Men’s Basketball’s Season Comes to an End With Loss to ETSU
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s basketball team dropped a 73-62 game to ETSU on Saturday afternoon at Harrah’s Cherokee Center.
The Spartans were seeded second in the 2024 Southern Conference (SoCon) Tournament, while ETSU finished as the seventh seed.
Four Spartans scored double figures, with Jalen Breath leading the charge with 11 points and 10 rebounds. This was the second double-double of his career.
Keyshaun Langley, Kobe Langley, and Donovan Atwell each contributed 10 points.
The Spartans concluded the 2023-24 season with a 21-11 overall record and 12-6 in SoCon play. UNCG has earned 20 or more wins in seven of the last eight years. This is the second time under the director of third-year Head Coach Mike Jones. He has reached 20 or more wins seven seasons out of his 13 years of being a head coach. This is the first time since the 2020-21 season that UNCG has earned more than 20 wins.
HOW IT HAPPENED
ETSU made the first basket of the game and UNCG went on a 9-3 run to take a 9-5 advantage. The Bucs bounced back with seven straight points ending with a three pointer from Maki Johnson for a 12-9 advantage. The Bucs never looked back from that moment on, staying on top for the remainder of the game. The Spartans cut the deficit to two after a free throw from Mikeal Brown-Jones with 10:50 left on the clock, 12-10. The Bucs climbed to their first 10-point lead following a 12-4 run, 24-14, with 4:28 left in the first half. Breath drained back-to-back free throws with 22 seconds left for a three-point deficit, 26-23, but ETSU’s Quimari Peterson drained a three-pointer before the teams went to the locker room with a six-point gap, 29-23.
ETSU utilized 56 percent shooting from the field and 64 percent shooting from behind the arc to pace its play in the second half. ETSU held a double-figure lead for most of the second half. The Bucs led by 14 points twice late in the second half, for their largest lead of the game. UNCG’s Kobe drained two three pointers in the final 40 seconds of play, while ETSU’s made three free throws to take the win, 73-62.
BY THE NUMBERS
Keyshaun chipped in five assists and three steals.
Kobe led the way with four steals and three assists.
Brown-Jones matched his career-best of four blocks in the game.
UNCG had 28 points in the paint compared to ETSU’s 24.
There was just two score changes and two tied scores in the game.
ETSU held the edge with a 43.3 field goal percentage, compared to the Spartans’ 40 percent from the field.
RECORDS
UNCG: 21-11, 12-6 SoCon
ETSU: 18-15, 8-10 SoCon
PURCHASE UNCG GEAR
UNCGgear.com is your one-stop shop for all of your official UNCG merchandise! From apparel to accessories, there is something for everyone!
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro