GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team hits the road for the final time this season as the Spartans begin a two-game swing through the western part of the Southern Conference beginning Thursday night when they take on the Samford Bulldogs. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (ET) at the Pete Hanna Center and will be televised on ESPN3 and the ESPN App with Mike Grace and Marc Salyers on the call. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM with Scott Pryzwansky on the air with a 7:45 p.m. pre-game show.
The Spartans enter Thursday's game currently tied with Western Carolina for sixth place with a 6-8 record overall, with four games remaining on the schedule. The top six teams in the Southern Conference Tournament earn first round byes. The Spartans close the season with games at Samford and Chattanooga before hosting The Citadel and Mercer. Western Carolina travels to Mercer and The Citadel this week before hosting Wofford and Furman. UNCG and WCU split the regular season series with the home team winning each game. Currently, Western Carolina has the top win in conference among both teams thanks to its victory over first-place Chattanooga. The Spartans have a win over second-place Furman as their top victory.
Thursday's game marks the 19th meeting all-time between UNCG and Samford. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a narrow 9-8 margin but have won three out of the last four games over the last two seasons. Last year, the teams split the regular season series with Samford posting an 89-78 victory in Birmingham before UNCG returned the favor with an 81-67 win in Greensboro. The Spartans picked up their second win over Samford last year in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament, posting an 81-76 victory in Asheville.
Earlier this season, the Spartans picked up an 86-78 victory in Greensboro. UNCG rallied from a six-point second half deficit and took control with a late 11-2 run to seal the victory as all five starters scored in double figures. Sophomore forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) led all scorers with 20 points as he was 5-of-10 from three-point land.
Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) added 17 points while junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds. White is averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the last four games against Samford, shooting 56.4 percent (22-of-39) from the field. Locke is averaging 14.7 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game during the last four games while junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) is averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 assists per game.
The Spartans snapped a three-game losing streak Monday night with a 65-61 victory over Wofford. The victory improved the Spartans to 10-17 overall on the year and 6-8 in Southern Conference play. The Spartans are averaging 72.1 points per game while holding opponents to 74.4 points per game. UNCG is shooting 44.2 percent (702-of-1589) from the field and 35.3 percent (231-of-654) from distance.
Locke leads four Spartans in double figures at 13.1 points per game. He is second on the team averaging 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 46.5 percent (141-of-303) from the field. Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) is second on the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game. Alonso leads the team with 65 made 3-pointers, hitting at a 38.2 percent clip.
White is third on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game. He leads the team on the glass, grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 61.2 percent (128-of-209) from the field. Baldwin rounds out the Spartans in double figures with 10.8 points per game. He leads the team with 135 assists and adds 5.2 rebounds per game. Smith chips in 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 46 made 3-pointers.
Samford enters Thursday's game with a 12-16 overall record and a 3-12 mark in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs have dropped two straight and 10 out of their last 11 games but all but one of those losses have been by single digits. Samford is averaging 74.2 points per game while holding opponents to 74.0 points per game. The Bulldogs are shooting 45.8 percent (724-of-1581) from the field and 32.8 percent (156-of-475) from distance.
Darius Jones-Gibson leads three Samford players in double figures scoring at 15.0 points per game. Jones-Gibson is second on the team with 96 assists and is shooting 48.4 percent (135-of-279) from the field. He has gone to the free throw line a team-high 198 times, hitting 68.7 percent. Christen Cunningham is second on the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game. Cunningham leads the team with 110 assists and is shooting 83 percent (122-of-147) from the free throw line.
Wyatt Walker rounds out the Bulldogs in double figures are 10.5 points per game. Walker is shooting 58.1 percent (115-of-198) from the field and leads the team on the glass with 6.0 rebounds per game. Matt Rose leads the team with 55 3-pointers while adding 9.2 points per game.
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