CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel (7-8, 1-3) completes a three-game, five-day home stand Monday with a SoCon matchup against Mercer (10-7, 3-1) at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs split their previous two contests, beating UNCG 74-69 on Thursday and VMI taking a 90-85  Saturday.

ON THE RADIO and ESPN+
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. Home games can be seen on ESPN+ with Kyle West and Jason Kempf on the call.

NOT TO BE COUNTED OUT
During this home stand, The Citadel has shown its ability to rebound from double-digit deficits. The Bulldogs came back from 15 down at halftime Thursday to knock off UNCG, 74-69. They then created late second-half drama versus VMI Saturday after trailing by 13 points in the first half to take a brief 73-72 lead with over five minutes to play.

HISTORY WITH MERCER
Mercer holds a 20-7 lead in the all-time series, including 12-3 since becoming SoCon foes in 2014-15. The two have met only once in the postseason in 2016, where the Bears won a narrow 71-69 opening-round SoCon Tournament showdown.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Mercer rolls into Monday night with two straight SoCon wins over VMI Thursday (97-91) and UNCG Saturday (58-49) to improve to 3-1 in league play. The high-scoring win over VMI saw Jalen Johnson drop 30 points and Felipe Haas and James Glisson III posting 20-point games with a respective 28 and 21 points. Mercer holds the second-highest free throw percentage (77.0, 204-265) and 3-point percentage (37.2, 161-433) in the conference. The Bears also possess one of the tallest starting lineups, with the average height measuring at 6'6".

LAST TIME OUT…
Saturday, Jan. 15: VMI 90, The Citadel 85
The two rivals did not disappoint as the top scoring teams in the SoCon. Each side had four scorers in double figures, including The Citadel's Jason Roche and Rudy Fitzgibbons III leading the day with a respective 22 points and 21 points. VMI, however, got an early jump on the game and led by as much as 13 in the opening half. The Bulldogs rallied furiously in the second half, even taking a one-point lead at 73-72 with 5:40 remaining. The game was tied at 75-75 before the Keydets answered with an 8-2 run to pull ahead for good.

ROCHE FROM LONG RANGE
Jason Roche roasted the nylon Saturday versus VMI with five 3-pointers for his fifth game making at least five threes. He is now seventh on the all-time list among The Citadel freshmen with 60 treys this season.

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.        Jason Roche, 2021-22           60
 8.        Matt Van Scyoc, 2012-13        58
 9.        Alan Puckett, 1998-99             55
10.       Aaron Nichols, 1989-90           53
11.       Lawrence Miller, 2011-12        50

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs head out on the road this week with SoCon matches at Wofford Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. and ETSU Saturday, Jan. 22 at 4 p.m.