Men's Basketball Hosts Samford Thursday In SoCon North Battle
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team continues its five-game home stand Thursday night as the Spartans host the Southern Conference North Division leading Samford Bulldogs at the Greensboro Coliseum at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM, while both audio and video will be streamed online at www.uncgspartans.com.
Thursday's game marks the 11th meeting all-time between UNCG and Samford, with the Spartans trailing the series by a 4-6 margin. UNCG has won three straight against the Bulldogs, including a season series sweep last year with a 61-60 win at home and a 71-69 victory in Birmingham.
In the Spartans' home win, forward David Williams (Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast) tipped-in the game-winning basketball with 2.8 seconds for the victory. Guard Derrell Armstrong (Mechanicsville, Md./Allegany CC) scored a game-high 27 points in the victory as he was 10-of-22 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Guard Trevis Simpson (Douglas, Ga./Coffee) led UNCG to the road victory at Samford with a team-high 25 points as both Simpson and Armstrong averaged 20 points per game in the series. Samford was led by Drew Windler who averaged 18.5 points per game while Tyler Hood chipped in 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest against UNCG.
The Spartans enter the game with a 4-13 overall record and a 2-4 mark in SoCon play after a 69-61 loss Sunday afternoon to Furman. UNCG still leads the league in scoring, averaging 73.0 points per game, but are also allowing a league-high 76.0 points per game.
Simpson leads the team and is second in the SoCon in scoring at 17.8 points per game, despite being held to just 10 points Sunday against the Paladins. He is second on the team with 30 three-pointers made and is shooting 75 percent (39-of-52) from the free throw line.
Armstrong ranks second on the team and third in the league in scoring, averaging 16.8 points per game. He has scored in double figures for nine straight games, scoring at least 16 points in all nine contests. He is averaging 18.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game over that stretch while shooting 48.7 percent (58-of-119) from the field, 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from three-point land and 81.4 percent (35-of-43) from the charity stripe.
Samford enters Thursday's game with a 7-12 overall record but own a 5-1 mark in SoCon play to sit alone atop the North Division. The Bulldogs have defeated Georgia Southern, the College of Charleston, The Citadel, Western Carolina and Appalachian State while dropping a game to Chattanooga in league play.
Raijon Kelly leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 14.6 points per game as he leads the SoCon in three-point shooting, connecting on 45.7 percent (42-of-92) from long range. Kelly also leads the team with 76 assists. Freshman forward Tim Williams is second on the team and ranks second among all league freshmen in scoring at 14.3 points per game while grabbing a team-high 7.2 caroms per contest.
Clide Geffrard Jr. rounds out the Bulldogs in double figures scoring at 10.2 points per game and adds 4.5 rebounds per game. Geffrard is shooting 42.2 percent from three-point land as he has hit 27 three-pointers. Connor Miller is second on the team with 30 three-pointers as Samford averages 6.4 long distance shots per game.
- UNCG -