CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Trailing by 11 points with six and a half minutes to play, The Citadel rallied back into the game and had a chance to tie on its final possession, but the comeback fell just short inside McKenzie Arena in a 70-66 loss to Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon.
 
Game Information
Final Score: Chattanooga 70, The Citadel 66
Record: The Citadel (11-8, 4-8 SoCon), Chattanooga (16-5, 7-5 SoCon)
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn. (McKenzie Arena)
Series: Chattanooga leads 68-19
 
How It Happened

• Chattanooga jumped out to a big lead early as the Mocs scored the first nine points of the game. Malachi Smith netted five early points in the run that put The Citadel in a hole after the opening three minutes.
• The Citadel battled its way back into the contest despite the slow start, whittling the deficit to just three points, 15-12, after Kaiden Rice knocked down his second three-pointer at the 13:15 mark.
• A 13-3 burst over the next five minutes rebuilt the double-digit edge for the Mocs, whose lead grew to as many as 13 points on KC Hankton's layup with 8:31 on the clock. From there, however, The Citadel pulled back within striking distance with seven unanswered points, capped by baskets from Hayden Brown and Tyler Moffe to get back within six points.
• Trailing 34-22 with 2:38 to play in the half, The Citadel closed on a 12-2 run to head into the locker room down only two points. Fletcher Abee knocked down a pullup jumper on the final possession of the half to cut Chattanooga's lead to 36-34.
• The Citadel came out of the locker room strongly, taking its first lead of the afternoon on a 9-4 run over the first four minutes of the second half. Brown's three-point play at the 17:16 mark secured the first lead for the Bulldogs, and another triple from Rice pushed the advantage to 43-40.
• Chattanooga used a 16-4 run to surge back in front at the midway point of the half. A pair of three-pointers from A.J. Caldwell and another from Stefan Kenic paced the Mocs during the run, and Smith's layup off the fast break gave Chattanooga a 56-47 lead with 11:29 to play.
• The deficit grew to as many as 11 points, but The Citadel pieced together another big 11-2 run to cut Chattanooga's lead to one possession, 68-66, with 12 seconds left after Moffe's layup.
• Chattanooga missed the back end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line to give The Citadel an opportunity to tie the game, but Brown's three-pointer with five seconds left hit the front iron and was off the mark as the rally fell just short for the Bulldogs.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Hayden Brown logged his 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds, moving him into sole possession of third place on The Citadel's single-season chart in that category; Brown trails only Mike Groselle (14) and Patrick Elmore (12) among all Bulldogs. Brown's 15 rebounds also marked his fifth game this season with 15 or more boards, including his third in his last five outings.
• Brown added five assists on Saturday after having six in the win over ETSU on Wednesday, his first back-to-back games this season with five or more helpers. The redshirt junior also matched his season low with just one turnover, his fewest since also having one at UNCG on Jan. 18.
• Derek Webster, Jr. claimed his first double-double since his freshman season in 2017-18, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Webster's only other career double-double came on Dec. 16, 2017, when he had 11 points and 10 rebounds against Point.
• Kaiden Rice had a game-high 22 points and knocked down six three-pointers, his most in a game since hitting seven at VMI on Jan. 16. Saturday's game was Rice's eighth 20-point game of the season and seventh with at least five three-pointers.
• After struggling with assists to start the month of February, The Citadel had 16 helpers on 26 made baskets on Saturday, its third straight game with at least 15 assists.
• The Citadel held its third consecutive opponent under 40 percent shooting from the field in the second half, with Chattanooga hitting just 11 of its 28 shots (39.3 percent) over the final 20 minutes.

 
Up Next
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.