CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel basketball team erased a 10-point halftime deficit to the Wofford Terriers, retaking the lead 60-58 with 6:49 left in the game.
After the Bulldogs knotted the game at 66-66 with 1:42 to go, a 5-0 Terrier's run put them ahead 71-66 and they were able to hold off The Citadel in the closing seconds to escape 72-71 on Saturday afternoon.
Elijah Morgan led the Bulldogs with 21 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, to go along with five rebounds and 4-of-6 makes from three-point land.
AJ Smith added 18 points while
Madison Durr chipped in 11, eight boards and two dimes.
First Half:
- Three long balls by WOF's Sivills had the Terriers ahead 13-8 five minutes into play.
- A Smith and-1 followed by a Morgan bucket cut the deficit to three, 23-20 halfway through the opening stanza.
- WOF responded out of the media timeout, hitting three from beyond the arc to push the margin to double figures, 33-20, forcing CIT to talk things over.
- Bulldogs answered with a 6-0 spurt to pull within seven, but a Terriers' triple with 14 seconds left made it a 10-point deficit, 40-30, at the break.
Second Half:
- Back-to-back 3-pointers by Morgan pulled CIT within two, 47-45, three minutes into play.
- Moments later, a Smith corner three capped a 9-0 run to put CIT ahead for the first time since it was 4-3 Bulldogs.
- A WOF top of the key three put the Terriers back up six before a Keynan Davis three cut it to 56-53, midway through the half.
- A pair of Durr free throws gave CIT a 60-58 edge, which he followed with a turnaround jumper in the paint, 64-61 Bulldogs with 3:33 to go.
- The Terriers answered with another 3-ball and a layup to retake the lead, 66-64.
- Quentin Millora-Brown's ensuing basket knotted the score at 66-66 but WOF's 14th 3-pointer of the game put them ahead 69-66 before it added a floater to increase the differential to five, 71-66, with 33.9 remaining.
- Another pair of makes by Durr from the charity stripe brought the Bulldogs with one, 72-71, with 10 seconds on the clock but the Terriers got the offensive rebound after the first free throw missed to run out the clock.
Up Next:
The Citadel hits the road for a pair of contests next week, beginning on Wednesday, January 17 when it heads to UNCG for a 7 pm tip.
