GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team picked up its second win of the season Tuesday night as the Spartans posted a convincing 81-60 victory over visiting Chowan at the Greensboro Coliseum as part of the Spartan Showcase. UNCG had seven different players score at least six points in the victory, including three in double figures.

“We got better tonight from our first game against Greensboro College and that's what we want our guys to do – get better each game,” head coach Wes Miller said. “We still have things to work on and improve but if we can get better each day in practice and get better each game, that will go a long way to us having success.”

Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) made his first appearance of the season and scored a game-high 19 points off the bench. White connected on 7-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line in his first game back from injury. Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) added 18 points and seven rebounds as the Spartans scored 36 points in the paint in the victory. Locke connected on 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line while grabbing seven rebounds.

“It was great having R.J. back out on the floor tonight, doing the things we know he can do for this team,” Miller said. “R.J. and Kayel worked really well tonight off of each other and made it difficult for Chowan to guard the two of them in the post. They have now played with each other going on three years and you can see that continuity between them in their games.”

Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) scored in double figures for his second straight game, posting 12 points off the bench on 4-of-8 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. Junior guard Clay Byrd (Connelly Springs, N.C./East Burke) added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range while senior Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C./Lees-McRae) and junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) each chipped in seven points.

The Spartans as a team connected on 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the field and hit 8-of-18 (44.4%) from long range. UNCG held Chowan to 35.6 percent (21-of-59) shooting from the field and just 25 percent (4-of-16) from distance. Hank Edmonds led the Hawks with 16 points while Marco Haskins chipped in 15 points.

Chowan (1-2) came out of the gate quickly, scoring the game's first seven points to force a UNCG timeout. The Spartans settled in and answered back with a 12-2 run to take a 12-9 lead. Lamot and Byrd hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run and Alonso scored in transition to cap the spurt.

The Spartans kept adding to their lead, taking a 30-21 lead and forcing Chowan into a timeout. White gave UNCG a spark off the bench, scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Baldwin sent the Spartans into the locker room with a 10-point lead at 35-25 as he scored on the final possession of the half.

UNCG connected on 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the field, including three 3-pointers while out-rebounding Chowan 22-15 in the half. Locke led the Spartans in the first half with eight points while Baldwin and White each chipped in seven points. Lamot hit 2-of-4 from 3-point land in the first half while Alonso scored four points.

Chowan connected on 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field and 30 percent (3-of-10) from long range in the first half. Jeremy Smith led the Hawks with eight points while Marco Haskins added even points.

The Spartans came out of the halftime break and quickly extended their lead to 17 at 45-28 just under four minutes into the half with an 8-2 run. Byrd started the spurt with a 3-pointer and sophomore Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) capped the run with an emphatic slam-dunk in transition.

After Chowan pulled within nine at 54-45, the Spartans ended any doubt with an 11-4 run to take the lead back in double figures at 68-51. Alonso did the damage from the outside, hitting a 3-pointer, before Locke and White added four points apiece in the run that sealed the game away.

The Spartans hit the road for the first time this season Saturday night as they travel to Orlando, Fla., for a meeting against UCF. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off and will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN App.

-UNCG-