FARMVILLE, Va. – It took three overtimes, but The Citadel men's basketball team collected the sixth win of the season, and handed Longwood its first home loss of the season, with a 102-99 road victory over the Lancers Thursday night inside Willett Hall.

Game Information
Final Score: The Citadel 102, Longwood 99
Records: The Citadel (6-5), Longwood (5-7)
Location: Farmville, Va. (Willett Hall)
Series: Series tied, 1-1

KEY STATS

• The two teams opened the game by swapping 3-pointers, including a game-tying trey from freshman Fletcher Abee on the Bulldogs' first possession. Nearly three minutes into the game, the Bulldogs had stretched the lead out to eight, 14-6, capped by Abee's second trey of the contest.
• The Lancers managed to pull to within one, 14-13 with a small run that was capped by a Christian Wilson dunk, but the 'Dogs mounted a streak of their own, a 7-0 run that included a pair of Alex Reed jumpers in the paint.
• Longwood took the lead back with 9:32 left in the first half when Lorenzo Phillips made a fast-break jumper in the paint, and the Lancers began to build on the lead, stretching it out to eight at 41-33 with right at two minutes left in the period when Phillips hit a trey.
• The 'Dogs were able to close out the half with a 7-2 run to cut the lead, and as the buzzer sounded, Kaelon Harris got a 3-pointer off that was just off the mark.
• The Citadel turned the ball over eight times in the first 20 minutes, but Longwood only turned those into four points, while the 'Dogs turned the Lancers' seven turnovers into 10 points.
• The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 5-0 spurt that included an Eddie Davis, III trey, and the two sides traded the lead back and forth with Longwood coming out on top nearly 3:30 in, but The Citadel managed to retake the lead off a Kaiden Rice trey that set the score at 53-51 with 13:37 left in regulation.
• The Bulldogs managed to build up the largest lead of the game, 70-59 when Harris hit a field goal in the paint with 5:48 left in regulation, but Longwood used another spurt, this one a 9-0 run, to cut into the deficit with 3:30 remaining.
• The Citadel managed to stretch the lead back out to four, 72-68 when Abee hit a jumper just outside the paint, but Longwood close the second half out by out-scoring the 'Dogs 6-4 to force the first overtime game of the season for the Bulldogs.
• The Bulldogs led by as many as six, 81-75 in the first overtime period, but once again, Longwood managed to out-score the Bulldogs, this time 8-2, in the closing minutes to force a second overtime.
• In the second overtime period, it was Longwood that appeared headed for the win when the Lancers opened up a five-point, 94-89 lead, but the Bulldogs out-scored the Lancers 5-0 in the final 2:18 to send the game to the third and final overtime period.
• The 'Dogs never trailed in the final overtime period, leading by as many as three four times, including the final 102-99 margin.
• With nine second left, Phillips managed to make the margin two with the back end of a pair of free throws, but Rice matched him on the other end to set the margin at three, and on the ensuing Longwood possession, Reed came up big with a block on Jaylon Wilson's 3-point attempt to seal the win.
• After scoring just three points in the first 20 minutes, Harris ended the game leading all scorers with 27 points and added 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Harris went an impressive 13-of-14 at the free throw line and added a pair of 3-pointers, while drawing nine fouls.
• Rice joined Harris with over 20 points, netting 21, including a game-high six 3-pointers.
• Tyson Batiste just missed out on a double-double of his own with nine assists and seven rebounds, while Davis also came close to a double-double with 17 points and eight boards.
• Reed ended his night with 16 points, eight boards, three assists and the game-saving block.
• Phillips and Jaylon Wilson led the Lancers with 24 points each, including a trio of 3-pointers from both.
• The Bulldogs shot 42.9% (33-of-77) from the field for the game, including 53.3% (16-of-30) in the opening half, while Longwood shot 43.5% (37-of-85) for the game.

NOTABLES

• With Thursday night's win, the Bulldogs are guaranteed a winning record against non-conference opponents for the fourth time in five seasons. Head coach Duggar Baucom is the first Bulldog coach since Les Robinson's final five seasons (1980-85) to have four winning records over non-SoCon teams over the span of five seasons.
• Thursday night marked the first triple-overtime game for the Bulldogs since the 1980-81 season. Coincidentally, the date of the last triple-overtime game was Dec. 19, 1980 and was also on the road. The Bulldogs fell 83-81 at South Carolina. The Bulldogs did play a five-overtime game the next season, winning 107-105 at home against USC Aiken on Feb. 17, 1982.
• The Bulldogs eclipsed the 100-point mark for the third game in a row and the 24^th time in Baucom's tenure. The Citadel improved to 3-0 on the year when scoring at least 100 points. The 'Dogs are 21-3 when scoring at least 100 points under Baucom, and 51-5 all-time in program history.
• Harris has now recorded five double-doubles on the year, and two in the last three games. He had just one career double-double heading into the season.
• With 27 points scored, Harris has now recorded two 20-point performances this season. The senior from Atlanta, Georgia had three 20-point outings as a freshman in 2016-17 and now has five in his career.
• Harris now boasts 693 career points.
• With his 21 points scored, Rice eclipsed the 600-point mark for his career. The junior from Columbia, South Carolina has scored 602 points.
• With his six 3-pointers made, Rice has converted at least one 3-pointer in 10 straight games, and multiple treys in eight straight. His six made 3-pointers matched his season high, set at Marist on Nov. 23.
• Rice has converted at least four 3-pointers in four games this season, giving him 15 games with at least four treys for his career.
• With his 17 points scored, Davis eclipsed the 600-point mark for his collegiate career. Davis has scored 601 career points.

QUOTABLES FROM COACH BAUCOM
 "(Each overtime period) was different," said Baucom. "Different guys stepped up in different overtimes. I was so proud of Kaelon, he had three points at halftime and we challenged him. He finished the night with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and he drew nine fouls. We had to play through Tyson fouling out, Eddie fouling out. We had Rudy, a freshman, leading us for pretty much the last two overtimes. We had Fletcher, another freshman, out there a lot. Alex came off the bench and made some huge plays for us, it was certainly his best game of the year. But we couldn't have done it without any of them.

COMING UP
The Bulldogs will next head to NC State for a 6 p.m. game on the ACC Network on Sunday, Dec. 22 before taking a break for the holidays.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Fans attending ticketed athletic events at The Citadel this year are reminded of the new clear bag policy that has been implemented. Under the policy, fans will be allowed to bring with them a clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bag that does not exceed 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches, or a one-gallon plastic bag (such as Ziploc or Hefty bags). The bags may have a logo on one side that is no larger than 4.5 inches by 3.4 inches. Bags carrying a properly sized logo of other teams or venues are permitted. For more information, please click HERE.

PICK SIX PACKS AVAILABLE
"Pick 6 Pack" packages are available for the upcoming 2019-20 Citadel basketball season and can be purchased through The Citadel Ticket Office for $72. The package allows fans to receive six undated vouchers that can be used in any combination towards tickets to any home game. Fans can use the vouchers to receive one ticket to six different games, or can get six tickets to one game and anything in between. To order or for more information, call The Citadel Ticket Office at (843) 953-DOGS (3647).

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Membership in The Citadel Brigadier Foundation is open to alumni and friends of The Citadel who are interested in supporting Bulldog athletics. By joining, you provide annual charitable contributions that fund scholarships for cadet-student-athletes. Supporters interested in joining TCBF or for more information, please click HERE.

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