Cougars Erase First Half Deficit to Defeat The Citadel

Wednesday, December 17

Charleston, S.C.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

6-6,0-0CAA

The Citadel

3-9,0-0SoCon

The Citadel

Col. of Charleston

Christian Reeves slams the ball in the hoop

Cougars Erase First Half Deficit to Defeat The Citadel

12/17/2025 10:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston men's basketball team erased a 16-point first half deficit to defeat crosstown rival The Citadel 82-78 on Wednesday night at TD Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams had their offenses firing early, combining for 6-6 from the field through the opening four minutes of play.
The Citadel led by as much as 16 with seven minutes in the half, holding the Cougars scoreless for nearly three minutes of play. Connor Hickman went on a personal 8-0 run to kickstart a 18-3 Cougar run to end the half while holding the Bulldogs 1-14 from the field for the final five minutes of action.
Christian Reeves scored the Cougars' first five points of the second half to tie it 40-40 with 18 minutes to play. Jlynn Counter gave Charleston their first lead since 18:49 in the first half on an old fashioned three-point play while also capitalizing from the line on a Bulldog technical foul.

C REEVES AND-1 ??

All tied up at TD pic.twitter.com/3cZVpXxoBH
— Charleston Basketball (@CofCBasketball) December 18, 2025

The Citadel tied the contest at 45-45 with 16 minutes to play to turn the contest into a back-and-forth affair. Charleston entered the bonus with 12:30 remaining before taking their largest lead of the game at 60-53 shortly after.
The Bulldogs tied the contest yet again at 64-64 before Martin Kalu sank three straight from deep to help Charleston pull away. The freshman sank two free throws in the final minute to make it a two-possession game and help secure the win.

2H 3:03 | CofC 72, CIT 68

Back-to-back triples for @martinkalu23 ?? pic.twitter.com/klWU0P3sDj
— Charleston Basketball (@CofCBasketball) December 18, 2025

KEY COUGARS

Counter led Charleston with 22 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Hickman contributed 15 points and five rebounds.
Christian Reeves recorded his first career double-double with a career-high 14 points and ten rebounds, going a perfect 5-5 from the field.
Kalu added 17 points, sinking four triples.
Chol Machot added four blocks.

Make that a 17-3 Cougar run ?? pic.twitter.com/6o3hkNSt9y
— Charleston Basketball (@CofCBasketball) December 18, 2025

GAME NOTES

The Cougars shot 50% from the field compared to the Bulldogs 43%. It marks the third time this season Charleston has crossed the 50% threshold.
The Citadel won the rebounding battle 38-33.
The Cougars made 41 trips to the free throw line compared to ten for the Bulldogs.
Charleston wins their 14^th straight game against The Citadel and 61^st overall.
The win gives the Cougars back-to-back victories for the first time this season.