SoCon MBB Recap: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

Thursday, February 2, 2023 

Recap of Thursday's games:

It was not a good night for the home teams in the SoCon Thursday night. The Spartans remain tied for first place with Furman and Samford with a win over the Bears in Macon. While the Spartans remain tied for first, at the other end of the standing, VMI pulled out their first conference victory of the season, on the road in Charleston. I'm sure there's a lot of happy Keydets on the 6-hour bus ride back to Lexington.

UNCG 69 - Mercer 49 

The UNCG men's basketball team extended its SoCon road record to 5-0 behind a 69-49 victory over Mercer on Thursday night in Hawkins Arena. The Spartans, Samford, and Furman remain in a three-way tie for first with a SoCon record of 9-2. This was the 10th win of the season by double figures for the Spartans. Graduate student Mohammed Abdulsalam recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career with 15 points and matched his career-best with 16 rebounds. Both were team highs. The first time Abdulsalam had 16 rebounds was an 80-81 loss to Western Carolina on February 24, 2021.

VMI 75 - The Citadel 69

Working hard to earn an elusive win in conference play, the VMI basketball team registered its first Southern Conference victory of the season by defeating rival The Citadel by a 75-69 count Thursday night at McAlister Field House in Charleston, South Carolina. The win is the first conference game victory for VMI head coach Andrew Wilson, who also picked up his first career road victory at the helm. It also snapped a 12-game losing skid for the Keydets, who opened SoCon play 0-10 between late December and through the month of January. In a game that featured nine ties and 12 lead changes, the Keydets (6-18, 1-10) overcame an 11-point deficit early in the second half to come back and earn the win.