GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team ran its winning streak to five-straight games and secured the sixth and final first round bye in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament with a thrilling 69-65 victory over Mercer Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. The back-and-forth contest saw the Spartans take the lead with 29 seconds remaining to improve to 10-8 in league play on the year.

The Spartans secured the sixth seed by finishing tied with Western Carolina for fifth overall and one game out of third place. UNCG will open the 2016 SoCon Tournament in the quarterfinal round when it faces off against third-seeded Furman Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN3 and the ESPN App while also airing on 1320 WCOG AM and the Tune In App online.

UNCG (14-17, 10-8 SoCon) rallied from a 13-point first half deficit to finish the season 11-4 at home, including 10-3 at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans connected on 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field and hit 12-of-28 (42.9%) from 3-point land in the victory. The Spartans also held Mercer to just 36.2 percent (21-of-58) shooting from the field and only 29 percent (9-of-31) in the second half.

Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) led four in double figures and six players scored at least nine points in the win. Alonso tallied 15 points off the bench as he hit 5-of-9 from distance. Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) fell just shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebound while senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) added 12 points and five rebounds.

Senior guard Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C./Eastern Alamance) got the start on senior night and scored 10 points in 26 minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers. Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) added nine points and seven assists while Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) chipped in nine points on the strength of three 3-pointers.

Mercer (18-12, 8-10) closed out the regular season dropping its last seven games. Demetre Rivers led the Bears with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting while Stephon Jelks and Jordan Strawberry chipped in 11 points apiece.

The Spartans used the energy from senior day to open the game on a 12-6 run through the first five minutes as Smith and Alonso hit early 3-pointers. Mercer responded and turned in a 20-4 run to take a 26-16 lead with 8:41 remaining in the first half. Rivers was the catalyst for the Bears scoring 11 points, including two 3-pointers and three free throws on another long-range attempt.

Mercer extended the lead to 34-21 with 5:54 left in the first half but the Spartans finally settled in and closed the half on a 17-5 run to head to the locker room down by only one at 39-38. UNCG got back into the contest from the outside, hitting four straight 3-pointers in a span of 1:35. Lamot started the run with a 3-pointer before White and Locke hit back-to-back shots. Lamot again hit from the outside to make it a one-possession game.

After a pair of free throws from Baldwin with 32 seconds remaining, UNCG came up with a big stop on the defensive end. Baldwin was able to kick the ball up court and find Lamot behind the defense for the basket just before the buzzer to make it a one-point game.

UNCG connected on 43.8 percent (14-of-32) from the field and hit 7-of-17 from distance in the first half, including its last four attempts. Locke led the way with nine points while Lamot added eight points. Mercer connected on 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the field but hit 7-of-10 (70%) from distance in the opening 20 minutes. Rivers led the way with 13 points in 14 minutes.

After Mercer opened up to a 43-38 lead early in the second half, the Spartans posted a 16-2 run to take a 54-45 lead with 14:24 remaining. Alonso provided the spark, hitting three from outside during the run while Smith nailed another deep shot for the nine-point advantage.

Mercer showed it would not be an easy night though, as the Bears responded with a 12-3 run to tie the game at 57-57 with 9:18 left. Rivers got things going with six points before Strawberry hit a pair of 3-pointers to knot the game up with less than 10 remaining.

The Spartans took a 62-61 lead with 3:13 left in the game when Locke scored off a drive from the wing. Jelks would give Mercer the lead back with a 3-pointer for the 64-62 lead. The game would remain locked in that score until just under a minute when White made an impressive post move and tied the game at 64-64 with 59 seconds remaining.

UNCG would need a stop on defense and a stop it would get on the ensuing possession. Baldwin was able to strip Phillip Leonard on a screen and go the length of the floor for a basket with 29 seconds to go with a 66-64 edge by the Spartans. Leonard would get to the free throw line on the next possession but hit just one-of-two to make it a 66-65 game with 13 seconds remaining.

The Bears fouled before the ball was inbounded and sent Lamot to the line. He calmly hit a pair of free throws to make it a 68-65 game and Mercer would commit a turnover on the ensuing possession. Baldwin iced the game with another free throw with six seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game.

The victory was the fifth in a row for the Spartans, their longest winning streak since winning six straight in 2011-12. Additionally, it secured the Spartans their first winning record in league play since 2011-12 in head coach Wes Miller's interim year.

-UNCG-