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Mountaineers Stumble Against The Citadel

Michael Obacha lays in two of his seven points in Wednesday's loss to The Citadel. Photo by Tyler Buckwell and courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information
Michael Obacha lays in two of his seven points in Wednesday’s loss to The Citadel. Photo by Tyler Buckwell and courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

Feb. 21, 2013. Mike Groselle scored The Citadel’s final 10 points and was credited with a crucial block with less than 10 seconds remaining in overtime to lead the Bulldogs to an 80-77 upset victory over Appalachian State University men’s basketball on Wednesday evening at the Holmes Center.

Appalachian State (12-15, 8-8 SoCon) took a 77-76 lead on a Tab Hamilton three-pointer with 1:09 to go in overtime but the 6-8, 240-pound Groselle answered by muscling his way past Tevin Baskin for a layup that gave The Citadel a 78-77 advantage with 48 seconds remaining.

The teams traded turnovers on the two ensuing possessions, giving the Mountaineers the ball back with 18 seconds left on the clock. Jay Canty drew two defenders as he drove from the left wing to the free-throw line and dished to Baskin on the left block. As Baskin went up for the would-be go-ahead basket, he appeared to draw contact from both Groselle and fellow Citadel big man P.J. Horgan but the officials let the teams play on as Groselle wrestled the ball out of Baskin’s hands and drew a foul from Appalachian’s Mike Neal with 4.6 seconds left. 

Groselle wrapped up his impressive extra period by knocking down both free throws to stretch The Citadel’s advantage to 80-77. Neal drove down the floor quickly after Groselle’s free throws and had a good look at a potential game-tying shot from the right wing but the attempt fell short to seal what is only the Mountaineers’ second home loss since November.

Groselle finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds and Matt Van Scyoc scored a game-high 24 points to pace The Citadel.

Baskin, Hamilton and Neal all had 13 points to lead Appalachian State but Baskin will likely be the focus of highlight shows around the country for his one-handed, three-quarter-court bank shot at the end of the first half that knotted the score 34-34. Both teams also scored 34 points apiece in the second half of the back-and-forth battle.

The Mountaineers shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) on the night including 12-of-27 from beyond the arc while the Bulldogs shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) and nailed 7-of-13 shots form deep.

The Citadel finished with a 37-36 edge in rebounds and scored 22 points off 18 Appalachian turnovers while dishing out 23 assists.

Appalachian State resumes action next week when it plays host to Samford at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28 before closing out the regular season on March 2 against Chattanooga.

GAME NOTES: Appalachian State fell to 51-25 all-time against The Citadel including a 28-7 mark at home… the Mountaineers had four players score in double figures for the 14th time this season… the Apps were outscored 34-26 in the paint and 22-15 off turnovers… the Mountaineers finished with a 13-8 edge in second-chance points, a 12-8 advantage on the fast break and a 28-14 edge in bench points.