 |  |
Men's Basketball Travels To Furman Thursday
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team continue its three-game road swing through the Palmetto State Thursday as the Spartans travel to Greenville, S.C., for a meeting against Southern Conference foe Furman. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Timmons Arena and will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and online at www.uncgspartans.com.
Thursday's game marks the 23rd meeting all-time between UNCG and Furman, dating back to the first meeting all-time at Feb. 17, 1998. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a 10-12 margin and have dropped three straight to the Paladins, including a 69-61 loss earlier this year at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans had a 10-point halftime lead only to see Furman out-score UNCG 47-29 in the second half.
Senior guard Derrell Armstrong (Mechanicsville, Md./Allegany CC) and sophomore Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) paced the Spartans in the loss with 16 points apiece. Armstrong connected on 6-of-14 from the field while Paulos hit 4-of-7 from long range. Junior guard Trevis Simpson (Douglas, Ga./Coffee) was limited to just 10 points as he battled through foul trouble all game before fouling out after just 22 minutes of play.
Furman placed five players in double figures in the victory as it shot 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the field and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from long range. Bobby Austin led the Paladins with 13 points on the strength of three three-pointers while Stephen Croone and Larry Wideman each added 12 points.
UNCG enters Thursday's game with a 6-14 overall record and a 4-6 mark in Southern Conference play. The Spartans are still in the running for one of the four first round byes in the 2013 SoCon Tournament in Asheville. UNCG is 0-9 this season on the road and is looking for its first road victory since defeating Chattanooga last year (2/11/12).
Simpson leads the Spartans and the SoCon in scoring at 19.7 points per game. He ranks 15th in NCAA Division I in scoring as he has scored in double figures 17 times, including eight games with at least 20 points. Armstrong is second on the team and sixth in the league in scoring at 15.1 points per game while also grabbing 5.0 rebounds per game.
Freshman forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) rounds out the Spartans averaging double figures scoring at 10.7 points per game. Locke is coming off his best performance in the past month with 21 points at the College of Charleston as he was 7-of-15 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Furman enters Thursday's game with a 6-14 overall record and a 3-6 mark in SoCon play. The Paladins have gone 3-3 over the past six games with victories over Wofford, UNCG and Georgia Southern. Last time out, Furman squandered a 16-point halftime lead at home to fall to The Citadel as it was out-scored 60-39 in the second half.
Colin Reddick leads Furman in scoring at 12.5 points per game while also grabbing 6.1 rebounds per game. Reddick is coming off a 21-point effort against The Citadel as he is shooting 52.5 percent (94-of-179) from the field this season. Charlie Reddick is second on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game and is coming off a season-high 26 points against the Bulldogs as he was 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 from distance.
- UNCG -
