CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel battled to a halftime tie against UNCG Wednesday evening inside McAlister Field House but could not overcome 21-of-35 shooting (60 percent) by the Spartans in the second half, dropping an 85-66 decision in Southern Conference play.
 
Game Information
Final Score: UNCG 85, The Citadel 66
Record: The Citadel (9-7, 2-7 SoCon), UNCG (13-5, 8-2 SoCon)
Location: Charleston, S.C. (McAlister Field House)
Series: UNCG leads 32-9
 
How It Happened

• UNCG jumped out to an early lead after coming out of the gates hot, outscoring The Citadel 12-4 over the first three and a half minutes of the contest. Hayden Koval capped the early run with a three-pointer at the 16:45 mark to build the eight-point advantage.
• The Citadel fired back by scoring seven of the next nine points to pull back within one possession. Brent Davis bookended the stretch with his first basket of the night, a triple with 14:15 on the clock, to cut the Spartans' lead to 14-11.
• The deficit grew back to as many as seven points for the 'Dogs over the final minutes of the opening half, but The Citadel defense came up big in the final 2:45, holding UNCG without a point as the offense tallied the final four points of the half to send the two sides into the locker room tied at 35-35.
• Much like the first half, the Spartans got off to a strong start out of the break, scoring the first six points to take a lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Keyshaun Langley netted four of the six points for UNCG during the run to build a 41-35 lead.
• Leading 60-54 with 10:34 to play, UNCG fired off 12 unanswered points to build its largest lead of the night to that point. A.J. McGinnis kickstarted the run with back-to-back three-pointers that eventually left the Spartans in control and ahead 72-54.
• The Bulldogs battled hard down the stretch but were unable to trim the deficit back to single digits over the final eight minutes of action.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Hayden Brown led The Citadel with 19 points and finished 9-for-11 from the charity stripe, his most free throws made in a single game since connecting on 10 against Chattanooga on Jan. 9.
• Fletcher Abee reached double figures for the third straight game, finishing with 11 on the night, and knocked down a trio of three-pointers for the second time in those three outings.
• Kaiden Rice kept his double-digit scoring streak alive with 13 points. The senior has scored 10 or more points in all 16 games this season.
• Stephen Clark enjoyed another well-rounded performance, hitting both of his shot attempts and logging five points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 21 minutes of action.
• The Citadel finished 19-of-25 (76 percent) from the free throw line, its most free throws makes since Jan. 16 at VMI and its best percentage in the category since Jan. 13 against Furman.
• The 25 free throw attempts were 18 more than UNCG, the largest disparity between The Citadel and an opponent in a game this season.
• Despite a size disadvantage, The Citadel won the rebounding battle against the larger Spartans, finishing with a 39-33 edge. The Bulldogs led in both offensive (9-5) and defensive (30-28) boards on the night.

 
Up Next
The Citadel will face a rematch against Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside McAlister Field House following Monday's 76-75 heartbreaker in Cullowhee. The Catamounts scored with five seconds remaining to secure the one-point win, and the Bulldogs were unable to come away with a clean look on the final possession of the game.