ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The eighth-seeded UNCG men's basketball team advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinals as the Spartans had six players in double figures and held off ninth-seeded Samford 81-76 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville. The Spartans return to action in less than 16 hours as they will face top-seeded Wofford at noon Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center. The game will be aired on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN App nationwide.

“I am pleased with my guys' resilience and their fight tonight, but that is not a new thing,” head coach Wes Miller said. “It is good to seem them get results and rewarded for their resiliency. We took a one game at a time approach entering the tournament and we will start that approach again here very shortly once we get back to the hotel. Our guys are locked in and ready to be back out here in just a few hours for another tough challenge against Wofford.”

The Spartans held the lead against Samford for the final 38:05 of the contest as they got the lead early and never relinquished it, holding off multiple Samford runs. The Spartans' six members in double figures marked a season-high and is the first time UNCG has had six players score in double figures in a game since Jan. 9, 2010 in an 88-78 victory over Furman at the Greensboro Coliseum.

UNCG connected on 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the field and hit 50 percent (7-of-14) from long range in the victory. The Spartans did a lot of their damage on the glass, out-rebounding the Bulldogs by a 37-26 margin, including 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 21 second chance points. Additionally, the Spartans only committed 10 turnovers against the Bulldogs, which use a full court press for the entire game.

Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) led six Spartans in double figures in the victory as he tied his career-high with 19 points. Baldwin also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists in 35 minutes of action. He connected on 7-of-15 from the field and was 5-of-7 from the free throw line, including some pivotal ones late in the contest.

“We wanted to the SoCon Tournament as a new season,” Baldwin said. “We wanted to put together a full 40 minute performance, which was haven't had many this season. We were able to fight and have each other's backs tonight, even when something didn't go our way. Down the stretch, we wanted to play hard on defense because we knew we were going to score on the offensive end.”

Junior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) posted his first career double-double in the victory as he scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. Locke was 4-of-9 from the field and hit 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy) battled through foul trouble all night but ended up scoring 15 points in just 20 minutes of action as he was 6-of-8 from the field.

Senior guard Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) added 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in the all-around effort. Paulos connected on 4-of-6 from 3-point land, including a pivotal shot late in the game after Samford had cut the lead to two points.

“Diante Baldwin was terrific for us tonight,” Miller said. “He has a chance to really be a leader in this program and give us something we haven't had from the point guard position in a long time. I thought everyone on the team contributed tonight with six in double figures. Nicholas had some big 3-pointers for us tonight in key moments. It was just a great team win tonight.”

Samford finished the night shooting 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the field but hit only 3-of-18 from 3-point land. The Bulldogs went to the free throw line 25 times, connecting on 76 percent. Darius Jones-Gibson led Samford with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Evan Taylor and Michael Bradley each added 13 points.

The Spartans and Bulldogs came out of the gate quickly, trading baskets in the first five-plus minutes as the game was tied at 11-11 early. UNCG had the game's first run as it posted a 14-3 run to take a 25-14 lead. The Spartans started the run from the outside as they hit three straight 3-pointers from redshirt sophomore center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco), Paulos and freshman Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy).

Smith capped the run as the converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to run the lead to double figures. Samford did not back down as it responded with a 12-2 run to narrow the gap to 27-26. Jamal Shabazz gave the Bulldogs some energy off the bench as he scored four points in less than five seconds creating havoc in the frontcourt. Tyler Hood pulled the Bulldogs within one as he hit his second 3-pointer of the half off a UNCG turnover.

The Spartans regrouped out of a timeout and scored eight straight points to take a 35-26 lead. Baldwin was the catalyst as he scored on three straight possessions by getting to the basket and Locke scored in the paint for the Spartans. Samford was able to trim away the deficit to just six points at 38-32 heading into the locker room as Christen Cunningham scored in the closing seconds after the Bulldogs had forced the fourth UNCG turnover of the half.

The Spartans connected on 45.7 percent (16-of-35) from the field but hit 4-of-7 (57.1%) from long distance, including four out of their first five 3-point attempts. UNCG also held the edge on the glass by a 21-14 margin but only went to the free throw line three times compared to 10 attempts for Samford. Baldwin led all scorers with 10 points while Smith added eight points. Samford connected on 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field and just 2-of-9 (22.2%) from long range in the half. Darius Jones-Gibson and Hood were tied for the team lead with eight points each in the half.

The scoring didn't slow down the start the second half as each team was able to put points on the board. The Spartans extended their lead to 51-40 with 13:30 left in the game as Saddler scored off a drive and Locke converted a pair of free throws.

The Bulldogs answered back with an 11-1 run to trim the UNCG lead to just two at 52-50 with 10:40 remaining. Bradley started to come alive for Samford as he scored five points in the run and the Bulldogs were able to speed the Spartans' up on offense.

The Spartans didn't wilt and never allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game as they had an answer for each basket. Junior guard Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C./Lees-McRae) hit a big 3-poiner to give the Spartans a 62-56 lead with 8:12 remaining. The Bulldogs kept coming and pulled within two at 67-65 before UNCG posted an 8-2 run to take a 75-67 lead with 3:01 remaining. Paulos sparked the run with a big 3-pointer after the Spartans had broke the Samford press and Saddler capped the spurt by converting an old-fashioned 3-point play.

The teams traded points on the ensuing possessions and Saddler gave UNCG a 77-71 lead with 2:01 remaining as he scored off a drive before fouling on the on the next play. The Bulldogs were able to pull within two at 78-76 with 23.3 seconds remaining as Christen Cunningham scored in the paint.

The Spartans were able to inbound the ball and Baldwin was fouled. He calmly stepped to the free throw line and buried a pair with 21.5 seconds left to make it a two-possession ball game. The Bulldogs were able to get a pair of 3-point attempts off form Tyler Hood, but both shots were off the mark and Locke corralled the final rebound, his 10^th, to secure the victory.

White finished the game with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench as he was 4-of-11 from the field in 25 minutes. Smith added 10 points and four rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting in the victory.

The victory improved the Spartans to 2-1 on the year against Samford as the team split the regular season with both home teams winning games. Additionally, it marked the fifth time in the last seven seasons that UNCG has won at least one game at the SoCon Tournament, improving to 15-16 all-time in the event.

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