GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team picked up its first-ever postseason tournament victory Wednesday night as the Spartans recorded a 69-65 victory over Houston Baptist in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) at the Greensboro Coliseum. The victory advances the Spartans to the second round of the CBI Monday night (March 21) when they travel to Athens, Ohio to take on the Ohio Bobcats (22-11) at 7 p.m.

Wednesday's game marks the fourth postseason appearance for the Spartans in program history at the NCAA Division I level. UNCG last participated in the postseason in 2002 with one game in the NIT. The Spartans also played in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and 1996, falling both time in the first round. The Spartans improve to 15-18 on the season, marking their most victories since posting a 19-12 record in 2007-08. Additionally, UNCG improved to 12-4 at home this year, its most home wins since going 12-6 in 2000-01.

UNCG rallied from a six-point second half deficit and broke the game open with a 20-2 second half run before holding off the Huskies down the stretch. The Spartans finished the game connecting on 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the field and hit 10-of-27 (37.0%) from 3-point land.

The Spartans had four players score in double figures in the victory to overcome an uncharacteristic 14-turnover performance. Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) led the way with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting to add to his UNCG-freshman scoring record, currently at 435 points. Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) added 16 points and four assists as he hit a career-high 4-of-4 from 3-point land.

Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) was dominant on the inside scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds. White connected on 6-of-10 from the field and currently has scored 998 career points, just two shy of joining the 1,000-career point mark. Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) added 13 points and five rebounds as the four Spartans in double figures combined for 61 of the Spartans' 69 points in the victory.

Houston Baptist (17-17) of the Southland Conference, was limited to just 37.1 percent (23-of-62) shooting from the field and just 8-of-19 (42.1%) from 3-point land. Anthony Odunsi posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds while Colter Lasher added 12 points and Jourdan Stickler chipped in 10 points.

Both teams came out of the gate slowly, but the Spartans fell behind 15-11 early as they hit just 5 of their first 17 shots after an 11-day layoff. The Spartans settled in with the help of the outside shot as Alonso and Baldwin hit 3-pointers to give UNCG a 21-20 lead with 7:15 remaining in the first half.

Houston Baptist took a 39-32 lead with 2:52 remaining in the half as Stickler hit a 3-pointer to take their largest lead of the game. The Spartans had a pivotal 6-0 spurt down the stretch to head into the locker room trailing by just one at 39-38. UNCG changed the momentum on the defensive end, coming up with a pair of steals that led to back-to-back layups from Alonso to head into the half with the morale boost.

The Spartans finished the first half shooting 42.3 percent (14-of-33) from the field as they hit nine of their last 16 shots of the half. Alonso led the way with 12 points in the first half while Baldwin chipped in eight points. Houston Baptist was held to 38.7 percent (12-of-31) shooting from the field but hit 10-of-11 from the free throw line.

The teams came out in the second half and traded baskets until HBU scored six straight to take a 51-45 lead with 12:04 remaining as Stephen O'Suji scored in the paint. UNCG showed its mettle as it responded from a game-changing 20-2 run to take a 65-53 lead with 5:41 remaining.

Freshman guard Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) started the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. After a basket from HBU, White scored seven straight points to give the Spartans back the lead for good at 55-53. He started his personal run with a 3-pointer before scoring four straight in the post.

Baldwin took over next, scoring five straight points including another 3-pointer. Next up was Locke who capped the spurt with five points, including an old-fashioned 3-point play to give UNCG the 12-point advantage. The Spartans hit 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line during the run.

Houston Baptist tried to make a late push answering back with nine straight to narrow the gap to 65-62 with 2:14 remaining. The Huskies got back-to-back 3-pointers from Asa Cantwell and Odunsi to make it a one possession game. The Spartans needed a basket on their ensuing possession and Alonso worked his way free for a 3-pointer to push the advantage to 68-62. UNCG was able to come up with stops down the stretch on defense to preserve the victory.

-UNCG-