BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the second straight game, the UNCG men's basketball team rallied from a second half deficit as the Spartans overcame an eight-point deficit to force overtime before pulling away from hosting Samford 82-77 Thursday night at the Pete Hanna Center. Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) hit two free throws with 6.0 seconds in regulation to force overtime before the Spartans out-scored Samford 12-7 in the extra period, leading the entire way. UNCG rallied from 10 down in the second half Monday night at home against Wofford before posting a 65-61 victory.

The back-and-forth contest saw the game tied 11 times and there were 12 lead changes throughout, most in the second half down the stretch. The victory improves the Spartans to 11-17 overall on the year and 7-8 in Southern Conference play. The Spartans are tied for sixth place overall with Western Carolina (7-8) and just one game behind Mercer (8-7) for fifth place. The victory, coupled with losses by Samford and The Citadel, assures the Spartans of at least a No. 7 seed in the upcoming tournament as UNCG can be anywhere from No. 4-7 still with three games remaining.

The Spartans had contributions up and down the lineup in the gritty win as they connected on 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field and 35 percent (7-of-20) from distance. UNCG was especially strong from the free throw line, hitting 21 of their first 23 from the charity stripe and finishing the game shooting 84 percent from the line. The victory marked the fourth straight for UNCG over Samford and solidified the season-series sweep for the Spartans.

Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) led five players in double figures in the victory. Alonso scored a game-high 21 points in 29 minutes before fouling out in the second half. He was 6-of-11 from the field, including four 3-pointers, while hitting all five of his free throws. Locke added 15 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes of play. He finished the game 4-of-11 from the field and just 6-of-10 from the free throw line but his two clutch free throws with 6.0 seconds gave the Spartans life in overtime.

Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) added 18 points and seven rebounds in the victory. Baldwin scored 16 of his points after the halftime break, including 14 in the second half as he was 5-of-12 from the field but a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Senior guard Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C./Eastern Alamance) provided a spark off the bench with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Samford (12-17, 3-13 SoCon) finished the night shooting just 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the field and just 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point land. The Bulldogs connected on 75 percent (24-of-32) from the free throw line but hit just four out of their last seven from the line in the closing minutes. Wyatt Walker led Samford with 17 points while Darius Jones-Gibson chipped in 14 points.

UNCG came out of the gate and scored the game's first eight points on its way to a 13-5 lead when Lamot hit his first 3-pointer. The Bulldogs weathered the early storm and were able to match the Spartans 15-7 start with a 15-7 run of their own to tie the game at 22-22 on a Marcus Johnson 3-pointer.

The game was tied at 29-29 with 4:02 remaining in the half before Samford scored six straight, including a basket in the paint by Walker for a 35-29 lead with 37 seconds remaining. Baldwin hit a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left to make it a 35-31 contest before UNCG made a defensive stop to keep it a four-point game at half.

The Spartans connected on just 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from the field and only 25 percent (3-of-12) from distance in the first 20 minutes. UNCG also committed 10 turnovers against the Samford press with Alonso leading the way with seven points. Samford also was careless with the ball in the first half, posting nine turnovers while shooting 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from the field and 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from distance.

Alonso and Locke scored early in the second half to pull the Spartans within one at 36-35 in just 54 seconds. The momentum was short-lived though as Samford tallied a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 47-39 with 15:38 left in regulation. Jones-Gibson scored the first four points of the run before Walker capped the spurt with an old-fashioned 3-point play.

The Spartans kept battling and notched a 12-4 run to tie the game at 54-54 with 9:04 remaining. Baldwin scored the first four points of the run with back-to-back baskets before Alonso scored six straight. He converted an old-fashioned 3-point play on one possession before hitting a 3-pointer from the wing on the ensuing possession to tie the game.

The game would go back-and-forth down the stretch with the lead changes hands numerous times. The Spartans looked in good position with 2:09 remaining as Baldwin scored four straight for a 68=64 lead. Samford came back and scored the next six points to take a 70-68 lead with 17 seconds remaining as Jones-Gibson converted a 3-point play and Christen Cunningham hit one of two at the line to keep it just a two-point game.

The Spartans were able to get the ball inside on the Samford zone and Locke was fouled with 6.0 seconds remaining. He calmly hit the first from the line and after a Samford timeout, nailed the second to knot the game at 70-70. UNCG played strong defense for the final six seconds of regulation to force overtime.

UNCG came out of the short break and quickly took the lead as Alonso hit a 3-pointer for the 73-70 lead. Baldwin would give the Spartans a 75-71 lead with 3:10 left as he scored off a strong drive. The Bulldogs kept battling back and narrowed the gap to 76-75 with 1:58 remaining as Cunningham hit two free throws.

Locke again was fouled and hit a pair of free throws before the Spartans came up with a big defensive stop with 1:07 left in the extra period leading 78-75. Sophomore forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) had one of the biggest baskets of the game as he found a hole in the zone and scored a layup with 44 seconds to make it an 80-75 lead.

Baldwin would seal the Spartans' victory with a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left and UNCG played tough defense in the closing seconds to keep the Bulldogs at ball. Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) added 10 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes of action before fouling out.

UNCG will look to build on its two-game winning streak Saturday evening as the Spartans travel to Chattanooga for a meeting with the league-leading Mocs. Game time is set for 5 p.m. and will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network.

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