SPARTANBURG, S.C. –
Kaiden Rice scored a team-high 22 points and knocked down six three-pointers, but The Citadel fell, 81-67, inside Richardson Indoor Stadium against Wofford on Wednesday evening.
Game Information
Final Score: Wofford 81, The Citadel 67
Record: The Citadel (11-9, 4-9 SoCon), Wofford (13-8, 10-5 SoCon)
Location: Spartanburg, S.C. (Richardson Indoor Stadium)
Series: Wofford leads 62-50
How It Happened
- Neither side could open up more than one possession of separation over the opening minutes of the contest until Kaiden Rice buried a three-pointer at the 16:25 mark to give The Citadel an early 10-6 edge.
- The gap closed back to one possession and remained that way for the next 10 minutes. Leading 25-24, Wofford used seven unanswered points to build the largest lead of the evening to that point as Hayden Brown was forced to the bench with his second foul. Storm Murphy capped the run with a triple at the 3:59 mark to take a 32-24 lead.
- Rice cut the deficit back to five with his fourth three-pointer of the first half, but Murphy answered in the closing seconds with a triple of his own to send Wofford into the locker room with a 39-29 advantage.
- The Citadel came out of the break on fire, using an 8-0 run to almost completely erase the halftime deficit. Rice and Fletcher Abee sparked the run as each hit a three-pointer, with Rice's bucket pulling the Bulldogs within two, 39-37.
- An 11-2 run from Wofford rebuilt the double-digit edge for the Terriers midway through the half. Three-pointers from a trio of different players, including Tray Hollowell's shot to end the run, left Wofford with a commanding 58-43 lead with 12:12 on the clock.
- Another big run from the Terriers, this time 10-1, pushed the lead to as many as 21 points (71-50) with just over six minutes left.
- The Citadel refused to go away, however, firing off nine unanswered points to pull back into the contest. Brown poured in six of the nine points and Abee netted another triple as the Bulldogs cut the deficit down to just 12, 71-59, with 3:34 to play.
- The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 11 points on another Brown basket with under a minute to play, but were not able to close back within single digits down the stretch as Wofford held on for the victory.
Inside the Numbers
- Kaiden Rice led The Citadel in scoring with 22 points on Wednesday evening, his second straight game with 20 points after a stretch of five games without hitting that mark. Rice now has nine 20-point games this season and has knocked down 87 three-pointers, the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
- Hayden Brown scored 11 of his 17 points after the halftime break, with seven of those coming in the final five minutes of the game. Despite not tallying a double-double on the night, Brown maintained his average for the season with 20 points and 10.8 rebounds.
- Fletcher Abee netted 11 points against the Terriers and has hit double figures in six of his last seven games. Abee tallied his 11th game this season knocking down at least three three-pointers.
- Stephen Clark swatted away two more shots on Wednesday evening and has had multiple blocks in four of his last five outings. Clark's 41 blocks this season are tied for ninth place on The Citadel's all-time single-season chart in the category.
- Jackson Gammons made his first appearance since Jan. 30 at ETSU, playing four minutes in the first half.
- The Citadel shot 80 percent (8-of-10) from the charity stripe, just the fourth time in conference play that they have hit that mark in 2020-21.
- The Bulldogs' nine three-pointers knocked down were the team's most since connecting on 11 at ETSU on Jan. 30.
Up Next
The Citadel will return home for its next-to-last home game of the season on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., squaring off against archrival VMI inside McAlister Field House. The Keydets claimed the first meeting earlier this season in Lexington, coming away with a 110-103 victory on Jan. 16; The Citadel will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak in the series, last getting a win over VMI on Jan. 26, 2019.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. –
Kaiden Rice scored a team-high 22 points and knocked down six three-pointers, but The Citadel fell, 81-67, inside Richardson Indoor Stadium against Wofford on Wednesday evening.