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Men's Hoops Begins Three-Game Road Swing Saturday At CofC
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team begins a three-game road swing Saturday night when the Spartans take on Southern Conference South Division second place team the College of Charleston. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at TD Arena and will be televised on ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN App. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and online at www.uncgspartans.com with Cabell Philpott providing the call.
Saturday's game marks the 30th meeting all-time between UNCG and the College of Charleston. The game will be the final regular season meeting between the two teams as both members of the SoCon as CofC is set to leave the league after the year. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a 9-20 margin but swept the season series last year with a 78-63 victory in Greensboro and a 73-66 victory at the TD Arena.
Guard Derrell Armstrong (Mechanicsville, Md./Allegany CC) averaged 23.5 points per game against the Cougars last year as he scored 16 points in the road contest at Charleston and tallied a career-high 30 points in the Greensboro Coliseum. Armstrong connected on 12-of-22 from the field in his 30-point game, including 4-of-7 from three-point land. Guard Trevis Simpson (Douglas, Ga./Coffee) scored 16 points in the victory at Charleston, but missed the second game of the series due to an injury.
The College of Charleston was by Trent Wiedeman, who averaged 18.0 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in the series. Wiedeman connected on 14-of-17 (84.7 percent) from the free throw line in the two games. Antwaine Wiggins and Andrew Lawrence each added 12.5 points per game against the Spartans.
UNCG enters the game with 6-14 overall record and a 4-5 mark in Southern Conference play. The Spartans had a two-game winning streak snapped Thursday with the six-point loss to Elon. UNCG is battling for a first round bye in the 2013 SoCon Tournament which is awarded to the top two teams from each division. The Spartans are averaging 72.5 points per game which leads the league but are also allowing a league-high 74.8 points per game.
Simpson leads the team and the Southern Conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game. He ranks 16th in NCAA Division I scoring and has scored at least 10 points in six straight games, with four games of at least 20 points and two with at least 30 points. Armstrong ranks second on the team and third in the SoCon in scoring at 15.4 points per game and is also second on the team grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game and is third with 28 three-pointers.
Freshman forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) rounds out the Spartans in double figures scoring at 10.2 points per game and is grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game .
The College of Charleston enters Saturday's game with a 15-7 overall record and a 7-3 mark in Southern Conference play as it sits alone in second place in the South Division. The Cougars have defeated Elon, Furman, Chattanooga, The Citadel twice, Wofford and Appalachian State while dropping games to Samford, Georgia Southern and Davidson.
The Cougars have three players averaging at least 10 points per game with Andrew Lawrence pacing the attack at 13.8 points per game. Lawrence leads the team with 83 assists and has hit a team-high 40 three-pointers. Anthony Stitt is second on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game while also checking in second with 36 three-pointers.
Adjehi Baru rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.0 points per game and leads the squad on the glass with 8.5 caroms per contest. Baru also leads the team with 29 blocked shots as the Cougars have blocked a league-best 105 shots this season.
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