ETSU Game Information (Thursday, Jan. 10 – 7 p.m. – McAlister Field House)
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Western Carolina Game Information (Saturday, Jan. 12 – 1 p.m. – McAlister Field House)
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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel men's basketball team hosts ETSU and Western Carolina this week before hitting the road for a three-game road swing. The Bulldogs and Buccaneers will tangle at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 10, and the 'Dogs will host the Catamounts of WCU on Saturday, Jan. 12.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Thursday's game with ETSU will feature LaQuinta and TD Bank as game sponsors. Saturday's contest against WCU will feature several special pregame presentations as well as a halftime performance by Peace Love and Hip Hop.

PACK THE MAC SET FOR JAN. 26
On Saturday, Jan. 26, The Citadel Department of Athletics will host its annual Pack the Mac event as the Bulldogs take on rival VMI at 1 p.m. The annual event, which will feature APECS as the title sponsor, with Pepsi and Balfour as participating sponsors, will feature the entire South Carolina Corps of Cadets in attendance. The Palmetto Battery will present the nation's colors before tipoff. The game will feature $5 tickets for fans who use the promo code "PTM" at CitadelSports.com/tickets. The special promotion will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25.

ON THIS DATE IN CITADEL BASKETBALL HISTORY
The Citadel is 8-22 all-time on Jan. 10. The Bulldogs won three games in a row on this date from 1942 until 1948, including claiming two victories over Newberry (1942, 1948) and one over Presbyterian (1947). The 'Dogs also defeated VMI (1949) and William & Mary in overtime (1961). The 1995-96 Bulldogs' win over Winthrop broke an 11-game losing skid on Jan. 10. The Citadel also boasts wins over Western Carolina (2000) and Savannah State (2005) on Jan. 10.

THE BULLDOGS NATIONALLY
The Citadel ranks in the top 50 in NCAA Division I in 10 statistical categories, including leading the nation in scoring (96.8 points per game) and 3-pointers made per game (13.8). The 'Dogs are second in 3-point field goal attempts (526), total 3-pointers made (193) and ninth in assists per game (18.4). The Bulldogs are also tied for 21st in assists (257), 26th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41), 32nd in defensive rebounds per game (28.57), 34th in field goal percentage (.486) and 44th in free throw percentage (.747).

STALLWORTH NATIONALLY
Lew Stallworth enters the week 12th in the nation with an average of 6.7 assists per game, 17th with 94 totals assists and 37th in field goal percentage (.587).

FRIERSON NATIONALLY
Matt Frierson enters the week second in all of NCAA Division I with an average of 4.50 3-pointers made per game, third with 63 3-pointers made and seventh with 144 3-point field goal attempts.

THE STARTING FIVE GETTING THE JOB DONE
Against Furman, Stallworth (23 pts.), Alex Reed (20 pts.), Kaiden Rice (18 pts.) and Zane Najdawi (11 pts.) all finished with double-digit points, marking the eighth game in a row at least three of the Bulldogs' starting five finished in double figures. It was also the fifth time in the same span that four of the starting five scored in double figures, including a stretch of four games in a row from Nov. 27 against High Point until Dec. 15 against Southeast Missouri.

NAJDAWI CLIMBING ON UP
With his 11 points against Furman, Najdawi climbed another two spots in The Citadel record book, from eighth to sixth with 1,400 career points. Najdawi also collected 10 rebounds, moving him up from ninth to eighth in program history for career boards with 620.

BLOCK PARTY FOR NAJDAWI
Najdawi had two blocks on the road at Furman, marking the 48th career game he has tallied multiple blocks. He now has 168 career blocks, second-most in program history.

ECLIPSING 700 POINTS FOR HIS CAREER
With his 23 points scored against Furman, Stallworth eclipsed the 700-point mark for his collegiate career. He now has 719 career points to go along with 310 career assists, including 94 this season.

FRIERSON KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
With his 3-pointer nearly nine minutes into the first half of the game at Furman, Frierson has made at least one 3-pointer in 52 straight games.

JOINING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
With his six points against Wofford, Frierson has now scored 1,001 career points. He is the 34th player in program history to accomplish the feat. Both Frierson and fellow 1,000-point scorer Najdawi netted their 1,000th-career point off free throws.

FIRST COLLEGIATE START FOR RICE
In the game at Wofford, Rice made his first collegiate start, while Reed made his first start of the season. Rice joins Derek Webster, Jr. as Bulldogs who have made their first collegiate starts this season.

NAJDAWI NAMED SOCON STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Najdawi was named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week on Jan. 2. Najdawi is the first Citadel Bulldog to earn the honor since tennis cadet-athlete Willem van Zyl earned the distinction last spring. A native of Midlothian, Virginia, Najdawi boasts a 3.447 grade-point average as a sport management major, and finished the Fall 2018 semester with a 4.0, the second 4.0 semester of his career (Spring 2018, Fall 2018). He was also named to the 2017-18 National Association for Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court and earned the 2017-18 SoCon Commissioner's Medal. Najdawi is a two-time SoCon Honor Roll (2017-18, 2016-17) selection and was a Spring 2018 Southern Conference Academic All-Conference honoree.

THE HISTORY WITH ETSU
ETSU controls the all-time series record by a mark of 43-17, including a 14-10 record over the Bulldogs in Charleston. Last season, the Bulldogs came close to upsetting the Bucs with a 73-71 loss in Charleston on Jan. 29. On Feb 20, the Bulldogs finished the job with an 84-82 road win in Johnson City. The win over the Bucs broke a five-game losing skid to ETSU and marked the first win for the Bulldogs in Johnson City since the 2004-05 season.

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
The ETSU Buccaneers enter the week with a 13-4 overall record, including 3-1 in Southern Conference action, and are ranked 14th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. ETSU enters the week leading the nation in total rebounds (723) and rebounding margin (+13.8), and are also 10th in rebounds per game (42.5). The Bucs average 79.9 points per game, while holding their opponents to 64.8 points per outing, a +15.1 scoring margin. ETSU has connected on 48.4 percent of its shots from the field, including averaging 8.2 triples per game. Opponents have averaged just 7.4 3-pointers per game against the Bucs and have connected on 40.4 percent of their shots from the field.

THE BUCS INDIVIDUALLY
The Bucs have been led by Tray Boyd's 12.4 points and Jeromy Rodriguez's 11.4 points per contest. Rodriguez, who leads the nation with 198 total rebounds and ranks fourth in NCAA Division I with 11.6 boards per game, has shot 56.4 percent from the field. Patrick Good is the final player to average double-digit points, contributing 10.5 points per contest, and leads the team with 47 3-pointers. Isaiah Tisdale leads the team with 51 assists to go along with 8.7 points per game, and Mladen Armus also averages 8.7 points per game, while leading the team with 18 blocks. Rodriguez is the only player to have started all 17 games. Good has started 15 of the 16 games he has appeared in. Tisdale and Armus both bring 12 starts into Thursday and Bo Hodges has started 11 games.

THE HISTORY WITH WESTERN CAROLINA
Western Carolina holds a slight, 39-36 lead over The Citadel in the all-time series. The Catamounts won both meetings last season and have won eight of the last 10 games. The Bulldogs are 21-14 all-time against the 'Cats in Charleston, but haven't won at home since the 2010-11 season.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
Western Carolina enters the week with a 4-13 overall record, including 1-3 in league action and 1-8 in true road games. The Catamounts boast just three wins over NCAA Division I opponents, including a 77-65 win over Jacksonville at home, 71-59 over UNC Asheville on the road and 76-69 over Samford at home. WCU is the lowest scoring offense in the league, averaging 67.8 points per contest while allowing the second-most points scored against them in the conference, 77.4 points per outing. The Catamounts have eclipsed the 70-point mark just six time this season and have scored 80 or more points just twice. WCU has shot 44.6 percent from the field, but foes have connected on 47.6 percent of their shots. Western has converted 8.7 3-pointers per game, but opponents are currently averaging just 6.4 threes per game against the 'Cats.

THE 'CATS INDIVIDUALLY
Four Catamounts enter the weekend averaging 9.0 points per game or more, led by Carlos Dotson's 13.4 points per game, Matt Halvorsen's 12.3 points per outing and Kameron Gibson's 12.2 points per contest. Onno Steger has chipped in 9.4 points per game. Not only does Dotson lead the team in scoring, but he also boasts a team-best 9.4 rebounds per game and eight blocked shots. Dotson also leads the team in shooting percentage, having connected on 58.3 percent of his shots from the field, but he has made just 49.5 percent of his free throw attempts and leads the team with 60 turnovers. Halvorsen leads the team with 41 assists and 43 3-pointers on the year. Steger leads the team with 14 steals. Gibson is the second-leading 3-point shooter on the team, having made 39 triples while shooting a team-best 41.5 percent from beyond the arc. Steger is the only Catamount to have started all 17 games, but Dotson, Halvorsen and Gibson have all started 16 contests. Marc Gosselin has started eight games and D.J. Myers boasts six starts.

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