CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel men's basketball team put together a strong first half but was unable to hold off a hot-shooting Charleston Southern squad, falling 96–86 Monday night inside McAlister Field House.
The Bulldogs came out firing, shooting 58.6 percent in the opening period to take a 48–45 lead into halftime.
Christian Moore connected on a pair of early three-pointers, while
Braxton Williams and
Carter Kingsbury provided consistent scoring to help The Citadel establish rhythm on offense.
Williams capped the opening frame with a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Bulldogs into the locker room with the lead.
Charleston Southern responded in the second half behind a 42-point performance from guard Brycen Blaine. The Buccaneers shot 50 percent from the field and made 14 three-pointers, using a decisive stretch midway through the period to pull ahead and secure the win.
Simeon German saw his first minutes as a Bulldog after returning from injury and scored his first basket in The Citadel uniform, finishing with four points in 13 minutes of action.
Moore led the Bulldogs with 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including four made three-pointers and five free throws.
Williams added 15 points, while Kingsbury contributed 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Logan Applegate finished with nine points, and
Sola Adebisi recorded seven points and six rebounds.
As a team, The Citadel shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the floor, 40 percent (8-of-20) from three-point range, and 66.7 percent (20-of-30) from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs totaled nine assists and 27 rebounds in the effort.
Charleston Southern finished 33-of-66 (50%) from the field and 14-of-32 (43.8%) from beyond the arc while converting 16-of-21 (76.2%) free throws. The Buccaneers added 24 assists and 40 rebounds, led by Blaine's 42 points and 11 boards.
Conroy's Comments
When asked about his message to the team following the game, head coach
Ed Conroy said he was proud of the group's effort despite the outcome.
"We don't like the result, but I'm proud of the effort this team gave," said Conroy. "I don't doubt for a minute the effort these guys are going to give me tomorrow in practice or how much they care. We'll be a little bit of a work in progress, but I love what our ceiling can be."
Dogs of the Day
Up Next
The Bulldogs return to action Friday, Nov. 14, when they travel to face West Georgia at 7 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.
