ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Citadel basketball team cut a double-digit deficit to seven, 49-42, with 13 minutes remaining in the second half but the Virginia Military Institute Keydets responded as they did throughout the contest to open up a 20-point lead on their way to a 73-62 victory in the SoCon Championships First Round.

Brody Fox was The Citadel leading scorer with 15 points while adding seven rebounds. Freshman Eze Wali finished the season on a high note with a career-high 12 points to go along with five dimes.

Cam Glover and John Adams ended their collegiate careers with nine and seven points respectively.

First Half

• The Bulldogs started with a slim 4-0 edge, but the Keydets scored the next seven before a Glover layup made it 7-6 VMI at the 14:23 mark.
• The game featured seven early lead changes as a Fox bucket put The Citadel ahead 14-13 just under the nine-minute mark.
• Back-to-back VMI makes gave it the largest lead of the game to that point in five, 24-19, before Moore answered with a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession.
• The Keydets had a stretch of 5-of-6 made field goals, including a banked in three, to open up a 31-22 advantage, leading to a Bulldogs' timeout with 2:06 to go.
• Wali's 3-ball with 25 seconds left cut the deficit to six but VMI responded with one of its own right before the buzzer to lead 36-27 at the break.

Second Half

• VMI scored six of the first eight points in the second session to go ahead 42-30 but Wali's triple knocked the margin back down to single digits.
• A 7-0 Keydets' run continued their strong start to the half, leading to a Bulldogs timeout at the 14:58 mark trailing 49-35.
• Moore's first make from beyond the arc cut the deficit back to nine and was followed by a Fox soaring bucket off the glass as now VMI had to talk things over up just 49-42.
• Johnson's third triple of the game pushed the lead back to double-digits, 59-46, before another VMI 3-pointer, part of a 10-0 stretch, expanded the advantage to 66-46 with 7:10 left.
• An Adams layup got it within 13, 70-57, with 43 seconds remaining before a Moore three with 12 ticks left cut it to nine, 71-62, but that's as close at The Citadel would get, falling 73-62.