CHARLESTON, S.C. -- In a late comeback attempt, The Citadel (9-19, 6-9 SoCon) scored 15 points in the final 72 seconds and trimmed the deficit to three before falling to Samford, 78-75, on Thursday night at McAlister Field House.
The Citadel led 34-31 at halftime after connecting on six 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes in a first half that featured multiple lead changes. The teams were tied at 31 before a
Logan Applegate 3-pointer in the closing seconds gave The Citadel the three-point advantage at the break.
Samford moved in front early in the second half with consecutive 3-pointers from Cade Norris. The Citadel regained the lead at 40-39 following a basket from
Eze Wali, but Samford responded with a run that extended the margin to 61-45 midway through the period.
The Citadel began its late push with a 3-pointer from Williams at the 1:12 mark.
Marcos Gonzales followed with a jumper, and Williams added back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the margin to three with 15 seconds remaining. Adebisi converted a jumper and Gonzales added a layup in the final seconds, but Samford secured the win at the free-throw line.
Braxton Williams led The Citadel with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. It marked his seventh 20-point game of the season, the most on the team.
Sola Adebisi added 13 points and nine rebounds, his fifth game this year with nine or more boards, and recorded five steals to match his career high previously set against Erskine. He also posted his ninth game this season shooting 60 percent or better from the field on at least five attempts.
Christian Moore finished with 12 points and three 3-pointers, marking his 19th game this season with multiple makes from beyond the arc.
Carter Kingsbury added seven rebounds.
The Citadel committed just six turnovers, its fewest in Southern Conference play this season.
Norris paced Samford with 19 points. Jadin Booth and Zion Wilburn added 18 apiece, and Dylan Faulkner recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Following the game, head coach
Ed Conroy addressed the media:
"I thought we did a lot of things we wanted to do. We had only six turnovers and defensively held their top two scorers to 11 of 26 from the field, which is significant considering what they average in league play. We had a strong first half defensively, but in the second half we went through a stretch where we missed shots, and we let that affect our energy on the other end. I told our guys I believe we can play with anybody in this league. In two weeks it will be win or go home, so we cannot let the emotional part of missing shots impact the way we play. Because of our scoring ability, we have to trust that whether shots go in or not, it should not affect our effort. We have shown we can put together major runs, and now it is about staying consistent for 40 minutes."
Next up, The Citadel hosts Chattanooga on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at McAlister Field House on Senior Day.
For complete coverage of The Citadel basketball program, follow the Bulldogs on X and Instagram @CitadelHoops and online at CitadelSports.com.
