The Citadel Set to Face Samford in Battle of the Bulldogs for the Second Round of the SoCon

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Citadel Bulldogs will start their battle for their first Southern Conference Championship title on Saturday, March 7 when they face the Samford Bulldogs in the second round of the tournament.

The tournament is being held at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn. Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. The Bulldogs earned a first round bye after clinching the No. 2 seed in the South Division, opening tournament play in the second round. Davidson claimed the No. 1 seed in the South Division, putting them on the other side of the bracket.

The Citadel, who earned several postseason honors, enters tonight’s matchup with a 20-11 record, which is the program’s second 20-win season in history. The Bulldogs are on a one-game winning streak after closing out the regular season with a 74-53 victory over Georgia Southern. 

Head coach Ed Conroy was named Southern Conference Player of the Year, while Demetrius Nelson and Cameron Wells were named to the All-Conference Team. John Brown garnered an All-Conference honor as well, being named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team.

The Citadel offense is paced by Nelson and Wells. Nelson is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer and rebounder. He averages 16.1 points per game and 6.6 rebounds, while standing at second in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 59.3 percent from the field. Wells is the Bulldogs’ second leading scorer with a 15.5 scoring average and leads the team in assists with 93. He is second on the team in free throw percentage, shooting 80.6 percent from the line.

Assisting Nelson on the boards is Brown. The redshirt freshman averages 6.1 rebounds per game and is second on the team in steals behind Wells. He is second on the team in field goal percentage, shooting 58.7 percent from the field. Zach Urbanus is the Bulldogs’ 3-point threat, shooting 45.8 percent from behind the arc. He is second in the league in free throw percentage.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Charging the Bulldog defense is Nelson with 17 blocks on the season. Wells contributed 44 steals, followed by Brown with 31. They have forced 390 turnovers.

The Bulldogs are second in the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. They lead the conference in free throw percentage, 3-point field goal percentage defense and rebounding defense. Samford enters tonight’s matchup with a 15-15 record after defeating Furman, 57-52, in the opening round of the tournament. The Bulldogs were led by Bryan Friday with 17 points in their game over Furman. The Bulldogs look to extend their two-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs are led offensively by Friday and Trey Montgomery. Friday leads the Bulldogs in scoring with a 12.1 scoring average. Montgomery is a contributor on offense for the Bulldogs, leading the team in assists with 76 and second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game. Josh Davis is their free throw shooter, shooting 70.3 percent from the line, while their long range threat is Andy King, shooting 42.6 percent from behind the arc.

Defensively, Samford is led by Matthew Friday with 14 blocks and Montgomery with 42 steals. Davis is second on the team in steals with 32. Their defense has forced 417 turnovers this season. Samford is also one of the best defensive teams in the league, leading the conference in scoring defense. They are fourth in field goal percentage defense and second in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Offensively, they are a threat from behind the arc, sitting at second in the league in 3-point field goals made.

The Citadel and Samford will meet for the fourth time in school history on Saturday. In the series, The Citadel leads 2-1. Before this season, the teams stood at an even 1-1 in the series. Their first meeting was in 1992 when the Bulldogs claimed a 73-67 victory. Samford evened the score with a 73-67 overtime victory over The Citadel in 1993. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs claimed a 25-point victory over Samford in the Pete Hanna Center to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

The winner of Saturday night’s game between The Citadel and Samford will advance to the semifinals of the tournament. They will face the winner of the Elon-Chattanooga game on Sunday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m.

A live audio and video stream will be available through Bulldog Insider at http://www.CitadelSports.com. Live statistics will also be available. Fans in Charleston can catch the action live on Sports Radio 1450 AM with play-by-play provided by Darren Goldwater, the Voice of the Bulldogs. For more information on Bulldog Basketball, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at http://www.CitadelSports.com.