MACON, GA. - Mercer rode an early lead to an 88-72 victory over The Citadel on Saturday in front of a record crowd at Hawkins Arena. Senior Quinton Marshall reached double figures for the 17th time this season and led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Mercer shot 48.5 percent from the field to earn the win and improve to 11-0 at home while The Citadel dropped to 10-14 overall and 3-8 in Southern Conference play.
 
Freshman Quayson Williams and junior Warren Sledge both returned from injury and scored 12 points and 10 points, respectively. In the paint, Zane Najdawi grabbed seven rebounds for the second consecutive outing and collected two blocks to pull within five swats of setting the program record for blocks in a season by a freshman.
 
The Bears set the tone from the jump and took a 14-2 lead after the first six minutes of the game. Senior point guard P.J. Boutte assisted on back-to-back buckets on the next two Bulldog possessions to stop the bleeding and prevent the deficit from swelling. Boutte finished with seven assists, six points and five rebounds on Saturday despite dealing with first-half foul trouble.
 
Mercer extended its lead to 31-15 at the 7:54 mark and used an advantage down low to take a 43-30 edge into halftime. The Bears scored 54 total points in the paint to outduel the Bulldogs.
 
Marshall and company could not chip away at Mercer's lead as the Bears surged ahead by more than 20 points with less than nine minutes remaining. The Bulldogs found their stroke from the beyond the arc late and a spark from walk-on Bobby Duncan off the bench allowed head coach Duggar Baucom's club to put together a 28-15 run that sliced the deficit to 83-72.
 
The Bulldogs made 11 treys on Saturday and are now three trifectas away from setting the program record for total three-pointers made in a season. Duncan scored his first point since Dec. 29 and his energy off the bench fueled the Bulldogs to a strong finish.
 
The comeback attempt proved to be too little too late as Mercer clamped down defensively in the final minutes. The Citadel now regroups for a quick turnaround as the Bulldogs host Samford at McAlister Field House on Monday. That game tips off at 6 p.m. and tickets are available here. For all the latest on The Citadel basketball, follow @CitadelHoops and stay tuned to CitadelSports.com.