CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The UNCG men's basketball team led from start to finish Saturday evening as the Spartans controlled the game posting a 79-64 victory to knock off Southern Conference leading Chattanooga at McKenzie Arena. The victory is the third in a row for the Spartans who now move into a three-way tie for fifth place overall in the league standings.

Additionally, the victory snapped Chattanooga's 19-game home winning streak becoming the first road team to win in McKenzie since January 5, 2015 (Wofford). Chattanooga entered the game leading the nation with 24 victories on the year.

The victory improves the Spartans to 12-17 overall on the year and 8-8 in league play while Chattanooga falls to 24-5 overall and 13-3 in league play. The Spartans close out the regular season with two straight home games this week, hosting The Citadel Thursday and Mercer Sunday. UNCG is in contention for one of the six first round byes in the upcoming SoCon Tournament as it is currently tied with Mercer and Western Carolina.

“This is a big win for us,” head coach Wes Miller said. “The year Chattanooga is having and the job Matt (McCall) has done this year, makes it a big win for us. RJ White was terrific for us tonight and Diante set the tone for us early getting downhill and into the paint. This was a total team win as we had contributions up and down the lineup. Really proud of my guys tonight for coming into this place and getting a huge road victory.”

The Spartans turned in probably their most efficient game of the year, shooting 67.4 percent (31-of-46) from the field and 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3-point land. UNCG was especially strong in the second half, hitting 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the field. The Spartans also limited the Mocs to just 35.1 percent (20-of-57) shooting from the field and 20.7 percent (6-of-29) from 3-point land in the victory. UNCG out-scored Chattanooga 48-20 in the paint, including 28-8 in the second half.

Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) paced the Spartans' potent attack with a career-high 26 points in 30 minutes of action. White finished the game hitting 11-of-12 from the field, including all 10 of his tow-point attempts on the night. White 91.6 percent field goal percentage is his second-highest of the year, trailing only his perfect 11-of-11 night at ETSU.

Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) fell just shy of his career-high with 22 points while dishing out five assists without committing a turnover against the Chattanooga press. Baldwin connected on 8-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the victory. Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers.

The Spartans started the game strong, opening to an early 14-7 lead just over eight minutes into the game. Baldwin scored five points early, including a 3-pointer, while senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) scored four points on back-to-back possessions.

Chattanooga missed its first 10 shots from 3-point land in the game before Alex Bran hit one in the corner to narrow the UNCG gap to 18-3. The Spartans responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from White and Alonso to take a 24-15 lead.

The Spartans would take their largest first half lead at 32-22 when freshman guard Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) hit from the outside. Tre' McLean pulled the Mocs within six with 1:09 remaining in the half but White scored in the paint to give the Spartans a 34-26 halftime lead.

UNCG connected on 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the field and hit 50 percent (4-of-8) from distance in the opening half. White led the way with 14 points as he was 6-of-6 from the field while Baldwin chipped in seven points and four assists. The Spartans limited Chattanooga to just 31 percent (9-of-29) shooting from the field and just 2-of-15 (13.3%) from distance. The Mocs won the rebounding battle by a 18-15 margin, including nine on the offensive glass. Chuck Ester led Chattanooga with seven points and five rebounds in the first half.

Chattanooga came out of the break and quickly cut the UNCG in half to four at 36-32. The Spartans committed three turnovers in their first four possessions of the second half as Justin Tuoyo and Greg Pryor scored early baskets. The Mocs maintained a four-point deficit at 42-38 when Tre' McLean hit a 3-pointer with 15:31 remaining in the game.

Alonso gave the Spartans breathing room as he scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer to put the Spartans in front 47-38 with 13:25 left. The teams went back-and-forth traded big plays over the next six minutes before Chattanooga cut into the UNCG lead and pulled within six at 58-52 with a Tuoyo free throw with 7:44 remaining.

The Spartans answered the Mocs' push by scoring the next nine points to take a 67-52 lead with 4:53 remaining. White started the run by scoring in the paint with a tough post move before Baldwin drove down the lane to give UNCG a double-digit edge. Alonso capped the one-sided spurt as he hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring for the 15-point advantage.

The Spartans kept the pressure on and after a pair of free throws by White, Baldwin converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to give UNCG its largest lead of the night at 72-54 with 3:17 remaining. The Spartans would keep the Mocs at bay down the stretch as Baldwin hit four straight free throws in the final minute to thwart any thought of a Moc comeback.

Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) finished with seven rebounds and five points as he helped the Spartans win the rebounding battle by a 30-29 margin, including a 15-11 edge in the second half. Troy finished with five points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench in 23 minutes of play.

The Spartans return to action looking to extend their three-game winning streak when they welcome in The Citadel. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum and will be televised on ESPN3 and the ESPN App.

-UNCG-