CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - After three wins in five games, The Citadel (10-13, 3-7) suffered a setback in a 125-85 road loss at Chattanooga (19-3, 8-1). The Bulldogs stayed within striking distance through the opening 12 minutes of the contest and held a 20-19 lead following a three-pointer from Quinton Marshall, but a late first-half run by the Mocs put them in front by double digits and The Citadel could not recover.
 
Junior Brian White led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and freshman Zane Najdawi added seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Najdawi now has 40 blocks on the season, becoming just the third freshman in The Citadel history to reach that mark.
 
Eleven of the 12 Bulldogs that saw action in Monday night's loss found the scoring column. Freshman Connor Schroeder and senior Derrick Henry each tossed in 10 points and junior walk-on Tommy Olds scored his first career points with a three-pointer in the final seconds.
 
The Citadel jumped out to an early 9-4 lead at the 16:15 mark after a corner trey by White. The two squads went back and forth over the next eight minutes of game clock until Marshall buried his only three to give the Bulldogs their last lead of the game. Chattanooga caught fire and finished the first half on a 29-13 run. The Mocs made 15-of-17 from the free throw line in the opening frame to grab a 48-33 halftime edge.
 
Chattanooga extended its advantage in the second half, pairing stops with efficient offense. Five Mocs scored in double figures led by Greg Pryor's 21 points. The Citadel could not chip away at the deficit as Chattanooga shot 54.9 percent for the game.
 
The Bulldogs' crop of freshman combined to score 28 points. Matt Frierson hit all three of his triples in the second half and finished with nine points off the bench. Next up, The Citadel travels to Mercer on Saturday before hosting Samford on Feb. 8. For all the latest on The Citadel basketball, follow @CitadelHoops and stay tuned to CitadelSports.com.