CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Desonta Bradford had a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds, Bo Hodges added 19 points and nine boards, and first-place East Tennessee State won its 13th straight with a 73-71 victory over The Citadel on Monday night.

ETSU (19-4, 10-0 Southern) trails Purdue and St. Mary's with 16 consecutive wins apiece. The Bucs have won 17 of their last 18 games -- with a loss at then No. 10 Xavier.

The Citadel guard Frankie Johnson missed an open layup with 21 seconds left and Jalan McCloud went 1 of 2 at the line to give ETSU a 70-68 lead. The Citadel turned it over in the backcourt and freshman Bo Hodges hit two free throws at 12.5.

Matt Frierson nailed a long 3-pointer to pull the Citadel within 72-71 with 7.6 to go and after McCloud made 1 of 2 free throws, Johnson drove the length of the floor to find freshman Alex Reed in the corner for an open 3-pointer but it bounced off.

Zane Najdawi scored 18 points for The Citadel (7-14, 2-7). Leandro Allende, averaging 2.8 points per game, added 11 points.