CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel will put its two-game winning streak on the line as it travels to Tennessee on Saturday afternoon for a Noon tipoff at Chattanooga in Southern Conference action.
 
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Chris Goforth (play-by-play) and Todd Agne (analysis) on the call. The game will also be carried on the radio locally on 102.1FM and 1450AM with Luke Mauro, the Voice of the Bulldogs, on the radio call.
 
The Bulldogs (11-7, 4-7 SoCon) pulled off another upset inside McAlister Field House on Wednesday evening in its last time out, rallying past ETSU with a 48-point second half en route to a 79-71 victory over the Bucs. Hayden Brown notched his 10th double-double of the season and approached triple-double territory with 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Fletcher Abee tallied 17 points, his most against a conference opponent since scoring 28 at Western Carolina on Feb. 22, 2020.
 
In The Citadel's first game at ETSU on Jan. 30, the Bulldogs fell by 28 points, dropping a 112-84 decision. In Wednesday's rematch, The Citadel came away with an eight-point win, a 37-point swing between the two games. That swing is the biggest in any SoCon regular season rematch since Furman turned a 23-point loss into a 30-point victory over ETSU in 2018-19, and was also the biggest for The Citadel since picking up an eight-point win against Furman following a 30-point loss earlier in the 2017-18 season.
 
Defense was the key to The Citadel's victory on Wednesday, as the Bulldogs limited ETSU to just 14-of-40 shooting (35 percent) in the second half, a mark that included just 3-of-16 shooting (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Citadel shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) over the final 20 minutes and erased a five-point halftime deficit to secure the win, its 10th at home this season.
 
Normally known for its offensive prowess, The Citadel has been strong at swatting away shots this season, leading the SoCon and ranking 16th nationally with five blocks per game. The 10 blocked shots against ETSU on Feb. 10 were the fourth-most in a single game in program history. Stephen Clark, who had four blocks against ETSU, currently ranks second among SoCon players with 2.0 blocks per game, a mark that has him ranked 32nd among all Division I players.
 
With 10 double-doubles this season, Brown has already moved into a tie for third place on The Citadel's all-time single-season list in the category and is on pace to become the first Bulldog to average a double-double since John Sutor in the 1970-71 campaign. Brown also remains the SoCon leader in both scoring (20.6) and rebounding (10.8) this season. Across his 10 double-doubles, Brown is averaging 22.8 points and 14.1 boards.
 
The Citadel has enjoyed a strong run as of late in rebounding, including outrebounding ETSU by a 41-38 margin on Wednesday evening. Eight of those rebounds came off the offensive glass, continuing a strong run in that category for the 'Dogs; The Citadel has averaged 9.0 offensive rebounds per game over its last 10 outings, with at least six pulled down in each contest.
 
After going winless in conference play last season, The Citadel has already picked up four victories in 2020-21, easily the biggest improvement among SoCon teams. Across the nation, only Cleveland State (7 more wins), Evansville (6) and Morehead State (5) have improved their conference win totals more than the Bulldogs.
 
Chattanooga (15-5, 6-5 SoCon) brings a well-balanced scoring squad into Saturday's matchup, with four players in double figures. David Jean-Baptiste leads the way at 17.9 points per game, and Malachi Smith (16.7), Darius Banks (12.9) and Stefan Kenic (12.2) follow just behind. Banks was unavailable for the first meeting against The Citadel on Jan. 9 but has scored at least 10 points in six of his first seven games since joining the active roster on Jan. 13. Smith is the team leader in both rebounding (9.0) and assists (3.5) per game this season.
 
In their last time out, the Mocs extended their winning streak to three games after knocking off Wofford, 78-66, on the Terriers' home court on Wednesday evening. Jean-Baptiste and Smith each scored 21 points to lead Chattanooga, which held Wofford to just 33.3 percent shooting (8-of-24) from beyond the arc in the contest. The Mocs have dropped just one game since Jan. 20, a 74-66 loss against current league leader UNCG on Jan. 23.
 
A SoCon rivalry since 1977-78 with matchups dating as far back as 1925-26, Saturday's meeting between The Citadel and Chattanooga will be the 87th in program history. The Bulldogs snapped a five-game skid in the series with the 92-87 victory on Jan. 9 but have won just six times in Chattanooga, none since a 48-46 victory on Feb. 18, 2012. The Citadel has won back-to-back games against the Mocs only four previous times throughout the series.
 
The Citadel will remain on the road for its next matchup but will return to the state of South Carolina as the Bulldogs square off against Wofford on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. In the first meeting this season, The Citadel stunned the Terriers, 77-69, inside McAlister Field House on Jan. 27; the Bulldogs will be looking for their first-ever sweep of the Terriers, who joined the SoCon prior to the 1997-98 campaign.