CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel plays its first home game of 2022 Thursday night in their Southern Conference (SoCon) home opener versus University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) at 7 p.m.

ON THE RADIO
All games for the 2021-22 season will be carried on 102.1FM and 1450AM. The voice of the Bulldogs, Luke Mauro, returns for his fourth season behind the mic.

HISTORY WITH UNCG
The Citadel and UNCG are meeting for the 43rd time on the hardwood with the Spartans holding a 33-9 advantage in the series, winning the last 16 meetings dating back to 2014-15. UNCG captured its third three-game sweep over the Bulldogs last season, winning both regular-season meetups and a victory in the second round of the SoCon Tournament. They previously posted three-game sweeps in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
UNCG holds a 10-5 overall record and 2-1 SoCon mark, coming off a 58-54 win over Wofford Monday night. The Spartans hold the best scoring defense in the conference allowing 62.5 ppg. despite having the lowest scoring output at 64.2 ppg. Guard De'Monte Buckingham is the Spartans' leading scorer as the only player averaging double digits at 13.1 ppg. He also leads the squad and ranks fifth in the conference in rebounds at 7.7 per game.

LAST TIME OUT…
Saturday, Jan. 8: Chattanooga 85, The Citadel 67
Junior forward/center Stephen Clark posted his first career 20-point game with 22 points, making 9-of-15 from the field with 16 second-half points. He also added six rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. The Bulldogs remained toe-for-toe with the Mocs in the opening half, trailing 36-31 at the break. They did not get any closer, however, as Chattanooga outscored The Citadel, 49-36, in the second half, pumping its lead to as much as 20.

CLARK PROTECTING THE RIM
Stephen Clark leads the SoCon with 36 blocks this season, recently swatting away a career-best six at Western Carolina and four at Chattanooga to average 2.8 blocks through 13 games. He ranks third on the team in scoring at 10.5 ppg. Clark led the Bulldogs with 46 blocks last season, including five blocks in three different games. He also averaged 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest.

UP NEXT
Thursday kickstarts a three-game home stand for the Bulldogs over five days, welcoming SoCon foes VMI on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Mercer Monday at 7 p.m.

SCHEDULE UPDATES
Feb. 23's road game at Mercer's tipoff time has been moved to 7 p.m.