GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Carlos Dotson tallied a career-high 32 points and added 12 rebounds for his 14^th double-double of the season, but Western Carolina was unable to erase a fast start by UNCG in an 82-62 loss to the Spartans at the Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday. 
 
Dotson surpassed his previous career-best mark of 27 as he went 11-for-20 from the field and made a career-high 10 free throws in 15 attempts. The Riverdale, Md. native's 32-point output is the most by a Catamount in a game this season, surpassing 31 points by Mason Faulkner against Chattanooga on Dec. 3. Classmate Onno Steger finished in double figures with 14 points, his fourth straight in double figures.
 
Isaiah Miller led three UNCG players in double figures with 20 points. Keyshaun Langley scored 14 points followed by James Dickey with 11 points. Miller, Dickey, and Mohammed Abdulsalam each finished with six rebounds.
 
UNCG (20-6, 10-3 Southern Conference) controlled the opening tip and opened the game on a 9-2 run after a Hunter layup at the 17:13 mark. After the hosts took a 12-4 lead, Steger drained a 3-pointer with 15:34 remaining to make the score 12-7. The Spartans answered with a 12-0 run capped by a Hueitt 3-pointer for a 24-7 lead just shy of the first half midpoint. 
 
A Dickey dunk gave the Spartans a 20-point lead, 28-8, with just over eight minutes left as the Spartans led by no fewer than 17 points over the next four minutes. Dotson drained a pair of free throws at the 4:11 mark to bring WCU (15-9, 7-6) within 15 points, 33-18. UNCG led 41-25 at halftime as WCU finished with its lowest first-half output of the season.
 
The Catamounts opened the second half on a 7-1 run, trimming the deficit to 42-32 after Dotson hit a free throw with 15:45 remaining. The Spartans responded with a 17-3 run capped by a Dickey layup at the 11:08 mark for a 59-35 lead.  Miller pushed the Spartan lead to a game-high 25 points, 63-38, on a layup with 9:57 to play. UNCG's led hovered between 20 and 25 points before Dotson tallied his 28^th point to surpass his previous career-best on a layup with 3:15 remaining to bring WCU within 18 as the Catamounts got no closer down the stretch.
 
The Spartans shot 50 percent from the field, going 31-for-62. WCU went 21-for-60 (35.0 percent) from the field. The Catamounts made a season-low three 3-pointers, going 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) behind the arc. Both teams pulled down 36 rebounds.
 
WCU remains on the road Saturday, visiting Wofford at 7 p.m.
 
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