MACON, Ga. – Hot shooting by Mercer in both halves on Monday evening inside Hawkins Arena dealt The Citadel an 88-52 defeat in Southern Conference action as the final week of the regular season got underway.
 
Game Information
Final Score: Mercer 88, The Citadel 52
Record: The Citadel (12-10, 5-10 SoCon), Mercer (14-9, 7-8 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)
Series: Mercer leads 20-7
 
How It Happened

• Mercer jumped on top of the Bulldogs out of the gate, scoring the game's first four points before Kaiden Rice got The Citadel on the board with a corner three-pointer. A jumper by Tyler Moffe cut the deficit to 8-5, but from there the Bears used a 13-2 run to take a commanding early lead; Felipe Haase knocked down three consecutive triples, with his last pushing the lead to 21-7.
• Another big run from Mercer, this time 13-3, pushed the lead to as many as 22 points midway through the opening half. Two more triples from Haase capped the stretch for the Bears, who emerged with a 34-12 lead at the 8:42 mark.
• The Citadel fired off eight straight points to fight its way back into the game, with Rudy Fitzgibbons III scoring five of those to pull the Bulldogs back within 14 with just under six minutes remaining.
• A three-point play from Rice with 1:15 on the clock cut Mercer's lead to 13, but the Bears knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the final minute to take a 47-28 lead into the halftime break.
• After an early layup by Mercer to start the second half, The Citadel was able to cut its deficit back under 20 points on two separate occasions, the last of which came on Hayden Brown's layup at the 17:17 mark to cut the Bears' advantage to 51-32.
• From there, however, Mercer used a 13-0 run to take a commanding lead and pushed the deficit to as many as 35 points in the closing minutes of the half.
• Jackson Gammons trimmed the deficit to 31 points on a triple with just under three minutes remaining, but the Bears netted the final five points of the contest to seal the 88-52 win.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Kaiden Rice and Rudy Fitzgibbons III each scored a team-best 10 points on the night; Fitzgibbons became the first player other than Rice or Brown to lead the Bulldogs in scoring since he accomplished that same feat on Dec. 5 against Toccoa Falls.
• Brent Davis (19), Jerry Higgins III (18), Owen Spencer (9), Jackson Gammons (9), Dylan Engler (3) and Robert Guyton (2) either matched or set new season-high marks in minutes played against a SoCon opponent on Monday evening as the Bulldogs went deep into their bench in the second half.
• Davis drew the first start of his collegiate career on Monday, replacing Fletcher Abee in the starting lineup.
• Higgins' nine points were his most in a game since scoring 14 against Carver on Dec. 9.
• Derek Webster, Jr., pulled down seven rebounds against the Bears and has five or more rebounds in three of his last four outings.
• Stephen Clark added another block to his season total on Monday and now has 46 swats in 2020-21, tied for the seventh-most in a single season in program history.
• The Citadel's 52 points are the fewest scored in a game by the Bulldogs since totaling 51 points against ETSU on Feb. 18, 2016.

 
Up Next
The Citadel will remain on the road for its final contest away from home in the regular season, squaring off against Furman on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. The Paladins came away with a 94-88 win on Jan. 13 in the first meeting this season and are one of only three teams (alongside UNCG and Mercer) to earn a win in McAlister Field House in 2020-21. The Bulldogs will be seeking to snap a five-game skid against Furman and last earned a win in the series with a 100-92 overtime victory on Feb. 3, 2018.