SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a battle of contrasting styles, the UNCG men's basketball team opened Southern Conference play Saturday night with an 87-76 loss at defending league champion Wofford at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Spartans open the home portion of the league schedule Tuesday night when they host Furman in their first home game in almost a month. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Spartans scored 48 points in the paint in the loss while the Terriers connected on 11 3-pointers and hit 92.3 percent from the free throw line in the victory. The game also featured 17 lead changes and was tied 10 times in the back-and-forth affair that saw the Terriers pull away late in the second half.

UNCG (4-10, 0-1 SoCon) controlled play in the paint, out-scoring Wofford 48-18. Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) led four Spartans in double figures with 19 points, despite only play 23 minutes because of foul trouble. White connected on 9-of-12 from the field in the loss as the Spartans finished the game shooting 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from the field.

Wofford (4-9, 1-0 SoCon) was hot shooting all night, especially in the second half as it finished the game 26-of-52 (50%) from the field and 11-of-23 (42.3%) from long range. The Terriers hit 8-of-13 3-pointers in the second half when they out-scored UNCG 51-40. Additionally, Wofford was stellar from the free throw line hitting 24-of-26 (92.3%) compared to just 7-of-16 (43.8%) for the Spartans. Spencer Collins led four Terriers in double figures with a game-high 25 points as he was 8-of-13 from the field and hit 5-of-7 from long range while Eric Garcia added 17 points on 3-of-4 shooting from distance.

Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) added 14 points and six assists for the Spartans as he was 6-of-9 from the field. Sophomore forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) added 13 points and five rebounds while senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) also added 13 points and five rebounds in the loss.

The first half saw each team trade baskets in a fierce battle. The Spartans went inside from the start as Locke scored the first four points of the game for UNCG. White started to heat up on the inside, scoring eight straight on his way to 10 first half points just 10 minutes in before picking up his second foul with Wofford up 18-17.

Even with White out of the lineup, the Spartans kept working on the inside. Redshirt freshman center Lloyd Burgess (Durham, N.C./Christ School) came off the bench and imposed his will on the inside, scoring a career-high seven points in the last 10 minutes of the half as UNCG went into the locker room tied with Wofford 36-36.

The Spartans out-scored the Terriers 24-8 in the paint as they connected on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field but only hit just 2-of-8 (25%) from the free throw line. White led the way with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Burgess added seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. Wofford connected on 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the field but the Terriers hit a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe as eight different players scored. Collins led Wofford with seven points while Justin Gordon and Garcia each chipped in six points in the half.

The teams started the second half much like the first, trading baskets before Baldwin hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to give UNCG a 47-44 lead. Wofford kept battling and retook the lead on an Eric Garcia 3-pointer to make it a 49-47 Wofford lead. The Spartans answered back and took their last lead of the game at 50-49 when White scored again in the post.

Wofford responded with a 9-2 run to take a 58-52 lead with 11:53 remaining. Collins was the catalyst, scoring all nine points in the run with two 3-pointers and an old-fashioned 3-point play in a span of 1:28. The Spartans kept fighting and pulled within two at 58-56 as freshman Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) and Locke scored on consecutive possessions.

The Terriers kept shooting and rattled off an 11-4 run to take a 69-60 lead as Garcia hit another big 3-pointer. Smith trimmed the gap to 69-63 with a 3-pointer but Wofford ended any doubt from distance as Garcia and Collins nailed two straight for the 75-63 lead. The Terriers sealed the victory at the free throw line, hitting nine of their last 10 from the charity stripe.

-UNCG-