CHARLESTON, S.C. – Behind a 37-point, 13-rebound outing from redshirt junior
Hayden Brown, The Citadel opened its SoCon schedule with a 92-87 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon inside McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs trailed just twice in the second half en route to the win.
Game Information
Final Score: The Citadel 92, Chattanooga 87
Record: The Citadel (8-0, 1-0 SoCon), Chattanooga (10-3, 1-3 SoCon)
Location: Charleston, S.C. (McAlister Field House)
Series: Chattanooga leads 67-19
How It Happened
- Chattanooga jumped out to an early lead over The Citadel, pushing the advantage to as many as eight points in the early going at the 9:36 mark of the first half after a bucket from David Jean-Baptiste.
- Trailing 24-16 with 7:22 on the clock, the Bulldogs roared back with a 14-2 run over the next four minutes, paced by a quartet of three-pointers. Brown and Fletcher Abee each connected on a pair of shots from deep during the run, with the second fast-break triple from Brown giving The Citadel a 30-26 edge.
- The Mocs battled back over the final three minutes of the opening half, first erasing their deficit and then jumping ahead in the final minute to take a slim 37-36 lead into the locker room.
- Coming out of the break, The Citadel scored 11 of the first 13 points of the second frame, capped by a Kaiden Rice three-pointer to give the 'Dogs their largest lead of the afternoon to that point with a 47-39 edge.
- The Bulldogs maintained their multi-possession advantage over the next several minutes, once pushing the lead to double digits after Stephen Clark's dunk at the 12:54 made it 63-53.
- Chattanooga fired back with an 11-0 run spanning three minutes midway through the half, nearly completely erasing the Bulldogs' lead. Stefan Kenic led the Mocs during the stretch with five points, and his three-point play left The Citadel clinging to a 67-66 advantage with 8:16 on the clock.
- After the 'Dogs rebuilt an eight-point edge, the Mocs again made a run, scoring 14 of the next 19 points to grab what would be just their second lead of the half. Another three-point play from Malachi Smith put Chattanooga in front, 85-84, with just under four minutes remaining.
- Despite briefly giving up the lead, The Citadel jumped back in front on a pair of free throws from Brown and did not trail again down the stretch in the 92-87 victory.
Inside the Numbers
- Hayden Brown tallied his fifth double-double of the season and poured in a career-best 37 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Brown missed his first six shots of the day before hitting 10 of his final 11 opportunities; the redshirt junior also connected on seven of his 10 three-pointers.
- Brown now owns the two highest-scoring games of any SoCon player this season, with today's 37 points and his 31-point performance against Columbia International on Dec. 7. Brown's 37 points were the most by any player from The Citadel since Lew Stallworth also netted 37 at Western Carolina on Feb. 16, 2019, and are tied for the 10th-most by any player in school history.
- The victory was The Citadel's first in SoCon play since knocking off Samford, 87-83 in overtime, on Feb. 23, 2019. With the win, the Bulldogs snapped a 20-game winless drought against conference opponents.
- Kaiden Rice notched 21 points on the day, his fourth 20-point game of the season. Rice also pulled down a season-best six rebounds and dished out a season-best four assists.
- Fletcher Abee rounded out the Bulldog trio in double figures with 16, hitting four of his eight three-pointers.
- The Citadel finished the game with 21 assists on 28 made baskets, led by seven helpers from Tyler Moffe. Moffe now has five or more assists in four of his five games played this season, including 18 over his last two outings.
- Stephen Clark led the way defensively with five blocks for the 'Dogs, a new career-high for the sophomore and the most by any Bulldog in a game since Zane Najdawi had seven against Samford on Feb. 23, 2019. Clark finished with eight points, four rebounds and the five blocks.
- For the fifth time in eight games, The Citadel connected on at least 15 three-pointers. The Bulldogs hit 16 of their 31 chances (51.6 percent) from deep on Saturday, with an 8-of-13 mark (61.5 percent) in the second half.
- Saturday's victory over Chattanooga was the first in the series for The Citadel since a 110-101 overtime thriller on Jan. 13, 2018, snapping a skid of five losses against the Mocs.
Up Next
With Saturday's tilt in the books, The Citadel will remain at home for a mid-week clash against in-state foe Furman on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. inside McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs have squared off against the Paladins more than any other opponent in program history, with Wednesday's meeting set to the be 214th all-time between the two sides. Furman holds a 126-87 edge in the series, and The Citadel will be looking for its first win since a 100-92 overtime victory on Feb. 3, 2018.