GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team carries a four-game winning streak into Saturday night's game as the Spartans will host former conference rival Liberty in a rare game on campus at Fleming Gymnasium. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off and will be aired on ESPN3 and the ESPN App with Scott Pryzwansky and Darryl Kosciak on the call.
UNCG enters Saturday's game with a 5-2 overall record and has won four straight games for the first time in non-conference play since 2014-15. The Spartans' 5-2 record through the first seven games of the season is their best start since the 2004-05 campaign when that team opened with a 5-2 record on its way to a 7-2 record through the first nine games. The 2004-05 team finished the year with an 18-12 record, the fifth most wins in program history at the NCAA Division I level.
Saturday marks the 18th meeting all-time between UNCG and Liberty. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a slim 9-8 margin but have won the last two meetings and four out of the last five in the series. The two teams played a home-and-home series in 2003-04 and 2004-05 with the Spartans taking a 74-69 victory in Lynchburg and a 74-63 victory in Greensboro. The two former Big South Conference rivals played 15 of their meetings from 1992-97 before the Spartans left for the Southern Conference.
The Spartans have picked up wins this year against Presbyterian, North Dakota State, Navy, Belmont Abbey and most recently N.C. A&T. UNCG is averaging 68.9 points per game this season while limiting opponents to a Southern Conference best 59.1 points per game. The Spartans shooting 43.2 percent (183-of-424) from the field and 36.2 percent (68-of-188) form 3-point land.
The Spartans have five players averaging at least 8.0 points per game and six players over 6.7 points per game. Senior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) leads the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game. Baldwin also leads the team with 28 assists and 16 steals while grabbing 4.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from 3-point land this year.
Sophomore guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) is second on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game. Alonso leads the team with 20 3-pointers made, hitting at a 42.6 percent clip. Senior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) is third on the team in scoring at 19.1 points per game and tied for the team lead on the glass at 5.3 rebounds per game. Junior forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) adds 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Sophomore Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) is second on the team with 25 assists and is shooting 40 percent (12-of-30) from 3-point land. Troy is fifth on the team in scoring at 8.0 points per game. Junior forward Jordy Kuiper (Groningen, Netherlands/Canaries Basketball Academy) adds 6.7 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Redshirt freshman James Dickey (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) leads the team with 11 blocked shots and grabs 5.2 rebounds per game.
Liberty enters Saturday's game with a 4-3 overall record and a 0-2 mark on the road this season. The Flames have picked up wins over Cairn, UMass Lowell, Mississippi Valley and Central Pennsylvania while falling to VCU and Indiana. Liberty is averaging 67.7 points per game while holding opponents to 66.1 points per game. The Flames are shooting 42.0 percent (155-of-369) from the field and 36 percent (67-of-186) from 3-point land.
Caleb Homesley leads the Flames in scoring at 13.4 points per game and on the glass with 5.7 rebounds per game. Homesley is shooting 47.8 percent (33-of-69) from the field. Ryan Kemrite is second on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game. Kemrite leads the team with 18 3-pointers made, hitting at 48.6 percent. John Dawson rounds out the Flames in double figures scoring at 10.0 points per game. Dawson leads the team with 22 assists and is second with 12 3-pointers made.
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