UNCG uses tough Spartan Defense and big nights from Isaiah Miller and Mohammed Abdulsalam to get past The Citadel on Monday, at the Greensboro Coliseum

UNCG Takes A Bite Out Of The Citadel, 87-73, With Defense
from www.uncgspartans.com:

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Isaiah Miller and Mohammed Abdulsalam each finished with a double-double to lead the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s basketball team to an 87-73 victory over The Citadel in a Southern Conference contest at the Greensboro Coliseum Monday night.

Miller packaged a season-high 30 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, three assists, and two blocked shots to help the Spartans defeat The Citadel for a 14th consecutive time. It was his second double-double this season and the third of his career.

He also scored a layup at 8:26 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to move past Jay Joseph and into third place all-time on the UNCG all-time scoring list.

Miller now has 1,656 career points and 270 steals.

In helping UNCG win its third consecutive game, Abdulsalam complemented Miller’s effort with his first career double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds). The Spartans have scored 80 or more points in three straight games. Kaleb Hunter added 13 points.

The win was also the 100th Southern Conference triumph in the career of UNCG head coach Wes Miller. He was doused with water in celebration of the accomplishment following his postgame remarks.

Wes Miller was excited with his squad’s defense as the Spartans limited The Citadel to 37 percent shooting in the second half (10-for-27) and 21.4 percent accuracy from the 3-point line (3-for-14) to pull away.

The Citadel entered the game leading the nation in 3-pointers made per game (14.1). The Bulldogs made nine of 33 attempts (27.3 percent shooting) for the game.

Records
The Citadel 8-3 overall, 1-3 SoCon
UNCG 9-5, 4-2

Quotable
Abdulsalam on UNCG’s second half performance.
“We try to come in the half strong and play hard. Not do everything perfect, but do everything like play hard, attack the offensive glass, and play defense. Eventually, good things are going to happen when you play the right way. We just tried to make sure we brought the energy to start the second half.”

Inside the Numbers
The Spartans shot a season-high 52.1 percent (38-for-73).
The Citadel closed to 64-60 with 9 minutes, 29 seconds remaining.
UNCG ended any suspense by quickly scoring nine points in less than two minutes to open a 73-60 advantage with 7:33 left.
UNCG started the second half by scoring 13 of the first 16 points to expand its 43-40 intermission edge to 56-46.
The Spartans shot 50 percent (17-for-34) in the first half.
Trailing 12-6, UNCG used a quick 10-0 burst highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers from Khyre Thompson and A.J. McGinnis.
McGinnis has made his first shot attempt (all 3-pointers) in three consecutive games.
McGinnis and Keyshaun Langley-Southwest Guilford High School (five assists) scored eight points each for UNCG.
The Citadel was whistled for its first foul of the second half with 10:13 remaining.
Miller scored 18 points in the second half.
Isaiah Miller has scored in double figures in 15 consecutive games and in 31 of UNCG’s last 32 contests.
This was the 86th time in his fantastic career that Miller has scored in double figures.
Miller has at least one steal in 33 consecutive games.
The 30 points was one shy of Miller’s career-high, set last year at Mercer.
This was Abdulsalam’s 10th game this season with at least six rebounds.
Hunter has scored in double figures in two of UNCG’s last three games.
This was the 23rd time Hunter has scored in double figures.
UNCG won the rebounding battle, 42-31
The Citadel’s Kaiden Rice opened the game by making three straight 3-pointers in the first two minutes.
Rice, who scored the 1,000th point of his career, ended with 14 points.
Hayden Brown (14 points) and Rudy Fitzgerald III (11) also reached double figures for the Bulldogs.

Up Next
UNCG begins a two-game road trip at Chattanooga on Saturday, Jan. 23. That game starts at noon.