Box Score ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Citadel persevered through a 16-point first-half deficit to first-seed Chattanooga Saturday to draw to within four on multiple occasions late in the game. The Mocs held on thanks to perfect trips to the free throw line in the closing minutes as the Bulldogs' season ended in the 71-66 SoCon Quarterfinals noon matchup.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Records: Chattanooga (25-7, 7-11), The Citadel (13-18, 6-12)
Location: Harrah's Cherokee Center (Asheville, N.C.)
Series: Chattanooga leads 72-19
Season Series: Chattanooga leads 3-0
Postseason Series: Chattanooga leads 2-1

Quick Hits

• The Citadel countered its subpar 30.8 first-half shooting (8-26) with a 54.8 second-half percentage (17-31) to get back in the game.
• The Bulldogs made their biggest splash with an 11-0 run over six minutes in the second half to trail just 52-48.
• Chatttanooga ended its silence to remain ahead, but the Bulldogs refused to relent, going toe-for-toe down the stretch to stay within two possessions.
• The Citadel's attempts to freeze the Mocs at the free throw line were met with the top seed making all 10 free throws.  
• Hayden Brown became the seventh player in The Citadel Basketball history to reach 1,400 points, with his 17 markers putting him at 1,402 for seventh all-time.
• Saturday's game marked the Bulldogs' closest margin in the second round of the SoCon Tournament in four appearances under head coach Duggar Baucom.

How it Happened

• Many of The Citadel's early field goals were answered by the Mocs, including several Bulldogs field goals answered with threes from the Mocs.
• The Citadel did benefit from a series of early fouls, with four called on Chat in first eight minutes.
• Chat scored six straight points on its way to a 14-2 run to lead 29-13.
• The Citadel seized upon a four-minute Mocs scoreless stretch as a 10-2 Bulldogs run cut it to 31-23.
• Chat broke its silence with a FG with 1:30 left, then in the closing seconds stole the ball to beat the buzzer with a putback by Tada Stricklen to go into halftime leading 37-23
• Stephen Clark opened the second-half scoring with a dunk, followed by a three from Jason Roche on their next possession as The Citadel cut it down to 39-29.
• The Mocs opened up a 52-37 lead before the Bulldogs turned the momentum over to them with an 11-0 run, bookended by Clark's 3-pointer and a baseline drive to the rim, to dwindle it down to 52-48 with six-and-a-half minutes to go.
• Chattanooga's David Jean-Baptiste broke the Mocs' silence with a reverse layup, only for Clark to answer right back with another layup to keep the margin at four.
• Chat then delivered a 7-0 run to regain a double-digit lead at 61-50 with under four minutes left.
• A Hayden Brown layup and Tyler Moffe three got the Bulldogs back to within five, but were resorted to sending the Mocs to the free throw line with under 90 seconds to play.
• Chattanooga made all 10 of its free throw attempts, although The Citadel answered each time down the court with a field goal to keep the pressure on down by two possessions.

Inside the Box Score

• The Citadel shot 30.8 percent in the first half (8-26) as Chattanooga pushed ahead in the opening period at 45.2 percent (14-31).
• The Bulldogs' impressive second half field goal percentage brought them to a 43.9 final percentage (25-57), finishing at 7-of-23 on threes and 9-of-17 on free throws. The Mocs finished the day at 45.5 percent (25-55), connecting on 4-of-22 threes and 17-of-20 free throws.
• Stephen Clark, who posted ten rebounds and eight assists with just one point Friday night, flipped the script with 14 points for second best on The Citadel, all coming in the second half. He also had five rebounds.
• Hayden Brown's heavy-rebounding game was kept at bay Saturday, making 17 points and grabbing just six boards, his lowest rebounding total since his four rebounds in the Bulldogs' last meeting against Chattanooga on Jan. 29, where he played only the first half.
• The Mocs' efforts to hold off Brown on the boards paid off with a 39-28 lead in rebounds.
• Tyler Moffe was the only Bulldog with multiple 3-pointers, hitting three from behind the arc in a 13-point afternoon, while dishing out five assists.
• David Maynard garnered 11 points thanks to several and-one opportunities and finding his sweet spot under the rim for crucial second-chance points.
• David Jean-Baptiste led the game with 20 points, going perfect from the free throw line at 6-of-6 and hitting a pair of threes.
• Malachi Smith was one point behind his teammate with 19 points, shooting 6-of-8 at the line.

Rising Through the Ranks!

• Hayden Brown's 17 points moved him into seventh all-time with 1,402 career points, passing Gary Daniels and Ashton Moore's total of 1,399, to become the sixth Bulldog ever to reach 1,400 points. His six rebounds gives him 748 rebounds for second on the career list at The Citadel.
• Jason Roche finished his SoCon Freshman-of-the-Year campaign with 110 made threes for second all-time, leaving him within four of Matt Frierson's 2017-18 record total of 114.
• Stephen Clark finished with a career-best 75 blocks in one season for second all-time, while his 137 career blocks stands fourth all-time, leaving him 78 away from the all-time leader Kirill Misyuchenko (1995-98) with 215.
• Saturday's quarterfinals defeat marked The Citadel's closest SoCon Tournament second-round margin under head coach Duggar Baucom. The seventh year head coach has logged four SoCon Tournament wins, the most ever at The Citadel.
• Tyler Moffe finished his storied career with 112 career NCAA starts. The Citadel's second-year graduate student point guard finished with 1,734 career points and 430 career assists between one season at NJCAA Jamestown C.C. (N.Y.), three years at NCAA Div. II Mansfield University (Pa.), and two at The Citadel.