GREENSBORO, N.C.  – UNCG men's basketball drops a close matchup to visiting ETSU on the Wednesday night, falling by a final of 64-57 to move to 12-5 on the season. 

Getting off to a slow start in the first half, the Spartans would not score their first field goal of the afternoon till 15:11, before going on a 16-0 run to move in front 19-8. Trailing by 11, the Bucs had more turnovers (10) than points (8) with seven minutes still remaining in the first half, as the UNCG defense held ETSU to a single field goal for a span of 10 minutes and 40 seconds in the opening period.

Starting guard Isaiah Miller would nearly outscore the visitors himself during the first 20 minutes, pouring in 15 points while shooting 6-of-10 from the field to help the Spartans to a 31-23 lead at the break. The Buccaneers would convert just seven buckets as a team during that first period of play, while committing 12 turnovers overall and going just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. 

The Bucs would open up the second half on a 10-2 run to tie things up at 33-33 however, as the two squads stayed with five points of each other until the final 20 seconds of the game. Some early foul calls would put the Spartans behind the eight-ball in the final half, with the visitors reaching the double-bonus with over eight minutes still to go in the contest.

 ETSU hit 18 of their 23 foul shots in the second half to help seal a final of 64-57, while the Spartans' Miller would add another nine points for a total of 24 on the night, his third straight 20-plus performance. 

Things To Know
-- Forward James Dickey came within two boards of a double-double, scoring 12 with eight rebounds. He had eight and six respectively in the second half alone

-- The Spartans outshot the Bucs 40 percent to 37, yet the visitors converted 16 more points than UNCG at the charity stripe

-- UNCG forced 18 ETSU turnovers over the course of the contest, scoring 34 of its 57 points off those opportunities

Up Next For The Spartans

The Spartans take to the road with back-to-back SoCon contests, facing Furman on January 11th and the Citadel on the 15th. UNCG is 19-17 against the Paladins all-time, last defeating the side in the 2019 Southern Conference Tournament semifinals, 66-62.

-- UNCG –