CHARLESTON, S.C. – Zane Najdawi and Matt Frierson may not yet be seniors, but Saturday afternoon the pair of juniors gave The Citadel men's basketball team plenty of senior leadership as both set multiple career marks en route to leading the Bulldogs to a thrilling 110-101 overtime win over Chattanooga at McAlister Field House.

"The points of emphasis were take care of the ball and get the ball inside," said head coach Duggar Baucom. "We didn't take care of the ball great, but we certainly got the ball inside and Zane finished with a crazy 15-of-17 and one of the only two he missed was the one that could have won it in regulation. He got a great look off that one, though. In the last 10 minutes, the guys executed. Whatever we called out there, they executed, made plays and did a good job on defense."

The overtime win marks the first time since the 2011-12 season that the Bulldogs played an overtime game at home and the win in overtime gave The Citadel its first home win in an overtime game since the 2008-09 team defeated Appalachian State 78-73 on Feb. 12, 2009.

Najdawi and Frierson took control of the game for the Bulldogs (6-11, 1-4 SoCon) from the get-go and complimented each other perfectly for all 45 minutes as they combined to score 68 of the Bulldogs' 110 points. Najdawi worked hard down low as he shot 15-of-17 (88.2%) for the game with just one three-pointer attempted and made, scoring a career-high 37 points. Outside the three-point arc, Frierson was feeling it early and often as he scored 17 points in the first half alone off 5-of-7 shooting from long range and finished with a career-high 31 points, including nine made three-pointers, also a career high.

Despite the success by Najdawi and Frierson, Chattanooga (6-12, 0-5 SoCon) was able to establish a 15-point, 45-30 lead with 5:16 to go in the first half. The Mocs shot 57.1% (20-of-35) from the field in the opening stanza and converted 11 three-pointers with Nat Dixon, Makale Foreman and David Jean-Baptiste combining for 10 of the Mocs' first-half treys.

With 1:45 to go in the opening period, Najdawi cut the deficit to eight with a layup, but Foreman and Jean-Baptiste hit back-to-back three-pointers, extending the Chattanooga advantage back out to 14 before a Najdawi layup set the score at 53-41 at the intermission.

Out of the break, the Bulldogs appeared to have a full head of steam as they quickly worked to get the deficit down to single digits. With The Citadel down 60-51 after a Foreman three-pointer just three minutes into the stanza, the Bulldogs scored eight straight points, including five from Najdawi and a three-pointer from Leandro Allende to pull to within one, 60-59. However, a Chattanooga run of 14-4 set the score back in favor of the Mocs at 74-63.

With 8:27 to play, Jonathan Bryant, II gave Chattanooga a six-point, 78-72 lead with a layup, before the Bulldogs finally found the run they needed to get over the hump.

Kaelon Harris started things off with a trey and Najdawi pulled the Bulldogs to within three with a layup a few possessions later. Frierson was able to tie the game up with 4:47 to go as he hit a huge three-pointer off an assist from none other than Najdawi.

With 4:12 left in regulation, freshman Rob Johnson was fouled on a layup and converted the old-fashioned three-point play to give the Bulldogs the lead for the first time since the 10:31 mark of the first half. Najdawi extended the lead to three with a pair of free throws a few minutes later before he put an exclamation point on the run with a thunderous dunk, setting the score at 87-82 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Over the final three minutes of regulation, the Bulldogs attempted to put some distance on the pesky Mocs, but Rodney Chatman hit a pair of free throws with just nine seconds left to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Bulldogs managed to out-score Chattanooga 17-8 as the Mocs missed all five of their three-point attempts. Najdawi drew first blood in overtime as he hit a jumper in the paint to give the Bulldogs the lead, and The Citadel never looked back.

Down the stretch, sophomore guard Frankie Johnson proved to be Mr. Clutch as he hit five of his six free throw attempts in overtime, alone. The Bulldogs ended the game shooting 80.8% (21-of-26) from the charity stripe.

The Citadel shot a blistering 61.7% (37-of-60) from the field for the game, including 15-of-30 from beyond the three-point arc. The Bulldogs entered Saturday's game leading the nation in three-point field goals made per game with 12.1.

Chattanooga ended the game shooting 46.8% (37-of-79) from the field and set a school record with 17 made three-pointers. The Mocs also tied the school record for three-pointers attempted with 40, shooting 42.5% from three-point range for the game.

Harris joined Najdawi and Frierson with a double-digit point outing as he netted 14 off 5-of-10 shooting and added seven defensive rebounds. Frankie Johnson was close to recording at least a double-double, and possibly the program's first triple-double as he finished the game with nine points, eight assists and six boards. The eight assists from Johnson was one shy of his career high set against UNCG last season in the SoCon Tournament on March 4, 2017.

Foreman ended the game with a team-high 30 points off 11-of-15 (73.3%) shooting while Dixon added 20 points, Chatman 19 and Jean-Baptiste 16.

FAST BREAK FACTS

• The Bulldogs' 110-101 overtime win over Chattanooga breaks a five-game losing skid.
• Saturday's game marked the first overtime contest for the Bulldogs since Jan. 2, 2017, when The Citadel defeated Wofford 104-103 on the road. It is the first overtime game at home since the 2011-12 season, a 73-72 loss to Georgia Southern on Feb. 11, 2012. The win marks the first time a Citadel basketball team has won an overtime contest at home since the 2008-09 season when the Bulldogs defeated Appalachian State 78-73 on Feb. 12, 2009.
• The Bulldogs are now 2-2 in overtime games under head coach Duggar Baucom.
• The 110 points scored by the Bulldogs on Saturday is the fourth-most by The Citadel this season. The Bulldogs are now 13-2 under Baucom when scoring at least 100 points, including 4-0 this season.
• The Bulldogs converted 15 three-pointers against the Mocs after entering the game leading the nation with 21.1 three-pointers made per game. The 15 treys is tied for fourth-most by a Citadel basketball team against a Socon opponent during the regular season. The record is 17 set against Chattanooga on Feb. 16, 2008. Saturday marks the sixth time the Bulldogs have converted 15 treys in a SoCon game.
• The Bulldogs shot 61.7% (37-of-60) from the field for the game, the highest field goal percentage this season. The field goal percentage is the 10^th-best in program history against a SoCon opponent during a regular-season game.
• The Bulldogs' 37 made field goals is tied for 12^th-most by a Citadel basketball team against a SoCon opponent during a regular-season game. The record is 43 set against VMI on Jan. 13, 1975. Saturday marked the 12^th time The Citadel has converted 37 field goals.
• Zane Najdawi and Matt Frierson became the first players to score at least 30 points since Preston Parks netted 37 last season at Samford on Feb. 25, 2017. The last player to score at least 40 points was Patrick Elmore on Feb. 10, 1990 vs. ETSU.
• Najdawi's 37 points and Frierson's 31 are career-highs for both players. Najdawi converted a career-high 15 field goals in a career-high 36 minutes of work. Frierson also set a career-high with nine three-pointers made while playing a career-high 38 minutes.
• Frierson's nine three-pointers made is tied for second-most in program history for treys made in a single game. It ties the record for most three-pointers made in a game against an NCAA Division I opponent. Fellow junior Quayson Williams made 10 three-pointers in a home game against M-A Christian on Nov. 19, 2015. Frierson matches Travis Cantrell and Aaron Nichols for players to convert nine three-pointers in a game against a D-1 opponent. Cantrell accomplished the feat against Western Carolina on Jan. 12, 2002 while Nichols did so against Marshall on Feb. 4, 1991.

 
UP NEXT
The Citadel will now turn its focus to a stretch of three road games over the next two weeks. The Bulldogs will first travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, to take on UNCG on Thursday, Jan. 18 before heading up to VMI on Saturday, Jan. 20. The Bulldogs will then be off for an entire week before making the trek to Macon, Georgia, to take on Mercer on Saturday, Jan. 27.

For more information on The Citadel basketball team, follow @CitadelHoops and @CitadelSports or visit CitadelSports.com.