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CHARLESTON, S.C. – Following a two-week road swing, The Citadel men's basketball team returns to McAlister Field House to host in-state rivals Wofford and Furman.
 
Last week, The Citadel fell at Mercer 82-66 in a contest that featured six lead changes and four ties. Ezekiel Balogun dropped a career-high 16 points and grabbed eight boards in the game while Zane Najdawi chipped in 13 points. Quayson Williams also had a strong performance against the Bears as he scored 12 points and brought down eight rebounds.
 
Thursday's game against the Terriers marks exactly one month since the two programs squared off in Spartanburg, with the Bulldogs earning the 104-103 overtime win. The victory was the first since 2007 on Wofford's home court and snapped a three-game skid against the Terriers. Kaelon Harris led the Bulldogs in the game with 23 points on eight-of-13 shooting from the floor while fellow freshman Preston Parks poured in 19, including a three-pointer with 1:14 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. The Terriers are 3-4 since that January meeting and 9-13 overall.
 
Furman comes to Charleston with a 14-8 mark overall, a 7-2 record in conference play and are currently tied for first place in the SoCon. The Bulldogs fell at Furman in the first meeting of the season 83-68, as the Paladins shot 53.4 percent from the floor and scored 52 points in the paint compared to The Citadel's 26. Furman currently holds a 6-6 record on the road and will face Mercer on Thursday.
 
Tip for Thursday's game is set for 7 p.m. and Saturday's Pack The Mac game will tip at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN3 with live stats available at CitadelSports.com. For tickets, visit CitadelSports.com/tickets.
 
FAST FACTS
• Last season the Bulldogs' bench scored 1,196 points using Coach Baucom's line change system. This year, the 'Dogs are well on their way to surpassing that mark as they have already tallied 954 bench points. The largest contribution so far this season came in a 116-112 win at Stetson when the Bulldogs' reserves poured in 72 points.
• Zane Najdawi's 15 rebounds at Western Carolina on Jan. 19 marked the first time a Bulldog tallied 15 rebounds in a game since Mike Groselle did so in 2012. The sophomore also recorded his sixth double-double of the season and of his career in the contest, putting him one shy of 15th on the program's career list.
• Led by Preston Parks' 16.6 points per game and Zane Najdawi's 16.0 PPG, The Citadel is one of two SoCon teams with multiple scorers ranked in the top-10 in the conference.
• The Citadel's high-powered offense ranks first in seven different categories among Southern Conference members including scoring offense (93.3), rebounding offense (38.3), steals (9.7), assists (17.4), offensive rebounds (14.6), turnover margin (+3.70) and three-point field goals made (12.2).
• Zane Najdawi is currently tied for first in the SoCon in offensive rebounds, second in rebounds and seventh in scoring. He is also tied for sixth in the NCAA for most free throws made in a single game after sinking 16 against Colgate on Dec. 2. His 126 free throws made are 11th most in program history in a single season.
• Preston Parks currently ranks seventh on The Citadel's list of points scored by a freshman. Parks has 331 points on the season and is three points behind Matt Van Scyoc. He is also fourth among freshmen with 80 assists.
• Parks has been explosive for the Bulldogs this season and led The Citadel in scoring for four consecutive games beginning with a 20-point effort at Virginia Tech. The Greenville, South Carolina, native has recorded 15 games in double figures, including 12 straight, and nine games with at least 20 points.
• The freshman's 32 points on Dec. 28 is the third-highest single-game total among conference members in 2016-17.
• The Citadel is ranked first in Division I in scoring for the 11th straight week. The Bulldogs have been the NCAA's highest-scoring team every day since Nov. 25, 2016.
 
For more information on The Citadel basketball, follow @CitadelHoops or visit CitadelSports.com.