GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team returns after the holiday break for their first game in eight days Sunday as they travel across the state to East Carolina. Game time Sunday is set for 2 p.m. at Minges Coliseum and can be seen on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN App with Patrick Kinas and Nate Ross providing the call. Additionally, the game will be radio broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and online with the TuneIn App with Scott Pryzwansky calling the game.
Sunday's game marks the 13th meeting all-time between UNCG and East Carolina. This is the seventh straight year and ninth time in the last 10 years the two teams have met with the Spartans trailing the all-time series by a 10-2 margin. UNCG picked up wins in the series in 2005 (at East Carolina 78-70) and in 2001 (at home 56-54).
The last two years, the games have been hotly contested with the Pirates picking up wins on both contests. Last season, ECU escaped with a last-second heart-breaking 85-84 victory on the Spartans. The Pirates scored five points in the final 12 seconds of the game, including three free throws by Akeem Richmond with 1.2 seconds remaining to take the lead over for good.
The loss dampened the mood for the Spartans as then freshman guard Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy) had a breakout performance. Saddler set a UNCG freshman scoring record in the loss with a career-high 34 points. He connected on 10-of-15 from the field and was 14-of-19 from the free throw line in his coming out party. He also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked one shot and notched a steal in 33 minutes of action.
Two years ago, the Spartans travelled to Greenville and had the Pirates on the ropes with a 54-41 second half lead but ECU closed the game with a 36-19 run to notch a 76-73 victory. Former Spartans Trevis Simpson and Korey Van Dussen scored 19 and 18 points respectively while Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) added 14 points in the loss.
The Spartans enter Sunday's game with a 4-8 overall record and have dropped two straight games to North Carolina and Elon. UNCG will be carrying a two-game road winning streak into the contest having picked up wins over Presbyterian and East Tennessee State. The Spartans will be looking for their first three-game road winning streak since Jan. 19-26, 2008 when they won games at Elon, College of Charleston and The Citadel.
Saddler leads the Spartans in scoring this season at 15.4 points per game and has scored in double figures in 10 of 12 games, including three games with at least 20 points. Saddler also leads the team with 46 assists, 21 steals and 78 free throw attempts. Locke is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game and second on the glass at 5.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 47.1 percent (56-of-118) from the field and has scored 17 points in each of the last two games.
Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) is third on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. White least the team and the Southern Conference on the glass, grabbing 7.8 rebounds per game. He has posted five double-doubles this year and is shooting 54.5 percent (61-of-112) from the field. Senior guard Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) rounds out the Spartans in double figures scoring at 11.7 points per game. Paulos is shooting 45.8 percent (38-of-83) from 3-point land this year and 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from distance in the four road games for UNCG.
East Carolina enters Sunday's game with a 6-6 record on the year but a 5-1 mark at home at Minges. The Pirates have picked up wins over N.C. Wesleyan, Virginia-Lynchburg, Fresno State, Central Connecticut State, James Madison and Florida A&M. ECU has dropped games to UNC Asheville, Green Bay, Hawaii, Florida Atlantic, North Carolina and UNCW.
B.J. Tyson leads the Pirates in scoring at 14.3 points per game, despite coming off the bench in all 12 games this year. Caleb White is second on the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game and has hit 24 3-pointers. Terry Whisnant rounds out the ECU players in double figures at 12.8 points and has hit 23 3-pointers. Paris Campbell missed the first 10 games of the year due to an injury but has averaged 9.5 points in his firs two games.
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