The Citadel Bulldogs at Mercer Bears
· NCAA Men's Basketball
76 - 74
Frierson, Najdawi help The Citadel hold off Mercer, 76-76
Najdawi made a 3 to give The Citadel a 16-point lead with eight minutes left and his layup about three minutes later made it 65-53. Ross Cummings scored five points and Jordan Strawberry had four during a 9-0 run that trimmed Mercer's deficit to three points with two minutes to go, but the Bulldogs responded with a 9-2 spurt to make it 74-64 with 18 seconds left.
The Bears scored 10 of the last 12 points, capped by Strawberry's 3 just before the buzzer.
The Citadel hit six of their 14 3-pointers during a 26-3 run over nine-plus minutes to take a 56-43 lead with nine minutes left. Mercer missed eight consecutive field-goal attempts and went scoreless for seven-plus minutes over that span.
Kaelon Harris and Quayson Williams had 13 points apiece for The Citadel (7-13, 2-6 Southern Conference). The Bulldogs snapped a 13-game skid against Mercer and beat the Bears in Macon for the first time since a 50-15 win on Feb. 10, 1927.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 76 - 74 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Jordan Strawberry made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Cory Kilby. | 76 - 74 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Marcus Cohen Steal. | 76 - 71 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Zane Najdawi Turnover. | 76 - 71 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Demetre Rivers made Free Throw. | 76 - 71 |
Statistics
 CIT |
 MER |
|
|---|---|---|
| 25-54 | FG | 22-54 |
| 46 | Field Goal % | 41 |
| 14-35 | 3PT | 8-29 |
| 40 | Three Point % | 28 |
| 12-14 | FT | 22-28 |
| 86 | Free Throw % | 79 |
| 29 | Rebounds | 36 |
| 10 | Offensive Rebounds | 16 |
| 19 | Defensive Rebounds | 20 |
| 17 | Assists | 12 |
| 10 | Steals | 8 |
| 4 | Blocks | 2 |
| 17 | Turnovers | 17 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 17 | Total Turnovers | 17 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 17 | Points Off Turnovers | 25 |
| 10 | Fast Break Points | 12 |
| 20 | Points in Paint | 26 |
| 19 | Fouls | 13 |
| 16 | Largest Lead | 10 |
Game Information
Location: Macon, GA
Attendance: 2,972 | Capacity:
2025-26 Southern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State | 13-5 | - | 23-11 |
| Mercer | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Wofford | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Samford | 11-7 | 2 | 18-14 |
| Furman | 10-8 | 3 | 22-13 |
| Western Carolina | 10-8 | 3 | 15-16 |
| UNC Greensboro | 9-9 | 4 | 15-19 |
| Chattanooga | 7-11 | 6 | 13-19 |
| The Citadel | 7-11 | 6 | 11-22 |
| VMI | 1-17 | 12 | 6-26 |