GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team returns to action Wednesday night as the Spartans host Southern Conference newcomer and former league foe VMI. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. The game will be video streamed online for free in full HD on the SoCon Digital Network and will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and via the TuneIn App with Scott Pryzwansky and Darryl Kosciak providing the call.
Junior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) is second on the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game and second on the team on the glass at 5.4 rebounds per game. Locke has scored in double figures in five straight games and eight out of the last nine games, averaging 14.1 points per game during the stretch. He is coming off a 19-point effort Saturday at Western Carolina where he was 5-of-11 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) is third on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game and leads the team on the glass at 7.0 rebounds per game. White is shooting 53.6 percent (89-of-166) from the field and is coming off his league-leading sixth double-double of the season. He scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds at Western Carolina while also blocking a career-high six shots.
Senior guard Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) is fourth on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game. Paulos has connected on 53-of-124 (42.7%) from 3-point land. Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.2 points per game.
The Spartans enter Wednesday's game with a 5-13 overall record and a 1-4 mark in Southern Conference play. UNCG has dropped four straight games while falling in seven out of its last eight games. The Spartans are 3-6 at home this season as they are averaging 69.8 points per game while allowing 73.8 points per game against.
Sophomore guard Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy) leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game but missed the last game due to a knee injury and is out indefinitely. Saddler has scored in double figures in 13 of 16 games this year, including five games of at least 20 points. Freshman guard Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) made his first career start in Saddler's place, playing 23 minutes and scoring six points.
VMI enters Wednesday's game with a 6-11 overall record and a 2-4 mark in Southern Conference play. The Keydets have dropped five out of their last six games and seven out of nine games. VMI is coming off an 83-73 victory at Furman Saturday. VMI has picked up wins against Marist, Samford, Mid-Atlantic Christian, Johnson and The Citadel. VMI is averaging a league-best 84.0 points per game as it has shot 625 3-pointers, by far the most in the league and the nation. The Keydets have connected on 198 3-pointers, which ranks tops in NCAA Division I.
QJ Peterson leads the Keydets in scoring at 20.2 points per game, ranking second in the SoCon. Peterson has taken 303 shots this season, the most in the SoCon. He has connected on 43-of-153 (28.1%) from distance this year and has dished out 68 assists with 27 steals. Tim Marshall is second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game. Marshall leads the team with 48 3-pointers, connecting on 34.3 percent from distance. Phillip Anglade leads the team on the glass with 6.4 rebounds per game.
The Spartans and Keydets have met 15 times prior to Wednesday's meeting with UNCG holding a slim 8-7 advantage over VMI. Most of the games in the series happened when VMI was a former member of the Southern Conference. The Spartans and Keydets last met Feb. 22, 2003 with VMI posting a 61-60 victory in Lexington. UNCG has won seven of the last eight meetings to the Keydets, including the last contest in Greensboro with a 76-57 win Jan. 13, 2003.
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