CHARLESTON, S.C. – Fresh off its biggest comeback victory since 2020 against UNCG Thursday night, The Citadel (7-7, 1-2) looks to carry that momentum into an important SoCon rivalry home game versus VMI (9-8, 2-3) Saturday at 1 p.m.

ON THE RADIO
All games for the 2021-22 season will be carried on 102.1FM and 1450AM. The voice of the Bulldogs, Luke Mauro, returns for his fourth season behind the mic.

FIRE AT WILL!
The Citadel and VMI are the top scoring teams in the SoCon, with the Bulldogs averaging 80.9 ppg. and the Keydets 78.5 ppg. VMI leads the league in free throw percentage (80.6, 179-of-222) and 3-point makes and attempts (214-of-582). Saturday will also showcase two of the SoCon's top three scorers in VMI's Jake Stephens (2nd, 19.2 ppg.) and The Citadel's Hayden Brown (3rd, 18.7 ppg.).

HISTORY WITH VMI
This storied rivalry has remained evenly matched, with The Citadel holding a 59-57 all-time series lead and 34-21 at home. Both sides have claimed a home win in each of the last two seasons.

SCOUTING THE KEYDETS
VMI has lost three consecutive SoCon games after opening its conference season with wins over Wofford and Furman. This includes a one-point loss at ETSU, 80-79, on Jan. 5, a 72-56 UNCG decision on Jan. 8, and a 97-91 defeat at Mercer on Thursday.

LAST TIME OUT…
Thursday, Jan. 13: The Citadel 74, UNCG 69
The Citadel overcame a 33-18 halftime deficit with 56 second-half points to upend the favored Spartans. After making 1-of-14 threes in the opening half, the Bulldogs broke through the SoCon's best scoring defense with eight treys in the second half, including a game-high four from Jason Roche for 12 points on the night. Hayden Brown garnered his 20th career double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds and Tyler Moffe tallying off 18 points.

WHAT A COMEBACK! WHAT A HALF!
The Citadel's 15-point comeback rally over UNCG on Jan. 13 marked its biggest comeback victory since Dec. 3, 2020, beating North Carolina A&T 78-70 after trailing by 16 early in the second half. The Bulldogs' 56 second-half points marked their highest single-half scoring total against a NCAA Division I team since dropping 68 in the second half on Western Carolina in the first round of the SoCon Tournament on Mar. 5, 2021.

HAYDEN MAKING HISTORY
Hayden Brown's 24-point, 15-rebound performance in Thursday's win over UNCG made him the third player in Bulldogs history to reach 20 career double-doubles and the 28th player to go over 1,100 points. His career totals put him at 1,101 points and 571 rebounds.

ROCHE FROM LONG RANGE
Freshman Jason Roche led Thursday's game with four 3-pointers, adding to his season total with 55 threes, which is eighth most all-time among The Citadel freshmen.

3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE BY FRESHMAN
Rank    Name                                    3FG
 1.        Fletcher Abee, 2019-20         80
 2.        Austin Dahn, 2007-08            79
 3.        Preston Parks, 2016-17         77
 4.        Zach Urbanus, 2007-08         73
 5.        Jake Wright, 2014-15             72
 6.        Quayson Williams, 2015-16   65
 7.        Matt Van Scyoc, 2012-13       58
 8.        Jason Roche, 2021-22         55
             Alan Puckett, 1998-99           55
10.        Aaron Nichols, 1989-90         53
11.        Lawrence Miller, 2011-12       50

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs complete their three-game, five-day home stand Monday versus Mercer at 7 p.m. They head out on the road next week with SoCon road matches at Wofford Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. and ETSU Jan. 22 at 4 p.m.