LEXINGTON, Va. – The Citadel basketball team trailed by three at the four-minute mark of the first half but Virginia Military Institute closed the half strong as the Bulldogs battled back but were unable to make up the difference in the second half, losing 82-70 on Saturday afternoon.

Christian Moore recorded his third consecutive double-digit point effort with 17, as he narrowly missed the double-double with nine rebounds. John Adams earned his first one of the season, however, scoring 10 and pulling down 10 boards.

Brody Fox added 14 points and five rebounds while Sola Adebisi chipped in 12.

How It Happened

• Cam Glover's pullup jumper tied the game at 11-11 seven minutes into the contest.
• A pair of VMI free throws opened up a seven-point edge, 28-21, before 3-pointers from Glover and Moore cut the deficit to three, 30-27 with 4:10 remaining in the first half.
• The Keydets ended the session with an 11-4 spurt to hold a 41-31 lead at the break.
• VMI kept the momentum going to start the second half, beginning it on a 13-3 run, to balloon the margin to 20 at 54-34.
• The Citadel showed some fight with an 8-0 spurt to close the gap to 13, 59-46, forcing VMI to talk things over at the 12:11 mark.
• A pair of Keydet free throws extended the difference back to 17, 68-51, but back-to-back threes and an Adebisi dunk capped off a 12-2 Bulldogs run that shrunk the deficit back to single digits, 68-61 with 6:15 to go.
• VMI responded with the next five points after its timeout, 73-61, before a Fox layup with 54 ticks remaining made it an eight-point affair, 76-68.
• The Citadel had to foul to give itself a chance but VMI went 6-for-6 from the line in the final seconds to hold off the Bulldogs, 82-70.

Up Next:

The Citadel returns home on Wednesday, February 12^th for an in-state battle with Wofford a 7 p.m.