GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team will look to get back on the winning track Saturday afternoon as the Spartans travel to Birmingham, Ala., for a Southern Conference matchup against Samford. Game time is set for 4 p.m. (ET) at the Pete Hanna Center.

The game will be aired nationally on the American Sports Network and carried on ESPN3 and the ESPN App. Pete Yanity and Dean Keener will be on the call. The American Sports Network will air in Greensboro on WMYV on channel 15 on Time Warner Cable and North State along with channel 48 on DirectTV, Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse.

The game is a pivotal contest for both teams as the Spartans enter with a 7-4 record in Southern Conference play but have dropped three straight games, the first time all year they have lost multiple games in a row. UNCG currently sits in fourth place overall, just a half game in front of Samford, which owns a 6-4 league record. Both teams are looking up at ETSU and Furman in first place with a 8-2 overall record and Chattanooga in third place with a 7-3 record.

The Spartans are 4-4 on the year on the road, including 3-2 in SoCon play but have dropped their last two road games at Wofford and at Chattanooga. UNCG is averaging 75.1 points per game while allowing 69.4 points per game. The Spartans are shooting 46.4 percent (646-of-1393) from the field and 39 percent (209-of-536) from 3-point land. Opponents are shooting 43.5 percent (573-of-1316) from the field and 36.5 percent (184-of-504) from distance.

Sophomore guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Alonso leads the team with 63 made 3-pointers, connecting on 45.7 percent. He is shooting 89.2 percent (66-of-74) from the free throw line. Senior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game. Baldwin is shooting 37.8 percent (28-of-74) from 3-point land and 78.4 percent (58-of-74) from the free throw line. He leads the team with 100 assists and 46 steals.

Senior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) rounds out the Spartans in double figure scoring at 11.8 points per game. White is second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 54.4 percent (111-of-204) from the field. Junior forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) chips in 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Smith is second on the team with 36 3-pointers, hitting 31.6 percent.

Sophomore guard Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) is third on the team with 34 made 3-pointers, hitting 40.5 percent while averaging 8.2 points per game. Redshirt freshman forward James Dickey (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game and a team-high 57 offensive rebounds. Dickey is coming off an 11-point, nine-rebound contest against Chattanooga.

Samford enters Saturday's game with a 15-8 overall record and has won two straight games with wins at VMI and at home to Western Carolina. In SoCon play, Samford is just 2-3 at home while owning a 4-1 road record in league play. The Bulldogs are averaging 78.3 points per game while allowing 73.4 points per game. Samford is shooting 46.4 percent (604-of-1302) from the field and 39.3 percent (176-of-448) from 3-point land. Opponents are shooting 42.7 percent (606-of-1418) from the field and 32.8 percent (180-of-548) from distance.

Darius Denzel-Dyson leads the team in scoring at 15.0 points per game and is second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per game. Denzel-Dyson leads the team with 53 made 3-pointers, hitting 48.2 percent. Wyatt Walker is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game and leads the league on the glass with 10.0 caroms per game. Walker is shooting 57.3 percent (102-of-178) from the field and 75.4 percent (89-of-118) from the free throw line.

Alex Thompson is third on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game. Thompson ranks second on the team with 44 made 3-pointers, hitting 41.1 percent. Christen Cunningham rounds out the double figure scorers 10.4 points per game and leads the team with 148 assists. Josh Sharkey chips in 9.1 points and 98 assists off the bench.

Saturday's game marks the 20th meeting all-time between UNCG and Samford. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a slim 9-10 margin but have won four out of the last five meetings. UNCG won the last game in Birmingham, posting an 82-77 overtime win last season. Earlier this year, the Spartans suffered a 73-62 loss to the Bulldogs at the Greensboro Coliseum for their first Southern Conference loss of the year.

UNCG connected on just 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the field and only 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from 3-point land in the loss. Samford conversely, connected on 45.7 percent (21-of-46) from the field and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from 3-point land. The Bulldogs also went to the free throw line 29 times, connecting on 72.5 percent. Junior forward Jordy Kuiper (Groningen, Netherlands/Canaries Basketball Academy) led UNCG with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Alonso was the only other Spartan with double figures scoring at 13 points. Denzel-Dyson led Samford with 16 points while Chambers and Cunningham added 14 points apiece.

-- UNCG --