CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel basketball team dropped its home finale to Mercer Wednesday night, falling 73-57 on Senior Night.

Game Information
Location: Charleston, S.C. (McAlister Field House)
Final Score: Mercer 73, The Citadel 57
Records: Mercer (16-14, 10-7 SoCon), The Citadel (6-22, 0-17 SoCon)
Series: Mercer leads, 18-7

KEY STATS

• Prior to tipoff, The Citadel honored graduate students Connor Kern and Tyson Batiste, as well as senior Kaelon Harris.
• The Bears scored the game's first nine points before Derek Webster, Jr. converted a free throw and Rudy Fitzgibbons, III hit the Bulldogs' first 3-pointer.
• Despite the spurt, the Bulldogs were unable to gain much traction as the Bears held on to a double-digit lead for most of the game.
• After Maciej Bender had a fast-break dunk to push the Mercer lead to 12, 21-9 with 8:16 to play in the first half, Harris and Fletcher Abee cut the lead to eight with a pair of layups, but Mercer was able to stretch things back out with a 10-2 run over the next 3:15.
• Mercer took a 38-21 lead into the locker room at half time.
• Out of the intermission, Harris quickly put on a clinic to cut into the lead with a quick eight points to make it a 13-point, 42-29 game. The quick spurt from Harris appeared to give the Bulldogs new life, but Mercer came back to answer and flirted with a 20-point lead the rest of the way.
• After Jeff Gary hit a 3-pointer to push the Mercer lead to 22, 71-49, the 'Dogs mounted another comeback attempt with an 8-0 run to pull to within 14, 71-57, but the Bulldogs ran out of time as Mercer closed out the game with a James Glisson III jumper in the paint.
• After shooting 18.2% (6-of-33) in the first half, The Citadel bounced back to connect on 50.0% (14-of-28) of their shots in the second half. The Bulldogs ended the game shooting 32.8% (20-of-61) from the field, including 24.1% (7-of-29) from beyond the 3-point arc.
• In comparison, Mercer opened the game shooting 41.7% (15-of-36) from the field in the first half and finished the game shooting 39.4% (28-of-71) for the game.
• Harris led the Bulldogs with 14 points, including 11 in the second half. Harris finished the game with a team-high three made 3-pointers and added a block.
• Webster ended his night with 10 points and just missed out on a double-double with eight rebounds to go along with three steals and a pair of blocks.
• Djordje Dimitrijevic led all scorers with 15 points, while Ethan Stair finished with a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 23 rebounds.

NOTES

• With his 14 points scored Wednesday night, Harris eclipsed the 900-point mark for his career. He is the 44^th Bulldog in program history to hit the mark, and his 906 career points rank 43^rd in program history.
• With his three defensive rebounds against Mercer, Harris has brought down 140 on the year, moving him up to tied 10^th in program history for single-season defensive boards.
• Batiste finished Wednesday night with five assists, giving him 153 on the year. That mark moves him up to tie fifth in program history for single-season assists.
• Webster swatted away two shots Wednesday against Mercer, marking the fourth straight game the junior forward has recorded at least one blocked shot. The two blocked shots mark the fourth time this season he has swatted away multiple shots.

OPPONENT SET FOR 2020 SOCON TOURNAMENT
With Wofford's loss to ETSU Wednesday night, the Terriers have been locked into the No. 7 seed position for the upcoming Ingles 2020 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championships presented by General Shale. The Bulldogs and Terriers will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6 in the opening round of the tournament. The two last met in the tournament on March 8, 2014.

COMING UP
The Bulldogs will next travel to Furman on Saturday, Feb. 29 for a 4 p.m. game to close out the regular season.

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.

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