Mercer Game Information (Saturday, Feb. 9 – 4 p.m. – Macon, Ga.)
Live Stats  |  Live Video (ESPN3)  |  Listen Live (WQNT (92.1FM / 102.1FM / 1450AM)  |  Game Notes

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel men's basketball team opens the final multi-game road swing of the regular season this weekend with a tilt at Mercer. The Bulldogs and Bears will tangle at 4 p.m. inside Hawkins Arena on Saturday, Feb. 9.

THE BULLDOGS NATIONALLY
The Citadel enters the weekend in the top 50 in NCAA Division I in five statistical categories. The Bulldogs are second in 3-point field goals attempted (788) and 3-pointers made per game (12.0). The 'Dogs are also third in both scoring (87.5 points per game) and total treys made (264), and sit 35^th in assists per game (16.0).

STALLWORTH NATIONALLY
Lew Stallworth enters this weekend's game in the top 52 in the nation in three categories. The Los Angeles, California native is 21^st in assists per game (6.1), tied for 22^nd with 134 total assists and is 52^nd in NCAA Division I for field goal percentage (.549).

FRIERSON NATIONALLY
Matt Frierson is currently in the top 10 in three 3-point field goal statistical categories. Frierson is fifth in both total 3-pointers made (86) and 3-pointers made per game (3.91), and he is ninth with 222 3-point attempts.

NAJDAWI NATIONALLY
Zane Najdawi is currently 75^th in the nation with 37 blocked shots.

ONE OF JUST EIGHT
Najdawi scored 13 points last weekend against Wofford, giving him 1,506 points for his career. The mark has him tied with Art Musselman (1956-60) for third all time in program history. Najdawi is one of just eight players in Southern Conference history, and is the only player in school history, to score at least 1,500 career points while also bringing down over 600 rebounds and swatting away 100 shots.

NAJDAWI OFF THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Najdawi brought down one offensive rebound against Wofford, giving him 236 for his career. The Midlothian, Virginia native is now tied for sixth in program history with Cliff Washburn (1998-2002) for career offensive boards.

BLOCK PARTY FOR ZANE
Najdawi swatted away one shot in the game against Wofford, giving him 37 for the season. The mark has his 2018-19 season 11th in program history for blocks in a single season. His next block will move him into a tie for ninth with his own 2016-17 campaign (sophomore) and Matt Newman's 1996-97 season. Najdawi already boasts three of the program's top-10 performances for blocks in a single season, including his freshman (2015-16) season (fourth, 60) and his junior (2017-18) campaign (seventh, 42).

LEW WITH THE ASSIST
With his five assists against Wofford, Stallworth now has 134, moving him up from 10^th to tied for seventh in program history for assists in a season. He is tied with Kevin Hammack's 2002-03 season and is just four assists behind Cameron Wells' 2010-11 season and Frankie Johnson's 2017-18 campaign in fifth.

3 FOR 3
Frierson, who set the program record for career made treys in the game at UNCG, now boasts 306 triples, including 86 this season. Frierson's 86 3-pointers this year are the fourth-most in program history for treys in a single season. Frierson's 114 triples during last season's campaign are the program bench mark.

FRIERSON IN SOCON HISTORY
Frierson is currently seventh in Southern Conference history with 306 made 3-pointers in his career. He is third among active players, behind Wofford's Fletcher Magee (first, 452) and UNCG's Francis Alonso (fourth, 362).

FRIERSON RISING THROUGH THE RANKS
With his nine points scored against the Terriers, Frierson moved up to 28^th in program history with 1,076 career points. He is 10 points behind Noy Castillo (1993-97) in 27th.

THE HISTORY WITH MERCER
Mercer controls the all-time series over the Bulldogs by a mark of 16-6 dating back to the 1924-25 season. With The Citadel's win on Dec. 1, the Bulldogs have won two of the last three meetings. The Bulldogs' 76-74 win in Macon last season (Jan. 27, 2018) broke a 13-game winning streak in the series by the Bears and marked the first win in the series, and the first win in Macon, for the Bulldogs since the 1926-27 campaign.

SCOUTING DA BEARS
Since the Bulldogs and Bears met in Charleston earlier this season, Mercer has gone 4-11 with wins over UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina, Samford and VMI. The Bears are currently in the midst of a three-game losing skid, but all three have come to three of the top four teams in the conference: UNCG, Wofford and Furman. Mercer is currently 7-4 at home. The Bears are currently averaging 74.5 points per game with their opposition having scored 71.8 points per outing. Mercer has shot 45.9 percent from the field, including 34.5 percent from beyond the arc, while their opponents have connected on 43.6 percent of their shots from the field and 35.3 percent from long range. Mercer's foes have made 9.7 3-pointers per game, while the Bears have made 7.4 per contest. The Bears have been out-rebounded by nearly two boards per game, 35.4 per game by their opponents and 33.7 per game by Mercer.

DA BEARS INDIVIDUALLY
The Bears boast four players averaging double-digit points for the year led by Ross Cummings' 17.4 points per outing. Cummings leads the team with 77 3-pointers made on the season and is shooting  42.1 percent from beyond the arc, a statistic that has him 40th in NCAA Division I. Behind Cummings, Djordje Dimitrijevic is averaging 11.3 points per game, Ethan Stair adds 11.1 points per outing and Jaylen Stowe contributes 11.0 points per contest. Stair is second on the team in rebounding with 5.1 boards per game behind Fardaws Aimaq's 5.5 rebounds per outing. Marcus Cohen leads the team with 77 assists. Aimaq, Stair and Stowe are all shooting over 50.0 percent. Aimaq and Stair have both connected on 52.2 percent of their shots, while Stowe has converted 51.4 percent of his shots. Cummings, Stair, Stowe and Cory Kilby have started all 23 games. Dimitrijevic and Cohen have split time at the final spot.

NEXT UP
Following the game at Mercer, the 'Dogs will travel to ETSU and Western Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 16. The battle between The Citadel and the Buccaneers will tip off at 7 p.m., while the game between the 'Dogs and the Catamounts will feature a 2 p.m. tipoff. The Bulldogs will then return home to close out the month of February with the final homestand of the regular season.

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