CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel men's basketball team turned up the intensity in the second half and gave head coach Ed Conroy a victory in his first game back inside McAlister Field House as the Bulldogs defeated Presbyterian, 70-58 in front of 1,035 fans.
 
Game Information
Score: The Citadel 70, Presbyterian 58
Records: Presbyterian (1-1), The Citadel (1-1)
Location: McAlister Field House (Charleston, South Carolina)
Series: The Citadel leads 50-25
 
How it Happened

• The first half saw the teams go back-and-forth for the full 20 minutes.
• The Blue Hose were able to open up an eight point advantage on three different occasions, but the Bulldogs would not go away.
• With just over eight minutes left in the half, Austin Ash buried a three-pointer and Stephen Clark followed with a bucket down low to pull within three.
• The Citadel would eventually take a three-point lead after an Elijah Morgan jumper, but PC followed with a three-pointer to send the game into the half tied 35-25.
• The second half saw PC open up a four-point lead before the Bulldogs turned up the pressure on the defensive end. Holding PC to just 15 points over the final 16:11.
• Coming out of the under-8 media timeout, Ash took the inbounds pass at the top of the key and hit the three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a two-point lead they would not relinquish.
• Another three from Ash in transition, and a jumper from Colby McAllister opened a 60-52 lead with 5:34 to play.
• The lead would grow to double digits as Morgan converted a three-point play on a driving layup.
• PC would get as close as six points, but the Bulldogs went 6-of-7 from the foul line in the final minute for the 12-point victory.

 
Inside the Box Score

• The Bulldogs shot 28-of-55 (.509) from the field for the game. They went 16-of-31 in the first half and 12-of-24 in the second half.
• On the defensive end, the Bulldogs held PC to just 9-of-32 (.281) shooting in the second half.
• Stephen Clark led the way offensively with a career-high 23 points, besting his old career-high of 22 points set against Chattanooga on Jan. 8, 2022. He added four rebounds and three blocks.
• Austin Ash added 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.
• Elijah Morgan was the third Bulldog in double figures with 13 points, 11 coming in the second half.
• David Maynard pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds and dished out three assists.
• Dylan Engler did not attempt a shot, but played a major role on the defensive end in shutting down the PC offense.
• Madison Durr played an unselfish game with a game-high five assists to go along with two rebounds and two steals.

 
Up Next
The Bulldogs return to action Nov. 15 as they welcome Morris College to McAlister Field House. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN+.