The men’s basketball team traveled to Charleston this past Monday to play The Citadel Bulldogs. Both teams played a tight game all around, with the Bucs sneaking away with a win 73-71. With this win, the Bucs gain their 13th win in a row and stay unbeaten in the conference.
Both teams put on a thriller with 11 lead changes and three ties. The Citadel played good defensively in the first half, keeping the lead for most of the quarter. The Bucs picked up the pace with five minutes left in the half to take the lead. The Bucs would close the first half with a score of 38 to 34.
The second half was back and forth. The biggest margin of a lead in the game was from The Citadel by seven points. At the nine minute mark, the game was tied at 53, marking the second tie of the game.
As the clock rolled down, the teams tied a third time at the three-minute mark, with a score of 65-65. Within the last minutes of the game, the Bucs held on by putting up free throws and playing tight defense to gain the win. The Citadel had an chance to win with a last-second three pointer but failed to the connect.
Senior Desonta Bradford (Humbolt, Tennessee) led the team with 23 points, 10, rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. Although the Bucs gained the win, Head Coach Steve Forbes believed that the team didn’t play well enough to earn it.
“We got lucky,” said Forbes. “We didn’t deserve to win this game.”
The Bucs will have to make some adjustments if they want to keep their winning streak alive. They play at home this Thursday against the Samford Bulldogs with the streak always on the line but still on top of the Southern Conference.
