BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL ROUND


(7)Charleston Southern (11-17, 5-9) @ (2)Virginia Military Institute (17-10, 9-5)
CSU Fieldhouse
March 4, 2008
It was a fantastic back and forth first half that ended all square at 24-24. Then the offense of VMI (17-10, 9-5) took over as they outscored Charleston Southern (11-17, 5-9) 40-30 over the final 20 minutes to come away with the 64-54 victory.
In order for CSU to pull of the upset their guards needed to play exactly the way they ended the season. That just never happened tonight. The two guards Jeremy Sexton and Sheldon Strickland had been averaging double digits in scoring and have been shooting a solid percentage combined for just 12 points on 5-19 shooting. In fact, two players that have been steadily improving throughout the season, Kenny Mitchell and Cedrick Bowen had the best stats for the Buccaneers. Mitchell finished as the lone Buccaneer in double digits with 11 points and 4 rebounds, while Bowen scored 8 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.
For the Keydets it was the forwards and center that took over. Forwards Michael Sparks and Stan Okoye led the team in scoring and D.J. Covington played stellar defense from the center position. Okoye recorded a double-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, Sparks scored 15 points, and Covington finished with 6 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
For Charleston Southern their season ends at 11-17 overall and 5-9 in the Big South. For VMI they move on to the semifinals to play #6 seeded High Point who upset #3 Liberty 77-71.
Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Virginia Military Institute Keydets | |||
Mar 4, 2008 | 1ST | 2ND | SCORE |
Charleston Southern (11-17, 5-9) | 24 | 30 | 54 |
Virginia Military Institute (17-10, 9-5) | 24 | 40 | 64 |
Charleston Southern Buccaneers | |||||||||||
STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
Jeremy Sexton | 28 | 3-9 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
Sheldon Strickland | 28 | 2-10 | 0-5 | 2-2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
Kenny Mitchell | 32 | 3-7 | 3-5 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
Paul Gombwer | 30 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
Cedrick Bowen | 32 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
Dominique Williams | 10 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
Jonathan Brooks | 6 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
Saah Nimley | 19 | 3-9 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | |
Zimmy Nwogbo | 15 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
Chris Grier | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
Arlen Harper | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
Matt Kennedy | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
Mitchell Deter | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
Greg Dorleus | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
TEAM TOTALS | 21-51 | 7-23 | 5-8 | 31 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 54 |
Virginia Military Institute Keydets | |||||||||||
STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
Rodney Glasgow | 33 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
Keith Gabriel | 33 | 3-14 | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
Michael Sparks | 26 | 6-13 | 3-10 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | |
Stan Okoye | 34 | 7-9 | 1-2 | 7-11 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 22 | |
D.J. Covington | 34 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | |
BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
Jarid Watson | 6 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
Wayne Whiting | 13 | 1-5 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Ron Burks | 8 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
Quinton Upshur | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
Brian Brown | 14 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Jordan Weethee | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
Drew Absher | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
TEAM TOTALS | 24-57 | 6-27 | 10-17 | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 64 |
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