JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The UNCG men's basketball team opened Southern Conference play with an impressive 80-79 road victory over league newcomer East Tennessee State Saturday afternoon, extending the Spartans' winning streak to three straight games and snapping the Buccaneers' winning streak at five straight games, giving them only their second loss of the year.

The victory marked the Spartans' first win on the road in Johnson City since February 19, 2000, snapping a five-game skid against the former and now current league foe. The victory improves the Spartans to 4-6 overall on the year and 1-0 in SoCon play while ETSU falls to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in league action.

“Tonight was a good, tough, team win on the road in conference play,” head coach Wes Miller said. “I thought our guys were really well prepared and locked in the last two days in practice, which carried over to the game. We had a great start and were tough enough to weather their runs late in the game. We did a great job of 'playing the next possession' and not allowing what just happened to affect the next play. ETSU is one of the top offensive teams we will play this year so to come in here and get a victory, is very rewarding to our guys.”

All five of the Spartans' starters scored in double figures and combined for 72 of the team's 80 points in the victory. UNCG finished the game shooting 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field and also hit 19-of-26 (73.1%) from the free throw line. The Spartans also dished out 14 assists while only committing nine turnovers in the victory.

Sophomore Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy) led the attack with a team-high 24 points while dishing out six assists, grabbing five rebounds and notching a block and a steal. Saddler finished the night shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free throw line, including a clutch free throw with 4.7 seconds left to make it a two-possession contest.

Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) finished with his fourth double-double of the season, helping the Spartans dominate play in the paint, out-scoring the Bucs 24-18 in the paint. White finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, including four of the Spartans' final five points in the last three minutes of the game. Junior Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) added 12 points and seven rebounds as he was 3-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

The Spartans not only did their job on the inside, but had it going on the outside, hitting 9-of-20 (45%) from long range. Sophomore Clay Byrd (Connelly, Springs, N.C./East Burke) added 12 points on 4-of-8 from 3-point land, while senior Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) chipped in 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from long range. Paulos also did a strong job on the defensive end, limiting ETSU's second leading scorer Rashawn Rembert to only 13 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that was unguarded.

East Tennessee State, the top scoring team in the league, was limited to 37.1 percent (23-of-62) shooting from the field and 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from long range. The Bucs were strong from the free throw line, hitting 22-of-25 (88%). Jalen Riley, the league's top scoring player, finished with a game-high 28 points while A.J. Merriweather added 13 points and 14 rebounds.

The Spartans came out of the gate quickly, jumping out to a 10-3 run at the first media timeout. White scored the first four points of the game before Byrd and Paulos hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The Spartans kept the pressure on the Bucs as they continued their strong play, running out to a 23-9 lead at the 11:21 mark of the first half. Byrd provided the early spark as he hit his first three 3-pointers while White and Locke added four points in the early run.

East Tennessee State slowed the Spartans' momentum and narrowed the gap to 25-21 with an 11-2 run as Desonta Bradford came off the bench to score five straight points. The Spartans kept the Bucs at bay and extended the lead back to nine at 40-31, but ETSU turned in a 10-2 run to trim the UNCG lead to 42-41. Riley was the offensive force for ETSU, scoring 13 straight points on his way to a 20-point first half effort.

The Spartans weathered the storm and Saddler scored off a drive under a minute left before Paulos hit a 3-pointer helping UNCG hold a 47-43 lead at the break. The Spartans connected on 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field and hit 6-of-13 (46.2%) from long distance in the opening half. UNCG also hit all nine of its free throws and dished out nine first half assists.

Saddler led the Spartans with 15 points and four assists as he was 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Byrd added nine points while Paulos and White each chipped in six. ETSU connected on 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from the field and 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from long range but did its damage at the free throw line hitting 14-of-16 (87.5%). Riley led the way with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from distance, while Bradford added seven points.

ETSU came out in the second half and too its first lead, scoring seven straight points to take a 53-52 advantage as Merriweather scored five straight and Riley added a basket in transition. The Spartans showed their mettle and ran off eight straight points to take a 60-53 lead. Paulos and Byrd started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers that settled the home-standing crowd before Locke converted a pair of free throws.

The Buccaneers kept coming at the Spartans, posting a 9-0 run on their way to their largest lead of the game at 70-67 when Rembert got open for one of his only clean looks from distance. The Spartans came right back and scored the next five points, all from Saddler, as he converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and hit a jumper against the zone for a 72-70 lead with 5:40 left.

After the Bucs pulled within one, Paulos hit a big 3-pointer to extend the lead back to four at 75-71. After a Rembert basket, White scored in the paint with a strong move to keep it a multiple-possession game. White ran the lead to 79-73 with 41 seconds remaining as he hit a pair of free throws.

ETSU missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession but White missed the front end of a one-and-one giving the ball back to the Bucs. The Buccaneers had multiple attempts as a 3-pointer but didn't convert until Riley hit one with 4.7 seconds left to make it 79-76. Saddler was immediately fouled, but his missed his first free throw in the double bonus. He showed his toughness as he was able to sink the second free throw to make it an 80-76 lead, clinching the game.

Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) played in his second straight game after missing the first eight games of the season due to an injury. Baldwin played 25 minutes, scoring five points, dishing out three assists and grabbing two rebounds.

The Spartans return to action Tuesday night as they host Atlantic Coast Conference power North Carolina. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

-UNCG-