CHARLESTON, SC NEWS - LIVE 5 WCSC Breaking News, Weather, SportsBulldogs hold off Eastern Michigan, 63-56

Springfield, MO. - The Citadel Basketball team won the first game of the Hispanic College Fund Challenge, staving off a late charge by Eastern Michigan, 63-56. Junior point guard Cameron Wells scored 24 points, a game-high, to become the 26th member of the Bulldog's 1,000 point club. Wells, who reached the milestone in 66 games, becomes the quickest player in history to reach the plateau.

"I am happy for Cameron that his hard work has paid off," said head coach Ed Conroy. "With a talented player like Cameron, and as hard as he works, there are going to be a lot of records and different accolades that come his way."

"As far as the win tonight, that shows the resolve of this team. We have said that as pain as Charleston Southern was, it was not going to define our season. As I told the guys after the game, this is a really quality victory tonight. That Eastern Michigan team would do really well in the Southern Conference and Brandon Bawdry would be a Player of the Year candidate."

Joe Wolfinger, who added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Zach Urbanus (12 points) also scored in double figures for The Citadel. Urbanus hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, closing in on fifth place among best 3-point shooters in Bulldog history. He stands four back of Donny McLendon and Dante Terry, each with 160. Wolfinger chipped in a team-high seven boards, six on the defensive end.

Eastern Michigan, who falls to 1-1 on the season, was led offensively by Brandon Bowdry's 14 points. Bowdry added nine rebounds, all defensive. Teammates Justin Dobbins, who netted 12, Jay Higgins (10 pts.) and Carlos Medlock (10 pts.) all reached double-figures in scoring.

As a unit, The Citadel (2-1) finished with a 42.9% field goal percentage (21-49), while EMU (1-1) shot 21-of-47 from the field. Behind Wells' 10-of-12 shooting from the free throw line, the Bulldogs finished 16-of-20 as a team (80%). The Bulldogs also held an edge in second chance points (11-2) and points off turnovers (14-10) in the contest.

"Growing up in the Midwest, people will say that the game is called the same way all over the country, but it is really not," Conroy added. "You saw that tonight, it was a very physical contest, and we explained that at halftime how Eastern Michigan was getting into us. In the second half, because we cut well, and shot the ball well and drove the ball well that was a huge key to the basketball game."

The Citadel held a 26-22 edge at the end of the first half, capitalizing on 14 points in the paint. Wolfinger led all scorers with nine points at the break, converting three shots from the floor along with a pair of free throws. The Bulldogs grabbed 17 rebounds, five offensive, with Wolfinger, Groselle and Wells each responsible for three. Meanwhile, Bowdry had high marks for the Eagles, six points, and teammate Carlos Medlock joined him with four boards.

With the score tied at 9-9 at the 15:53 mark of the half, The Citadel put together a 14-5 run over the next seven minutes of action. Wolfinger scored five points during that run, while the defense closed the door on the Eagles by forcing seven missed 3-pointers. Combined with two turnovers during the span, the Bulldogs established their largest lead of the half.

Jay Higgins and L.J. Frazier hit back-to-back buckets, closing the lead to 23-19 with 4:01 remaining. Wells closed out the half with three points in the final 1:18 for the 26-22 lead.

The Citadel will finish the Hispanic College Fund Classic on Sunday, Nov. 21 against the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore at 6:30 p.m. From there the Bulldogs travel to West Virginia to play the eighth ranked Mountaineers.

Courtesy: Citadel Athletics