CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team continues its road swing through the mountains Monday night as the Spartans travel to Southern Conference rival Western Carolina. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Ramsey Center and will be televised nationally on the American Sports Network (ASN).
The game will be available in Greensboro on WMYV – My 48 and MASN. A full list of stations carrying the game nation-wide is available in the related links table. Evan Lepler and Mack McCarthy will provide the call for ASN. No internet stream is available for the game. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and online via Tune In with Scott Pryzwansky on the call.
The Spartans are coming off a hard fought 86-83 last-second loss at East Tennessee State Saturday evening. The Buccaneers hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining and junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) saw his potential game-tying 3-pointer roll around the rim and out at the buzzer.
The Spartans once again dominated play in the paint, out-scoring ETSU 34-12 in the post. Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) was the catalyst despite only playing 16 minutes before fouling out. White scored 19 points in 16 minutes as he was a perfect 9-of-9 from the field. White's perfect shooting performance ties a UNCG single-game record set by Kyle Hines, who posted a 10-of-10 outing against The Citadel in 2008. In fact, Hines owns the UNCG record with 12 straight made field goals spanning over two games. White enters Monday's game having hit 10 straight field goals with his final make Tuesday night over Furman.
UNCG enters Monday's game with a 5-11 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Southern Conference play. The Spartans are looking for its first road victory of the season Monday night as it is 0-9 on the season away from home. The Spartans are averaging 70.1 points per game while allowing 73.6 points per game. UNCG is shooting 43.1 percent (418-of-970) from the field and opponents are shooting 46.4 percent (402-of-866). The Spartans have connected on 135 3-pointers but opponents have hit 125 from distance.
The Spartans have four players averaging double figures this season. White leads the team in scoring and ranks 11th in the SoCon at 12.3 points per game. He leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 6.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 62.6 percent (66-of-123) from the field. Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game while adding 5.0 rebounds per game.
Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) leads all league freshmen in scoring at 11.3 points per game. Alonso has hit a team-high 38 3-pointers and is shooting 41.8 percent from distance. Additionally, he is shooting 86.2 percent (25-of-29) from the free throw line. Baldwin rounds out the Spartans in double figures scoring at 10.5 points per game. He also leads the team with 70 assists and 29 steals while grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game.
Monday's game marks the 47th meeting between UNCG and Western Carolina. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a 16-30 margin and have lost seven straight meetings to the Catamounts. Also, the Spartans have dropped 15 out of the last 16 meetings to Western Carolina dating back to the 2008-09 season. UNCG has dropped six straight in Cullowhee with its last victory at the Ramsey Center coming February 21, 2008 with a 74-62 victory. That season, the Spartans swept the season series to even the series record to 15-15 before the recent streak by WCU.
Last year, the Spartans dropped an 82-72 contest in Cullowhee before falling 78-73 at the Greensboro Coliseum. Forward Kayel Locke averaged 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in the two games, including 19 points in the loss on the road. Center R.J. White averaged 13.5 points on the strength of a 22-point effort at the Ramsey Center. Mike Brown led the Catamounts last season against UNCG, averaging 19.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Torrion Brummitt added 14.5 points and Rhett Harrelson chipped in 13.5 points as he hit 6-of-11 (54.5%) from long range.
Western Carolina enters Monday's game with a 6-9 overall record and a 1-1 record in Southern Conference play. The Catamounts opened league play with a 16-point loss at home to ETSU before rebounding Saturday with a 21-point victory at home over VMI. Western Carolina is 6-1 this season at home with its lone loss to the Buccaneers. WCU is averaging 72.6 points per game while allowing 71.7 points per game. The Catamounts are shooting 39.7 percent (365-of-919) from the field while opponents are shooting 43.8 percent (366-of-835) from the field.
Brown leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game and also adds 5.7 rebounds per game. He has hit 21 3-pointers while going to the free throw line 76 times. Brummitt is second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game while leading the team with 6.6 rebounds per game. He also gets to the free throw line, ranking second on the team with 72 attempts.
Senior Rhett Harrelson adds 12.0 points per game as he is shooting 39.6 percent (36-of-91) from distance. Elijah Pughsley adds 10.0 points per game and is second on the team with 32 made 3-pointers. Justin Browning chips in 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds from his forward position.
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