GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team begins a five-game road stretch Tuesday night when the Spartans travel to Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN App with Evan Lepler and Dave Odom providing the call. Additionally, the game will air on 1320 WCOG AM and online via the Tune In App with Scott Pryzwansky and Darryl Kosciak on the call.
Tuesday's game marks the first of three games against ACC foes in the next four games for the Spartans, as they also will play at NC State and North Carolina in the month of December. UNCG is just 2-51 all-time against teams from the ACC with its two victories coming at Virginia Tech (2013) and at Georgia Tech (2009).
Tuesday's game also marks the ninth meeting all-tie between UNCG and Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are 8-0 all-time against the Spartans, including a 59-51 victory in 2013. In that game, forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds while former Spartan Kyle Cain tallied 16 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. Devin Thomas led Wake Forest to the victory with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Codi Miller-McIntyre chipped in 11 points.
The Spartans are coming off a 23-point victory Saturday night over Belmont Abbey. The victory improved the Spartans to 4-5 on the season but UNCG is 0-3 on the road this year. The Spartans have four players averaging double figures scoring and six players who score at least 8.0 points per game.
Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) leads the team and ranks first among all freshmen in the Southern Conference in scoring at 11.8 points per game. Alonso has hit a team-high 23 3-pointers this year and is shooting 41.8 percent from distance. Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) is second on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game while grabbing 5.0 rebounds per game.
Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) leads the team on the glass, grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game. White is fourth on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game and is shooting 58.1 percent (36-of-62) from the field. Sophomore Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.7 points per game and has hit 16 3-pointers on the year. Freshman Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) is averaging 6.3 points per game and is coming off a six-assist effort against Belmont Abbey.
Wake Forest enters Tuesday's game with a 6-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark at home this season. The Demon Deacons have picked p wins this year against UMBC, Bucknell, Indiana, UCLA, Rutgers and UCLA while only falling to Richmond and Vanderbilt. Wake Forest is averaging 79.1 points per game while allowing 80.0 points per game.
Thomas leads the Demon Deacons in almost every category as he averages 18.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 54.5 percent (54-of-99) from the field and has gone to the free throw line 66 times in eight games. Cornelius Hudson is second on the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game, despite only playing three games this year.
Bryan Crawford is third on the team in scoring at 12.9 points and leads the team with 34 assists. Dino Mitoglou adds 18 points and 6.8 rebounds per game from the forward position while Mitchell Wilbekin rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.8 points per game.
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