

"It was a tough loss," Goudelock said. "They played well. Tonight, the shots weren't going in. They hit some timely shots. I'm not satisfied with the way we played. You've got to take it and chalk it up as a learning experience."

With the Southern Conference Tournament only a few weeks away, Conroy said he preaches the process to his team.

"We talk about getting better," he said. "Everybody's going to lose. The team that's going to be the happiest and goes the furthest is the one that keeps working and improving. Our guys really care about this program."