CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Buccaneers hung tough, but fell 35-14 to cross-town rival Citadel, in front of 12,885 fans, Saturday afternoon at a rain-soaked Johnson-Hagood Stadium.

It was a defensive battle early, as the Bucs amassed just 71 yards of total offense in the first half with 59 of them coming on one play for the lone CSU score of the first half.

In his first start at quarterback, sophomore Eli Byrd passed for 137 yards, completing 11 of his 27 attempts. Byrd also led the Bucs rushing, going for 28 yards on 14 carries. Sophomore Tim Jones just missed the century mark, catching four passes for 98 yards, while junior Markus Murray had three grabs for 31 yards. Defensively, senior Jada Ross picked up where he left off a year ago, tallying 16 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Junior Josh Warrior also had double-digits in tackles with 10, and had one of two CSU sacks on the day. Senior Marco Ramirez saw his first action in a CSU jersey and recorded the other sack.

A strong running game propelled The Citadel to seven points on their first drive of the game, as they marched 69 yards to take an early lead.

The Bulldogs finished with 173 yards on the ground, while senior quarterback Duran Lawson connected on 21 of his 32 passing attempts for 246 yards.

A deep pass on the ensuing CSU possession slipped through the hands of the intended receiver, Tim Jones, forcing CSU to punt the ball away. The wet conditions plagued both teams, though, as CSU forced a fumble at the 9:25 mark for the first turnover of the game. CSU tried the deep pass again on the first play from scrimmage, this time completing it from Eli Byrd to Jones as he outran the defense for the 59-yard touchdown, tying the game at 7-7.

Backed up deep in their own end, CSU could not get the ball out on their third possession, and a quick-kick on third-down gave The Citadel good field possession. A long run by the Bulldogs ended with the second fumble of the game, with CSU recovering again, but with a long field ahead of them.

As the first quarter clock wound down, both defenses stiffened and the offenses failed to put up any more points after the 9:15 mark. The second period appeared to have more of the same in store as both teams were forced to punt in the first three minutes of action.

The Bulldogs would break through again to take the 14-7 lead with 10:43 to go in the half on a 26-yard pass from Duran Lawson to Andre Roberts.

A fourth-and-inches stop on defense at midfield midway through the second quarter appeared to shift the momentum to a stagnant Buccaneer offense. The Bucs first turnover of the season sent it back across the ball, though, as Byrd was picked over the middle by Andrew Rowell. Coupled with a pair of costly penalties on the Bucs, the Bulldogs increased their lead to 21-7 with 3:39 left.

With just one first down to show for their work in the first half, the Buccaneer Offense was faced with a fourth-and-inches of their own with under two minutes to play, but elected to punt the ball away and let their defense hold the 21-7, halftime score.

The Bucs came out firing in the second as a penalty on the kickoff gave CSU their best field position of the game at their 35 yardline. A 22-yard pass to Jones and a nine-yard run by Alexius Ferguson moved the ball down the field before the Bucs faced a fourth-and-three decision to start the frame. The Bucs made the right choice, though, as Byrd found Markus Murry across the middle for a 18-yard completion to put CSU in the redzone for the first time.

They made the most of their chances, as Byrd scampered through the defense for the touchdown, making it 21-14, drawing the Bucs closer to the rival Bulldogs. The Bucs kept the momentum as Mike Adams hit the upright from 41-yards out on the first field goal attempt of the game.

The Citadel added back to their lead late in the third as a long drive culminated into a 15-yard pass from Lawson to Head Coach Kevin Higgins' son Tim Higgins.

Key third-down conversions put The Citadel in position to add to their lead with under three minutes to play, and did so with just 28 seconds remaining on the clock, giving them the final, 35-14 lead.

CSU will continue to face the Southern Conference as they take on Wofford next week at 7 p.m.