GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Citadel basketball team erased a nine-point halftime deficit with an 11-0 run out of the break but the UNC Greensboro Spartans answered the bell each time the Bulldogs tied the game in a back-and-forth second half to hold off The Citadel 73-67 on Wednesday night.
Elijah Morgan led the Bulldogs with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point land while
AJ Smith and
Madison Durr added 18 points each.
First Half:
- A Durr top of the key 3-pointer halted an 8-0 UNCG run to trim the margin to 17-12 eight minutes into play.
- Morgan found Keynan Davis for a fastbreak three as CIT took its first lead of the night, 20-19, but UNCG responded with a 12-2 run, forcing CIT to take a timeout.
- The Bulldogs had to endure a 5-plus minute scoreless drought as the Spartans extended the lead to 11, 33-22, before an easy bucket by Smith stopped the drought.
- UNCG answered with another three, 36-24, but Durr's three-point play with 17 seconds left in the half cut the deficit to single digits, 38-29, at the break.
Second Half:
- The Bulldogs came out of the locker room on an 11-0 run as Elijah Morgan's hit from beyond the arc put CIT ahead 40-38.
- A Spartans dunk put them back up by five, 47-42, six minutes into the second stanza.
- Pigram found Morgan for a jumper to knot the game at 47-47 halfway through the second before Morgan's stepback three tied the game at 51-51 at the 7:48 mark.
- UNCG nudged the margin to five, 58-53, before Morgan's fifth triple of the game pulled CIT within two, 60-58, with 4:23 left.
- With 2:23 to go, a free throw pushed the Spartans edge to five, 63-58, before a Bulldogs' turnover led to another bucket and a CIT timeout.
- Smith's put back layup got CIT within five, 67-62, before Morgan's sixth make from long range cut it to four, 69-65, with 14.6 ticks on the clock.
- The Spartans made 6-of-6 free throws in the waning moments to close out a 73-67 home win.
Up Next:
The Citadel continues its road trip as it heads to rival VMI on Saturday, January 20 for a 1 pm tip.
