GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team begins a stretch where it will play four of its next five Southern Conference games on the road, beginning Thursday night when the Spartans head to Greenville, S.C., for a meeting with Furman. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Timmons Arena. The game will be streamed in full HD on the SoCon Digital Network for free and will also be radio broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and the TuneIn App with Scott Pryzwansky providing the call.
The Spartans will be looking to snap a two-game skid in league play Thursday after dropping back-to-back games at home to Mercer and The Citadel. UNCG is 2-3 this season on the road with wins at Presbyterian and East Tennessee State, its only road SoCon game to this point.
Sophomore guard Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy) leads the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game while grabbing 4.3 rebounds per game. Saddler has scored in double figures in 13 of 16 games this season, including five games with at least 20 points. He also leads the team with 61 assists, 30 steals and 92 free throw attempts.
Junior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) is second on the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game and second on the glass at 5.6 rebounds per game. Locke is shooting 46.8 percent (74-of-158) from the field and has attempted 83 free throws. Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) leads the team and the SoCon on the glass, grabbing 6.9 rebounds per game. White is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and is shooting 54.2 percent (78-of-144) from the field.
Senior guard Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) is fourth on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game. Paulos leads the team with 50 3-pointers and is shooting at 45.5 percent from long range, good for fourth best in the conference. Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) rounds out the Spartans in double figures at 10.1 points per game. Baldwin missed the first eight games of the season due to injury.
Furman enters Thursday's game with a 3-10 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Southern Conference play. The Paladins have dropped two straight games and have lost six out of their last seven games. Furman has picked up wins this season over Appalachian State, Samford and St. Andrew -- all at home where it has a 3-2 record this year. The Paladins are averaging 64.2 points per game and allowing 71.0 points per game.
Stephen Croone leads Furman in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Croone is shooting 44.4 percent (56-of-126) from the field, 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from long range and 81.8 percent (72-of-88) from the free throw line. He also averages 4.1 rebounds per game and leads the team with 35 assists and 26 steals. Geoff Beans is second on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game and is tied for the team-lead with 22 3-pointers. Kendrec Ferrara leads the team on the glass at 5.2 rebounds per game while averaging 9.2 points per game.
Thursday's game marks the 25th meeting all-time between UNCG and Furman. The teams are deadlocked at 12-12 in the all-time series with the Spartans winning the last two meetings. Last season, the Spartans posted a 90-82 victory at home at the Greensboro Coliseum. Locke led the way with 18 points as he was 8-of-12 from the field while Saddler added 17 points while shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Croone and Ferrara led the Paladins with 21 points each in the loss. UNCG won the last meeting in Greenville, posting an 88-65 win in February of 2013.
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