Cougars scramble for bye

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The precious Southern Conference Tournament bye so probable a few weeks ago suddenly requires a College of Charleston road rally starting tonight at Appalachian State, and help.

The Cougars (10-5 in SoCon play) after a 72-58 loss to The Citadel on Saturday at Carolina First Arena are a game and a half behind the second-place Bulldogs (12-4) and four back of first-place Davidson (15-1). The top two teams in each of the SoCon's two six-team divisions get a first-round bye at the SoCon Tournament March 6-9 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Citadel also has a tie-breaker edge over Charleston as the victory Saturday gave the Bulldogs their first SoCon sweep in the series.

"We worked hard against them," head coach Bobby Cremins said. "I thought we had a great game plan going in. But obviously it was not the right one."

The five remaining SoCon games for Charleston: at Appalachian State (tonight at 7:30, Comcast channel 42), at Georgia Southern (Wednesday night), at Chattanooga (Feb. 23), Wofford (Feb. 26) and Furman (Feb. 28).

The four remaining SoCon games for The Citadel: at Davidson (Wednesday night), Furman (Feb. 26), Wofford Feb. 28) and at Georgia Southern (March 2).

Appalachian State (9-7) is in fourth place in the SoCon North but within striking distance of the three teams ahead: Chattanooga 10-6, Western Carolina 8-7, Samford 8-9.

"There's a lot of games left to be played on the road for everybody and a lot of challenging home games," Appalachian State head coach Houston Fancher said. "The only thing that's been proven so far is that nothing is for sure."

The Cougars defeated Appalachian State, 88-80, on Jan. 21 in Charleston. Andrew Goudelock led the way with a career-high 33 points.

 

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Davidson's Curry is day-to-day

Monday, February 16, 2009


The Citadel's basketball game at Davidson on Wednesday carries much more import than anyone could have imagined a month ago ? and it's uncertain if Wildcats superstar Stephen Curry will be able to play.

Curry, the nation's leading scorer at 29 points per game, underwent X-rays on his injured left ankle Sunday. The X-rays were negative, and Curry is listed as day-to-day with a sprained ankle, the school announced Sunday.

The Wildcats did not practice Sunday, and Curry will sit out today's practice, coach Bob McKillop said.

"Stephen is very resilient, and he has already gotten terrific care from our medical team," McKillop said. "We will monitor his progress on a day-to-day basis."

Curry injured the ankle midway through the second half of Saturday's 75-60 win at Furman and did not return to the game.

In deciding when Curry should return, McKillop must consider his team's BracketBuster game with 15th-ranked Butler on Saturday, a game which could have a major impact on the Wildcats' chances for an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament should they fail to win the SoCon Tournament next month in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Curry scored 32 points in Davidson's 84-69 win over The Citadel on Jan. 10 at McAlister Field House. But that was before the Bulldogs embarked on a history-making nine-game winning streak that's carried them to a 17-10 overall record and 12-4 mark in the SoCon. With four regular-season games left, the Bulldogs are in second place in the SoCon South Division, three games behind Davidson (22-4, 15-1). The top two teams in each division earn first-round byes in the SoCon Tournament.

"We know we have a big scouting report to look at with Curry and all those guys," said redshirt freshman John Brown. "But I think we're ready for the challenge."

The Citadel has not won at Davidson since an 85-76 victory on Feb. 22, 1990.