Dogs relish rematch

In many ways, it was the shot that set the tone for The Citadel's basketball season.

Keegan Bell's "Saved by the Bell" buzzer-beater gave Chattanooga a 56-54 win over the Bulldogs on Jan. 14, the most dramatic moment in a string of Southern Conference games that have gone down to the wire for the Bulldogs.

Citadel players have not forgotten Bell's miracle.

"We've definitely looked at the schedule a few times," freshman guard Ben Cherry said, and center Bryan Streeter added, "We definitely want to get that one back."

Of The Citadel's 11 SoCon games, eight have been decided by six points or less. The Bulldogs (11-12, 5-6) are 3-5 in those games, including a 61-57 win over Samford on Thursday.

That's a few more tight losses than Citadel coach Ed Conroy would prefer, but he said the Bulldogs are learning to execute down the stretch of close games.

"I was really proud of the way they took care of details down the stretch," he said after the win over Samford. "But we have to keep getting better."

One key was finding ways to score when Samford focused its defense on junior guard Cameron Wells, who scored 11 of his team's final 14 points in a 51-50 win at Samford on Jan. 16.

The Citadel struggled to score down the stretch at Georgia Southern and Davidson last week, losing leads of 21 and 15 points.

But against Samford, Austin Dahn and Harrison DuPont combined for 28 points, and Cherry hit three big 3-pointers in the final 9:13 as The Citadel rallied from 11 points down.

Cherry, a 6-2 walk-on, did not play in The Citadel's earlier loss to Chattanooga, but has earned increased minutes lately.

"He has a lot of confidence in his shot, and he should," Conroy said. "He works so hard at it … the spotlight doesn't intimidate him."

Chattanooga (13-11, 5-6), meanwhile, has been hard to figure. The Mocs dropped four straight after their win over The Citadel, then beat North Division leaders Western Carolina and App State at home before losing, 86-74, at College of Charleston on Thursday.

"Our guys know we can compete with them from our earlier game," Conroy said. "But again, we've got to keep getting better."