CHARLESTON, S.C. – The freshman tandem of Brady Spence and Rudy Fitzgibbons, III combined for 30 points Wednesday night. Despite the strong outing from the freshmen, The Citadel basketball team dropped a Southern Conference game by a score of 91-68 to Chattanooga inside McAlister Field House.

Game Information
Final Score: Chattanooga 91, The Citadel 68
Records: Chattanooga (17-11, 8-7 SoCon), The Citadel (6-20, 0-15 SoCon)
Location: Charleston, S.C. (McAlister Field House)
Series: Chattanooga leads, 67-18

KEY STATS

• Chattanooga never trailed as the Mocs scored the game's first seven points before Kaiden Rice was able to get the scoring started for The Citadel with one of his two 3-pointers.
• Fitzgibbons was able to knock down his first 3-point attempt of the night on the Bulldogs' next possession, but UTC went on a 9-0 spurt to extend the lead out to 12, 18-6 nearly six minutes into the game.
• Both teams struggled for the next two-plus minutes before Tyson Batiste broke up the scoring drought with a layup.
• With just under 5:30 left to play, Derek Webster, Jr. completed an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Bulldogs 20 points.
• The two teams were pretty evenly matched down the stretch of the first half with UTC barely out-scoring the Bulldogs 10-8 to take a 40-28 lead into the locker room.
• The Bulldogs came out on fire in the second half, scoring the first nine points of the period to close to within three, 40-37, including five points from Batiste.
• Chattanooga answered with a 7-0 spurt to extend the lead back out to 10, 49-39, over the next two minutes.
• After Spence closed the gap back to eight on the next possession, the Bulldogs were never able to close back within grasp down the stretch.
• With 8:54 left in regulation, the Chattanooga lead had grown to 22, 73-51, after Matt Ryan knocked down one of his game-high seven 3-pointers.
• The Bulldogs ended the game shooting 44.3% (27-of-61) from the field, including connecting on 51.6% (16-of-31) of their shots from the field in the second half.
• Chattanooga shot 54.2% (39-of-72) from the field for the game, including converting 11 of their 28 (.393) 3-point attempts.
• Spence led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points off 6-of-9 (.667) shooting from the field. Spence brought down four rebounds and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
• Fitzgibbons scored 14 points, including converting a pair of treys, and went 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
• Batiste scored nine points and added seven assists and a team-high six rebounds.
• Ryan led the way in scoring for the Mocs with 27 points off 10-of-17 (.588) shooting from the field, including going 7-of-12 (.583) from long range.

NOTES

• The 14 points by Fitzgibbons marked a career-high for the freshman guard in a game against an NCAA Division I opponent. He scored 25 against Piedmont (Dec. 10). His previous high against a D-1 foe was 13 at Longwood (Dec. 19).
• Spence's 16 points were one off his career high set at home against UNCG on Jan. 15.
• Batiste's seven assists Wednesday night bring his season total to 142, moving him up from eighth to sole possession of sixth in program history for single-season assists. He is just 11 away from cracking the top five.
• Batiste now boasts 305 rebounds and 311 assists in his career.
• With his pair of made 3-pointers, Rice moved up to tie 10^th in program history for 3-pointers made in a season with 75.

COMING UP
The Citadel will next travel to Western Carolina for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 22.

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

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.