The Citadel left no room for last-second buckets and ringing blocks in this one.

The Bulldogs were rewarded with a heartbreaking loss to West Carolina earlier in the week, retiring to a 74-63 win over the Catamounts at McAlister Field House on February 6.

Hayden Brown racked up his ninth double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds for The Citadel (10-7, 3-7 Southern Conference). Kaiden Rice had 19 points, Tyler Moffe 14 and Derek Webster Jr. a 12-point clutch and five rebounds off the bench as the Bulldogs broke a three-game skid. Moffe also had a double-double with 10 assists.

West Carolina (8-11, 1-9) defeated The Citadel 76-75 on February 1 on a Mason Faulkner bucket with 5.5 seconds left and a shot blocked at the buzzer by Xavier Cork.

“I thought the guys showed a lot of character coming out with the juice they had today,” said Citadel coach Duggar Baucom, whose team have played five games in 10 days. “The way we shared the ball and executed the last four minutes, I was very, very proud of them today.”

After West Carolina reduced a 15-point deficit to 64-59 with 3:40 left, the Bulldogs scored on four straight possessions to put the game aside. Freshman Brent Davis scored on a pass from Rice, Webster dove into the bucket to score twice on assists from Moffe and Brown, and Brown drove hard to the rim for a score and a 72-59 lead. with 1:10 to go.

“They were pretty bad when they got back,” Baucom said. “I said to the guys, ‘Hey, get your head up. You worked hard to get this lead. Let’s run the stretch and we’ll get this win. “”

The Bulldogs also performed on defense.

West Carolina rallied by supporting the Citadel’s smaller defenders in the lane, beating the Bulldogs 40-32 in the paint. Mason Faulkner led the Catamounts with 18 points, most in post-ups, and Cory Hightower 6-8 added 17.

But Baucom ordered his defense to pass the team in the post down the home stretch, and the tactic worked as WCU missed four of its last five shots and seven of its last eight by 3 points.

“We decided that we were going to start shooting and have someone else beat us,” said Baucom, “because we are not the greatest team. I was happy with the way they were. executed that defensively, and it really reduced their percentage of goals on the field. We made them work for it instead of shooting it over the edge. “

Brown’s doubles-doubles and Rice’s 3-point shot – he’s averaging 4.3 per game, SoCon highs – have become routine for the Bulldogs. The extra juice in this game came from Webster, a 6-4 senior at just 10.6 minutes per game.

He hit his five shots and two free throws for a season record 12 points, flexing his muscles after a throw-in basket and earning a standing ovation from the crowd in attendance.

“The thing about Derek, you always get the same Derek whether he’s playing or not,” Baucom said. “But in the crunch time, you put Derek in there, because you know he’ll keep and get some rebounds. You don’t usually expect that attack from Derek, but he had a few convenient baskets at the end because he did the right read on Tyler. penetration. Really happy for him. “

Brown nearly collected a double-double in the first half with 12 points and nine rebounds as The Citadel led 35-30 at the break. Moffe hit two 3-pointers and had 12 points for the Bulldogs.

On Wednesday, the Citadel welcomes the state of eastern Tennessee. ETSU dominated The Citadel 112-84 on February 10.

Contact Jeff Hartsell at 843-937-5596. Follow on Twitter @Jeff_fromthePC



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