ETSU Game Information (Wednesday, Feb. 12 – 7 p.m. – Johnson City, Tenn. – Freedom Hall)
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Samford Game Information (Saturday, Feb. 15 – 1 p.m. – Charleston, S.C. – McAlister Field House)
Live Stats  |  Live Video (ESPN3)  |  Listen Live (WQNT (92.1FM / 102.1FM / 1450AM)  |  Game Notes  |  Tickets

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel basketball team will play at ETSU and host Samford this week. The game in Johnson City is slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff on ESPN+ on Wednesday, Feb. 12, while the second game this season against Samford will tip off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Saturday's game against Samford will be Scout Day with area boy scouts able to come to campus early to earn merit badges before taking in the Battle of the Bulldogs at 1 p.m. The game will also feature the first-ever Battalion Baby Race at halftime.

SENIOR DAY – WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26
On Wednesday, Feb. 26, The Citadel will recognize Kaelon Harris and Tyson Batiste during the Bulldogs' annual Senior Day festivities.

THE BULLDOGS ON THE SOCON'S NEXSTAR PACKAGE
Saturday's game against Samford will be the second game this season the Bulldogs will be featured on the Southern Conference's Nexstar package. The game between The Citadel and Samford will be carried by six local television markets in Charleston (WCBD), Roanoke, Virginia (WWCW), Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville (WYCW), Johnson City, Tennessee (WJHL), Greensboro/High Point (WGHP) and Macon (WMUB).

FINDING HIS GROOVE
For the first time in his career, Derek Webster, Jr. scored in double figures in back-to-back games, having scored 14 points at UNCG (Feb. 5) and against VMI (Feb. 8). Webster has now scored 66 points this season, including 35 in the last three games combined. The 66 points are the most Webster has scored in a single season in his career.

BLOCK PARTY FOR D-WEB
Webster blocked four shots against VMI on Feb. 8, marking a career high for the junior from Tampa, Florida. It was the fifth multi-block game in his career and second this season. Webster recorded one multi-block game as a freshman and two last season as a sophomore.

CLARK CORRALLING REBOUNDS
Freshman Stephen Clark brought down seven rebounds against VMI on Feb. 8, marking a career high.

FRESHMAN SCORING
With his 10 points scored on Feb. 8 versus VMI, Fletcher Abee has now scored 271 points this season, moving him up to 13th in program history for points scored by a freshman.

ABEE CLOSING IN
Abee converted two 3-pointers at home against VMI on Feb. 8, giving him 60 for the year. The 60 made 3-pointers have him sixth in program history for 3-pointers made by a freshman. He is five away from fifth.

ABEE IN THE NATION
Abee is currently tied for 63rd in the nation with 2.61 made 3-pointers per game and tied for 83rd with 60 made treys.

TYSON IN THE RECORD BOOK
With his six assists Saturday against VMI, Batiste moved up to 11th in program history for single-season assists with 129 on the year. He is just two away from cracking the top 10.

TYSON NATIONALLY
Batiste enters the week ranked 32nd in NCAA Division I with 5.6 assists per game and tied for 37th with 129 total assists.

RICE BEYOND THE ARC NATIONALLY
Kaiden Rice enters the week tied for 27th in NCAA Division I with 188 3-point attempts, tied for 28th with an average of 2.96 made 3-pointers per game and tied for 32nd with 68 made 3-pointers.

RICE CLOSING IN
Rice boasts 68 made 3-pointers on the year, which has him four away from cracking the top 15 in program history for 3-pointers made in a season.

THE HISTORY WITH ETSU
ETSU holds a 46-17 record over The Citadel dating back to the 1961-62 season. Earlier this season, the two teams opened Southern Conference play on Dec. 4 with the Bucs winning 96-84 to extend the current streak in the series out to three games in ETSU's favor. During the 2017-18 campaign, the two teams split the series with each team winning on the other's home court by two points.

SCOUTING THE BUCS
Since the two teams last met, ETSU has gone 14-3 to sit at 21-4 for the year, including 13-1 at home in Freedom Hall. The lone home loss on the year came on Jan. 29 when Mercer defeated the Bucs 71-55. ETSU then went on a three-game winning streak, including most recently avenging the loss to Mercer with a 73-60 victory in Macon on Feb. 8. ETSU is currently No. 3 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. ETSU is averaging 76.3 points per game and holding opponents to 62.4 points per outing (25^th-best in the nation) for a +13.9 scoring margin. The +13.9 margin has the Bucs seventh in NCAA Division I. The Bucs have connected on 47.4% of their attempts from the field, including shooting 34.1% from beyond the 3-point arc. Their opponents have converted 42.0% of their field goal attempts, but have only connected on 28.8% of their 3-point attempts. The Bucs average 7.6 treys per game (down from 9.0 when the two teams last met) compared to 5.5 by the opposition.

ETSU INDIVIDUALLY
Of the 12 players to see action for ETSU this season, only five have played in all 25 games with two more having missed just one game. Bo Hodges and Isaiah Tisdale have started every game for the Bucs with Lucas N'Guessan having started 24 of the 25 games he has appeared in. Patrick Good is the next highest with 20 starts. Tray Boyd and Hodges lead the Bucs in scoring as both average over 13.0 points per outing. Boyd leads the way, and is tied for 11^th in the conference, with an average of 13.6 points per game, while Hodges chips in 13.4. Daivien Williamson is the next leading scorer with 9.6 points per game, with N'Guessan and Tisdale each averaging over 8.0 points per contest. Boyd leads the team with 60 made 3-pointers, shooting 39.0% from beyond the arc. Good is second on the team with 42 made treys. N'Guessan is connected on 63.3% of his shots from the field. Tisdale leads the team with 70 assists, but Hodges and Williamson are both close behind with 64 assists. Under the basket, Hodges leads the team with 5.9 rebounds, while N'Guessan adds 5.6 and a team-best 31 blocked shots.

THE HISTORY WITH SAMFORD
The series is now tied 12-12, but the Bulldogs hold a slight 6-4 advantage in Charleston. Samford won the most recent meeting, 69-68, in Birmingham on Jan. 1. Last season, Samford won two of the three meetings, including 80-77 in Birmingham and 100-71 in the opening round of the Southern Conference Basketball Championship, but The Citadel defeated Samford 87-83, in overtime, in Charleston on Feb. 23.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS FROM BIRMINGHAM
Samford enters the week on a 10-game losing skid with an 8-18 overall record, including 2-10 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs are 2-12 away from Birmingham with their only two road wins being 113-90 at Houston Baptist (Dec. 7) and 78-75 at VMI (Jan. 4). Samford enters the week averaging 74.0 points per game, while opponents have averaged 80.5 points per outing. The Bulldogs connect on 44.1% of their shots from the field, including 33.9% from beyond the 3-point arc. Samford's opponents have converted 45.1% of their shots from the field, including 34.5% from long range. Samford's foes have converted 10.2 3-pointers per game compared to just 6.5 per outing by the Bulldogs. Samford averages 16.0 turnovers per game compared to 14.6 per contest by their opposition.

SAMFORD INDIVIDUALLY
Samford has been led this season by a quartet of players in double-digit scoring, highlighted by Josh Sharkey's 17.6 points per game. Sharkey also leads the team and is sixth in the nation, with 7.1 assists per game, 164 overall. Brandon Austin is second on the team with an average of 13.6 points per game in his 25 starts, while Robert Allen also averages 13.6 points per game and Jalen Dupree contributes 11.5 points per contest. Nine players have seen action in at least 20 games. Of those players, Logan Dye leads the way with a 55.0% shooting percentage, just ahead of Dupree's .542 shooting percentage. Austin leads the team with 61 made treys. Dupree and Allen are the leading rebounders, averaging 6.8 and 6.7 boards per contest. Dupree is the only Bulldog to have started all 26 games with Austin starting 25 games and Allen starting 24. Sharkey has made 21 starts and Deandre Thomas has started all 20 games he has appeared in.

COMING UP
Next week, the Bulldogs will start things off with a home game against Chattanooga on Wednesday, Feb. 19 before traveling to Cullowhee, North Carolina to face off against Western Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 22.

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.

JOIN THE CITADEL BRIGADIER FOUNDATION
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.

FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on The Citadel basketball team, please visit CitadelSports.com or follow @CitadelHoops and @CitadelSports on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.