CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The UNCG men's basketball team closes out the road potion of the regular season Saturday afternoon when the Spartans travel to Southern Conference leader and preseason favorite Chattanooga. Game time is set for 5 p.m. at the McKenzie Center and will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG and online via the Tune In App with Luke Martin on the call.

The Spartans enter Saturday's game in a dogfight for a top six seed in the SoCon Tournament. The top six seeds in the tournament earn a first round bye. UNCG is tied with Western Carolina for sixth place overall with a 7-8 league record and is just one game out of fifth place held by Mercer (8-7) with three games left to play. The Spartans will play Chattanooga Saturday before hosting The Citadel and Mercer. Western Carolina is slated to play at The Citadel Saturday before hosting Wofford and Furman. Mercer hosts East Tennessee State before hitting the road at VMI and UNCG.

UNCG enters Saturday's game with an 11-17 overall record and a 7-8 mark in Southern Conference play. The Spartans have won back-to-back games this week, picking up victories over Wofford at home and Samford on the road. In both of those games, the Spartans rallied from at least an eight-point second half deficit to claim the victory. The Spartans are averaging 72.5 points per game while holding opponents to 74.5 points per game. UNCG is shooting 44.2 percent (729-of-1651) from the field and 35.3 percent (238-of-674) from 3-point land.

Four different Spartans are averaging double figures in scoring this year. Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) leads the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game and is second on the glass grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game. Locke has scored in double figures 19 times this year, including the last 10 games. During that 10-game stretch, Locke is averaging 17.0 points per game. Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game. Alonso leads the team with 69 3-pointers and is also shooting 85.5 percent (71-of-83) from the free throw line.

Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) is third on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game and is shooting 60.7 percent (133-of-219) from the field. White leads the team and ranks third in the league on the glass at 7.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) rounds out the Spartans in double figures scoring at 11.0 points per game. Baldwin also leads the team with 138 assists and grabs 5.3 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) is second on the team with 46 3-pointers while adding 9.7 points per game.

Saturday's game marks the 39th meeting in program history. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a 22-16 margin, including losses in four out of the last five meetings. UNCG last defeated Chattanooga Feb. 23, 2014 (88-84) and last won on the road against the Mocs Feb. 21, 2013 (94-68) – also the same year UNCG last defeated Samford on the road.

Earlier this year, the Spartans dropped a 73-60 contest to Chattanooga at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans held a 10-point second half lead but preseason favorite Chattanooga closed the game on a 39-16 run. It was a tale of two halves for the Spartans offensively as they connected on 56.5 percent (13-of-23) in the first half by were limited to 33.3 percent (9-of-27) in the second half when they were out-scored 44-25. Chattanooga conversely finished the night shooting 51.1 percent (23-of-45) from the field and 50 percent (11-of-22) from 3-point land.

Alonso paced the Spartans with 19 points, 12 of which came in the first half as he was 4-of-7 from the field in the first 20 minutes but was held to 2-of-8 shooting in the second half. Locke was the only other Spartan in double figures, posting 13 points while White was held to just eight points and seven rebounds. Eric Robertson led the Mocs with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from distance in 33 minutes of play. Justin Tuoyo added 18 points while Greg Pryor posted 10 points and Tre' McLean added nine points.

Chattanooga enters Saturday's game with a 24-4 overall record and a 13-2 mark in Southern Conference play. The Mocs hold a two-game lead on the conference and can clinch a share of the regular season title with a victory Saturday. Chattanooga is 12-0 at home this season, including 7-0 in league play. The Mocs have won their last two games, defeating ETSU and VMI. Chattanooga has only lost to Furman and Western Carolina, both teams UNCG has defeated this year. The Mocs are averaging 77.3 points per game while holding opponents to 66.6 points per game. Chattanooga is shooting 47 percent (738-of-1569) from the field and hitting 37.7 percent (222-of-589) from 3-point land.

Tre' McLean leads the Mocs in scoring at 12.2 points per game. McLean is also leading the team on the glass with 6.4 rebounds per game ... He is shooting 49 percent (123-of-251) from the field and has hit 28 3-pointers. Justin Tuoyo is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game while grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game. Tuoyo is shooting 55.2 percent (111-of-201) from the field and leads the league with 60 blocked shots.

Greg Pryor leads the team with 105 assists and is averaging 10.1 points per game while hitting 36 3-pointers this year. Eric Robertson leads the team with 72 3-pointers made, hitting at a 43.6 percent clip. The Mocs have been without the preseason SoCon Player of the Year, Casey Jones, since the eighth game of the year. Jones will miss the remainder of the year.

-UNCG-