CHARLESTON, S.C. – A second-half rally and a strong well-rounded performance, led by 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists from Hayden Brown, led The Citadel to a 79-71 victory over ETSU inside McAlister Field House on Wednesday evening.
 
Game Information
Final Score: The Citadel 79, ETSU 71
Record: The Citadel (11-7, 4-7 SoCon), ETSU (11-8, 7-4 SoCon)
Location: Charleston, S.C. (McAlister Field House)
Series: ETSU leads 48-18
 
How It Happened

• Neither side could gain much separation in the opening minutes of the first half, with The Citadel's four-point edge at 14-10 the largest lead for either team of the first 10 minutes.
• The Bulldogs finally opened up a lead with a 7-0 run midway through the frame. Tied at 16-16, Fletcher Abee kickstarted the run with a three-point play, and Rudy Fitzgibbons III capped the stretch with a three-pointer at the 7:37 mark to give The Citadel a 23-16 edge.
• The Citadel maintained its lead until the final minute of the half, when ETSU overtook the Bulldogs after scoring seven of the final nine points, including Ty Brewer's triple with 16 seconds remaining, to carry a 33-31 lead into the halftime break.
• ETSU pushed its lead to four points on two occasions early in the second half, but The Citadel came up with timely baskets each time to prevent the deficit from growing. A quick burst from the Bulldogs briefly put them in front as the two sides exchanged the lead in a tight battle over the first seven minutes of the second half.
• A 12-0 run by The Citadel proved to be the turning point of the game; trailing by three points, 49-46, at the 13:35 mark, the Bulldogs' offense found its stride over the next three minutes to build its largest lead of the night. Three-pointers by Kaiden Rice and Fletcher Abee paced the run, and a jumper from Stephen Clark with 10:19 on the clock opened up a 58-49 advantage for The Citadel.
• From there, the Bucs would never get back any closer than three points. A layup by Ledarrius Brewer at the 4:57 mark cut The Citadel's lead to 66-63, but Hayden Brown responded in a big way, scoring the next seven points of the game himself to effectively put the game out of reach.
• Over the final three minutes, The Citadel's defense held strong and did not allow ETSU any closer than five points down the stretch to secure the victory.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Hayden Brown became just the fourth player in The Citadel's long history to record 10 double-doubles in a single season, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Brown attempted just 11 shots, knocking down eight of those changes, and pulled down nine of his 12 rebounds in the second half of play.
• Stephen Clark narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, the most boards of his career against a Division I opponent. The sophomore also notched four blocks to bring his total to 38 for the season, already tying him for 10th place on The Citadel's all-time single-season list in that category.
• Fletcher Abee continued his strong run of play with 17 points, his most against a SoCon opponent since scoring 28 at Western Carolina on Feb. 22, 2020. Abee has hit double digits in four of his last five games and is averaging 11.8 points per game over that span.
• As a team, The Citadel flashed its defensive prowess on Wednesday, swatting away 10 shots. Those 10 blocks are the most in a game by the Bulldogs since having 11 against Samford on Feb. 23, 2019, and are tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history.
• The Citadel dished out 21 assists on 28 made baskets, its most assists in a game since also having 21 against Chattanooga on Jan. 9 earlier this season. Tyler Moffe had five assists for the ninth time this season.
• The Citadel has won back-to-back games in SoCon play for the first time since defeating Wofford and Furman on Feb. 1 and 3, 2018. The Bulldogs' 10 home victories inside McAlister Field House this season are its most in a single campaign since also winning 10 in 2008-09.
• In the second half, The Citadel shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field, its best mark in a single second half since shooting 66.7 percent against Chattanooga on Jan. 9.
• The Citadel won the rebounding battle for the third straight game, outrebounding the Bucs by a slim 41-38 margin.
• Wednesday's home victory over ETSU was the first in the series in Charleston for the Citadel since a 74-73 win on Feb. 26, 2015.

 
Up Next
With its three-game homestand in the rearview window, The Citadel will head back on the road for the first time since Feb. 1 as the Bulldogs make the trek north to face Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon at Noon. The Citadel took down the Mocs in its SoCon opener on Jan. 9, claiming a 92-87 victory inside McAlister Field House behind a 37-point, 13-rebound performance from Hayden Brown.