CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Keyshaun Langley set the tone for the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team with a steal and a layup on Western Carolina's opening possession 18 seconds into the contest.
UNCG was just getting started.
The ornery Spartan defense was at its snarling best to fuel a 68-49 victory over Western Carolina in a Southern Conference contest at the Ramsey Center Monday night. UNCG finished its difficult stretch of playing four road games in 12 days with three victories.
UNCG complemented its suffocating defense by making a season-best 13 3-pointers.
Kaleb Hunter led UNCG with 15 points.
De'Monte Buckingham and Langley added 14 points for UNCG, which completed a perfect two-game road swing by allowing 52.5 points per game.
For the Catamounts, it must have seemed like there were seven Spartan players on the floor. UNCG collected 11 steals. Passes were constantly tipped. Open shots were rumors. Western Carolina may have had an easier time escaping one of Jigsaw's signature traps in the "Saw" movies than solving UNCG's defense on this night.
In holding their 12th opponent in 24 games to below 60 points, the Spartans never eased off the gas either. They dove on the floor for loose balls even when ahead by 25 points with 10 minutes remaining.
Kobe Langley applied the finishing flourish to the victory when he elevated like a hot-air balloon and dunked with one hand following
Kaleb Hunter's beautiful pass. The flush shook the Ramsey Center to its core.
Records
UNCG 14-10 overall, 6-6 SoCon
Western Carolina 9-16, 3-9
Quotable
Mike Jones on the win and UNCG's defense.
"I thought we set the tone from the beginning of the game with our defense. That's two games in a row where I thought we came out of the gate playing lights out defense. We were connected and playing hard and limiting them to the type of shots we wanted them to take. We have to continue to do that and have to do it for 40 minutes. We were tough, gritty, and hard-nosed tonight on the defensive end of the floor, which gave us a chance to compete for a win tonight."
Jones on Langley's dunk.
"Kobe likes that. He gets excited. Our guys get excited and brings a lot of energy to our team. It's good to see Kaleb make that type of pass and our guys play with that type of confidence. I like that and the attack mode is something we must bring every night. They were in attack mode and ended up making a nice play."
Hunter on the victory.
"We stuck to us and we didn't worry about who we were playing. It was really UNCG vs. UNCG. We came in and had a good practice and got locked in on us and it worked out well. We are proud of our defense tonight. When you say UNCG, automatically defense comes up. That's what we pride ourselves on every game. I took what the defense gave me and I've been in the gym getting extra reps so I am glad to see it pay off tonight."
How It Happened
- Keyshaun Langley garnished his scoring performance by tying a career-high with six rebounds.
- Keyshaun Langley also had a season best five assists and three steals.
- UNCG limited Western Carolina to nine points over the final 10:19 of the first half.
- Keyshaun Langley's 3-pointer gave UNCG a 29-17 lead with 2:42 left before halftime.
- UNCG's lead never dropped below double digits after that.
- Hunter and Langley combined to score 24 of UNCG's 36 points in the opening half.
- Langley scored eight of UNCG's final 12 points over the last 3:33 of the first half.
- Hunter scored eight of UNCG's first 16 points over the first 12 minutes.
Inside the Numbers
- Western Carolina was the second opponent this season that UNCG limited to below 20 points in the first half.
- Hunter has scored in double figures nine times this season and 39 for his career.
- Keyshaun Langley has reached double-digits six times this season and 29 for his career.
- Buckingham scored all of his points in the second half, the eighth time this season he has hit for 10 or more points after intermission.
- Bas Leyte tied his career high with 10 rebounds.
- It was Leyte's third time with 10 rebounds this season.
- Jevon Johnson scored his first collegiate points on a 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining.
- Western Carolina came into the game having made 16 3-pointers in its previous two games.
- The Catamounts made five 3-pointers.
- Nicolas Robinson scored a game-high 20 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to lead Western Carolina.
Up Next
- UNCG hosts The Citadel Thursday at 7 p.m.
Final Word
Hunter on Langley's dunk.
"I got the ball, and I just threw it up to Kobe. To me, it wasn't even a lob. I was thinking, I will give him the ball and he's just going to lay it up. Then I see him jump and he cocked his arm back. I was like please don't miss this. Kobe doesn't even jump like that ever. We went crazy when he dunked it because it was an amazing play."
