Box Score JOHNSON CITY, TENN. (January 22, 2022) – The Citadel outdueled ETSU in a pivotal SoCon road contest Saturday night by a 75-73 score, snapping a three-game losing streak and grabbing a crucial win midway through its SoCon season. Hayden Brown cruised to a game-best 28 points, while Rudy Fitzgibbons III came alive late to put the game out of reach, finishing with 14 markers and a trio of threes. 
 
Game Information
Score: The Citadel 75, ETSU 73
Records: ETSU (12-9, 4-4), The Citadel (8-10, 2-5)
Location: Freedom Hall (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Series: ETSU leads 48-19
 
How it Happened

• The Citadel started off hot, dropping in the first five points. Jason Roche drilled four threes on his first five attempts from long range to fuel a 30-19 lead with 5:33 to play in the half.
• Any good vibes were wiped away when ETSU closed the half on a 13-0 run to take a 32-30 lead at halftime.
• The Buccaneers tacked on an opening layup in the second half to stretch their run to 15-0 and a four-point lead.
• Hayden Brown, who finished with 28 points, broke the Bulldogs' silence with the first of his three 3-pointers. He put into motion a back-and-forth stretch where The Citadel kept ETSU on its heels, never trailing by more than two possessions.
• Stephen Clark gave The Citadel the lead back at 57-56 on a driving layup with 8:33 remaining. At 58-58, the Buccaneers responded with five straight points to regain the lead, only for Brown's second three to rally the Bulldogs to a 67-65 advantage with 4:01 to go.
• ETSU's Ledarrius Brewer tied things up again with a pair of free throws. He then appeared to have a highlight fastbreak dunk off a turnover on the ensuing possession, but bounced out, giving the ball back to The Citadel.
• Rudy Fitzgibbons III made it hurt on the next possession with his third and final three of the night to put the Bulldogs up to stay.
• Ahead 74-70, Brewer hit a three with under ten seconds remaining to cut it down to one. Fitzgibbons was sent to the line, making his first free throw on the one-and-one. His second rimmed out, but the desperation hurried three by the Bucs' Jordan King fell far of the mark.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Hayden Brown's 28 points marked his highest point total since North Carolina Central on Dec. 6, making 12-of-19 from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range with three assists. It's his sixth 20-point game of the season and 18th of his career.
• Rudy Fitzgibbons III scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half and tied for the game high with five assists. It marked his seventh game this season scoring in double digits off the bench and fifth in the past seven games.
• Jason Roche scored all 14 of his points in the first half, finishing 4-of-8 from long range and grabbing seven rebounds.
• David Maynard, in his second consecutive start, posted ten points, making 2-of-4 threes and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The latter proved invaluable late in the game when he made both his free throws on a one-and-one trip to the line to put the team up 74-70 with 24.1 seconds to play.
• The Citadel's shot 57.7 percent (15-26) in the closing half to ETSU's 42.9 (15-35) for a final tally of 46.6 percent shooting (27-58). The Buccaneers finished at 39.4 (28-71).
• Stephen Clark pulled in a game-high 11 of The Citadel's 36 rebounds on the night, adding four points with one block.

 
Rising Through the Ranks!

• Hayden Brown had 28 points and four rebounds, pumping him up to 21st on The Citadel's all-time scoring list with 1,170 career points. He now has 606 career rebounds, which stands tenth all-time.
• Stephen Clark now stands alone in seventh on the all-time season list in blocks with 47. He upped his career total to 109, which is fifth all-time.
• Freshman Jason Roche's four triples gives him 68 made threes this season, moving him into sixth all-time on The Citadel's all-time list among freshmen, passing Quayson Williams' total of 65 from 2015-16.

Second to None at Last on the Road!

• The Bulldogs broke a 22-game losing streak in SoCon road games, their first since winning at Mercer on Feb. 9, 2019.

Up Next
The Bulldogs take their momentum back home when they host Western Carolina Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Chattanooga Saturday at 1 p.m.