CHARLESTON, S.C. – McAlister Field House was packed with 3,213 fans, including the entire South Carolina Corps of Cadets, and the raucous crowd brought plenty of energy, but The Citadel men's basketball team came up just short against rival VMI Saturday as the Bulldogs fell 75-71 in Southern Conference play.

"We played like we're supposed to play for about two minutes and forty seconds. There was tremendous energy and we beat them to the floor on balls, but for the other 37 and a half minutes, they completely out-played us, out-worked us, out-coached us," said head coach Duggar Baucom. "All the credit goes to them. They guarded us and we shot 30% for the game, 20% from three."

After falling behind early, the Bulldogs (9-18, 4-11 SoCon) were able to take the lead off Matt Frierson's second 3-pointer of the game nearly six minutes in. Even though The Citadel was able to hold on to the lead for a solid 10 minutes in the first half, the Bulldogs never could put enough distance on the Keydets (8-18, 3-12 SoCon).

With 2:46 to go in the opening half, Jordan Ratliffe hit the front end of a pair of free throws to give VMI the lead back, and the Keydets built up a five-point, 44-39 lead by the halftime break as Bubba Parham hit a layup just before time expired.

The second half started off extremely slow as the two teams combined for 21 points in the first 10 minutes, but things picked up when Keith Smith hit a jumper with nearly nine minutes remaining.

The Keydets managed to build up a 12-point, 68-56 lead with 3:48 to play, but the Bulldogs came to life as the home crowd came to life.

Zane Najdawi spurred an 11-0 run for The Citadel when he hit a pair of free throws before Frierson converted six in a row on back-to-back possessions and Kaelon Harris pulled the Bulldogs to within one, 68-67 with 2:15 to play when he drilled a 3-pointer to cap the run.

After Garrett Gilkeson hit a layup, Harris and Najdawi combined to give the 'Dogs a one-point, 71-70 lead with just under a minute to play. With the game on the line, the large crowd made every attempt to make it difficult on the Keydets, but VMI overcame as Austin Vereen hit a 3-pointer from the left side before Ratliffe finished the game off with a pair of free throws.

The Bulldogs struggled from the field for much of the game, converting just 32.8% (21-of-64) of their shot attempts, including just 25.8% (8-of-31) in the second half. The Citadel connected on just seven of their 35 3-point attempts (20%), but VMI also struggled from long range, hitting on just 16% (4-of-25) from beyond the arc. The Keydets shot 41% (25-of-61) from the field for the game.

Najdawi, who was honored prior to the game for scoring his 1,000^th-career point a few weeks ago against Wofford, led the Bulldogs with a double-double performance of 23 points and 14 rebounds, including six off the offensive glass. The Midlothian, Virginia native shot 58.3% (7-of-12) from the field and had two assists, a steal and a block while recording his ninth career double-double.

Frierson joined Najdawi in scoring at least 20 points as he had four 3-pointers and went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe for 20 points.

VMI's Parham led all scorers in the game with 25 points off 8-of-18 shooting (44.4%) from the field while Myles Lewis hit all five of his field goal attempts and one free throw for 11 points.

FAST BREAK FACTS

• The Bulldogs finished the game with 49 rebounds, tied for sixth-most by a Bulldog team in a SoCon regular-season game. The 49 boards are the third-most this season by The Citadel as the Bulldogs collected 50 rebounds twice earlier this season against Oglethorpe (Nov. 10) and Western Carolina (Dec. 30).
• The Bulldogs' 22 offensive rebounds are tied for third-most in a regular-season SoCon game by a Citadel basketball team.
• Junior Zane Najdawi recorded the ninth double-double of his career Saturday afternoon with 23 points and 14 rebounds. It is the third of the year for the forward.
• Najdawi's 23 points marked the 18^th time in his career that he has scored at least 20 points. It is the eighth time this season he has accomplished the feat.
• With his 23 points against VMI, Najdawi now has 1,122 career points, moving him up a spot to 24^th all-time in program history.
• Najdawi's 14 rebounds were just one shy of his career high set last season against Western Carolina (Jan. 19, 2017). The 14 boards are a season high for Najdawi, eclipsing his previous high of 11 set at VMI on Jan. 20.
• Matt Frierson scored 20 points in Saturday's game, marking the fifth game of his career that the junior guard has accomplished the feat and fourth this season alone.
• Frierson connected on four 3-pointers against VMI, marking the 22^nd game in his career and 13^th this season that he has accomplished the feat.
• Frierson's four 3-pointers give him 204 for his career and 98 this season. The 98 treys this season move Frierson up to second in program history for treys in a single season. The program record is 102 set by Travis Cantrell during the 2001-02 campaign.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will play two of their final three regular-season games on the road, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 20 at league-leading ETSU. The game against the Bucs will tip off at 7 p.m.

2018 SOCON BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 SoCon Basketabll Championships held at the U.S. Cellular Center located in Asheville, North Carolina March 1-5, 2018. Ticket prices start at $20 for general admission to a single session. For more information or to order your tickets, call The Citadel ticket office at (843) 953-DOGS (3647) or visit CitadelSports.com and click on the "Tickets" tab.

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