Citadel wins first SoCon tourney game since '06

CHARLOTTE -- Some wide smiles and a few of those flying chest bumps greeted The Citadel's 55-43 victory over Samford on Friday night in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament.

And why not? It was just the 11th victory in The Citadel's tournament history, which dates back to 1938, and basketball coach Ed Conroy's first in his fourth season at his alma mater.

But Bulldogs junior Cameron Wells kept a lid on the celebrating, cautioning that The Citadel is after more than one victory this weekend at Bojangles Coliseum.

"It feels great, but we still have a lot of work to do," said Wells, who after a late-season slump looked more like his typical all-SoCon self with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. "We don't want to celebrate too much, because we're not done yet."

With their first tournament win since 2006, the 16-15 Bulldogs advance to a quarterfinal matchup with North Division champion Appalachian State, which earned a first-round bye. The Citadel beat App State, 62-58, in the teams' only meeting this season on Jan. 6.

The 20-11 Mountaineers are coached by Buzz Peterson, Conroy's longtime friend and boss, and led by SoCon player of the year Donald Sims.

"When we played App State the first time, I thought they were playing well and headed for a good season," said Conroy. "And they've really rolled here the last month. They are a talented team, with a lot of firepower, and we'll have our hands full."

Samford (11-19), the team that eliminated one of the best squads in Citadel history from the SoCon Tournament last season, did not boast as much firepower.

Stellar Citadel defense reduced Samford to hoisting 3-pointers for much of the game, and the Bulldogs did a nice job taking away the backdoor cuts that Samford used to good effect in two close losses during the season. After hitting its first two 3-pointers, Samford missed 22 of its last 25 to finish at 18.5 percent.

"I credit the coaches," Wells said. "They did a good job preparing us and telling us we just had to be patient and stay disciplined on defense."

The Citadel did not shoot a whole lot better (36.2 percent from the field, 29.4 percent on 3-pointers), but got to the free-throw line often enough to make 16 of 18 and committed only five turnovers.

Freshman Harrison DuPont supported Wells with 13 points and six rebounds, and guard Austin Dahn added 10 points.

The win gave a sizeable Citadel contingent something to cheer about after what's been a tough week for Citadel athletics.

"We're just thinking about basketball, we really are," Conroy said. "Am I proud of my guys, do I think they typify The Citadel's student-athletes? I certainly do. But it's tough enough to advance in this tournament without trying to play for a bigger cause."

Up by nine at the break, The Citadel slowly stretched its lead to 18 midway through the second half. A 3-pointer from DuPont and Wells' foray into the lane capped a 23-8 run that gave The Citadel a 34-19 lead. DuPont dunked on a backdoor feed from Zach Urbanus, Wells canned a jumper at the shot-clock buzzer and Bo Holston scored for a 43-25 edge with 9:51 left.

Samford cut the 18-point gap to six with 1:01 left, but Urbanus hit four free throws and Dahn two to ice the game.

"Wells was the difference," Samford coach Jimmy Tillette said. "We fouled him way too much in the first half, and they did a good job the whole night of running their offense. I thought we defended reasonably well. Our problem was the other end of the floor, and it's been that way all year for us."

Neither team shot well in the first half -- it was still 7-7 almost nine minutes in -- but The Citadel managed a 9-0 run to open up a 20-11 margin.

Dahn hit a trey and drove the lane to cap that run with 5:26 left in the half.

The Citadel made only eight baskets in the first half and Samford seven, but Wells' ability to get to the foul line made the difference. He made all six of his free throws and The Citadel went 8 for 8 to take a 27-18 lead at the half.

Notes

Friday's win gives The Citadel an 11-55 record in SoCon Tournament games ... It was The Citadel's first win in the tourney since a 65-53 victory over Furman in 2006 ... The Citadel's three wins over Samford marked the first time it had beaten a team three times in a season since the Bulldogs swept three from Furman in 1960.