Nov. 17, 2009
Charleston Classic (Charleston, SC)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 19 - Sunday, Nov. 22
Thursday, 11/19: vs. South Carolina, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Friday, 11/20: vs. South Florida/Davidson, 7:00/9:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, 11/22: TBA
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La Salle-South Carolina Game Notes
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Charleston Classic
The Charleston Classic, which includes La Salle and seven other universities, will commence on Thursday, November 19 on the College of Charleston campus. The tournament will also feature Davidson, Miami (FL), Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, Tulane and UNC Wilmington. The Charleston Classic proves to be a highly competitive tournament as four of the seven teams advanced to the 2008-09 NIT, including NIT champion Penn State, Davidson, Miami (FL) and South Carolina. The Explorers (1-0) will be tested on the very first night as they go up against South Carolina. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU at 9:30 p.m. ET.
La Salle Explorers (1-0)
Conference: Atlantic 10
On Saturday, the Explorers won their season opener against the Hampton Pirates, 83-80, at Tom Gola Arena. Highly recruited freshman center Aaric Murray excelled in his debut, scoring 16 points and hauling down 11 boards to lead himself to Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week honors. The Explorers will start a stretch of four-straight games on the road, beginning on Thursday with the Charleston Classic.
In the first game of the tournament, La Salle will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks for just the second time in program history and for the first time since 1989. Each team will play three games over four days. As the Explorers move on from Thursday's game, they will play either Davidson or South Florida on Friday.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Rodney Green poured in 23 points against Hampton on Nov. 14.
Rebounder: Aaric Murray grabbed 11 rebounds against Hampton on Nov. 14. Seven of those 11 were offensive boards.
Assists: Rodney Green and Jerrell Williams each had five in Saturday's win against Hampton.
Davidson Wildcats (0-1)
Conference: Southern
The Wildcats will look to fill a huge hole in their offensive production this season as a result of standout guard Stephen Curry entering the NBA this past summer. Despite losing its season opener to Butler by 11 points on Saturday, 73-62, Davidson now looks ahead to three games in Charleston, SC, starting with South Florida on Thursday. Depending on the outcome of the La Salle/South Carolina game, Davidson will play the team that has the identical result of their matchup.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Sophomore forward Ben Allison scored 13 points in Davidson's season opener on Nov. 14.
Rebounder: Allison grabbed seven rebounds in Saturday's loss to Butler.
Assists: Freshman guard JP Kuhlman had five in Davidson's only game thus far.
Miami (FL) Hurricanes (2-0)
Conference: ACC
Opening their season with wins against North Carolina Central and Nova Southeastern, the Hurricanes are ready to extend their winning-streak as they take on Tulane in the Charleston Classic's first day of competition. The highlight of Miami's non-conference schedule will feature their matchup with Minnesota in early December when the Big Ten-ACC Challenge picks up. On Friday, the Hurricanes will play either UNC Wilmington or Penn State.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Senior guard James Dews (13.5 ppg)
Rebounder: Senior forward Dwayne Collins (7.5 rpg)
Assists: Freshman guard Durand Scott (18 assists)
Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)
Conference: Big Ten
In the upper-half of the bracket, the Nittany Lions begin the Charleston Classic with an undefeated record like many other teams in this tournament. Penn State has already taken down Penn and Robert Morris on its home floor. On Thursday afternoon, the Nittany Lions will face UNC Wilmington who has already dropped its first two games of the season. Penn State's non-conference schedule is a favorable one outside of games at Temple and home against Virginia Tech. Success outside the Big Ten should allow them to enter conference play with confidence.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Junior guard Talor Battle (17.5 ppg)
Rebounder: Battle (8 rpg)
Assists: Battle (5.5 apg)
South Carolina Gamecocks (2-0)
Conference: SEC
The Gamecocks walk into the Charleston Classic 2-0 after defeating their opponents by an average of 31 points. Alabama A&M and Georgia Southern were the victims of the two blowouts, and now the Gamecocks will look to carry over their productive offense into Thursday night's game against La Salle. Looking ahead at South Carolina's non-conference schedule, there is a good possibility that the Gamecocks can enter into conference play with a strong record. Aside from Boston College and Baylor, South Carolina's only test may come against No. 23 Clemson in early December.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Senior guard Devan Downey (18.5 ppg)
Rebounder: Senior forward Dominique Archie (7.5 rpg)
Assists: Downey (5.0 apg)
University of South Florida (2-0)
Conference: BIG EAST
With wins over Southern Methodist and Virginia, South Florida is sitting comfortable with a 2-0 record heading into the Charleston Classic. In Day One of the tournament, the Bulls will face Davidson. If the Explorers have the same result as the Bulls on Thursday, the two teams will meet up on Friday evening. This is an important stretch for the Bulls considering that their competition will certainly raise as they head into BIG EAST play.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Sophomore center Augustus Gilchrist (20.5 ppg)
Rebounder: Gilchrist (8.5 rpg)
Assists: Junior guard Dominique Jones (10 assists)
Tulane Green Wave (0-1)
Conference: Conference USA
Suffering a season-opening loss to No. 20 Georgetown, Tulane will be ready to bounce back when it takes on Miami (FL) on the first day of the Charleston Classic. With its two top scorers from last year-Kevin Sims and Kris Richard- still on the team, the Green Wave hope their success builds so that they can improve on the 14-17 record they had a season ago. Tulane will play either UNC Wilmington or Penn State on Friday in the second round of the Charleston Classic.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Junior guard Kris Richard had 15 points in Tulane's season opener against Georgetown.
Rebounder: Junior forward David Booker grabbed nine boards on Nov. 13.
Assists: Senior guard Kevin Sims had three assists on Nov. 13.
UNC Wilmington Seahawks (0-2)
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association
The UNC Wilmington Seahawks are looking to recover from losing its first two games of the season when it goes to the Charleston Classic. In the opening round game, they will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions who are already 2-0. The Seahawks have a very difficult non-conference schedule ahead of them before entering into CAA action. UNC Wilmington will face either Tulane or Miami (FL) on Friday afternoon. The Seahawks will need to take advantage of these teams playing on short rest in order to build up some momentum, heading into the rest of their outer-conference schedule.
Team Leaders
Scorer: Junior forward John Fields (21 ppg)
Rebounder: Freshman guard Keith Rendleman (9 rpg)
Assists: Junior guard Chad Tomko (4 apg)
