GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team closes out its three-game home stretch Wednesday night as the Spartans host Southern Conference foe Furman. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the ESPN App with Paul Roper and Darryl Kosciak on the call.
The Spartans enter Wednesday's game with a 14-5 overall record and are tied for second place in the league standings with a 5-1 mark in SoCon play. UNCG has won three-straight games with wins over Western Carolina, The Citadel and Mercer. The Spartans have won eight out of their last 10 games and are 10-1 at home this year.
UNCG is averaging 72.1 points per game while holding opponents to a league-best 61.8 points per game. The Spartans are shooting 43.7 percent (489-of-1120) from the field and 35.4 percent (186-of-526) from 3-point land. Opponents are shooting 41.6 percent (389-of-934) from the field and 31.1 percent (113-of-363) from distance.
Junior guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) leads the Spartans in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Alonso leads the team with 67 made 3-pointer, connecting on 44.1 percent. He is also shooting 86.9 percent (53-of-61) from the field and is second on the team with 56 assists. Senior forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) is second on the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game. Smith ranks second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game and is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game in league play. He is shooting 39-of-121 (32.2%) from 3-point land this year.
Sophomore forward James Dickey (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game and 62 offensive rebounds, both league-high marks. Dickey adds 8.1 points per game and is shooting 50 percent (58-of-116) from the field. Freshman guard Isaiah Miller (Covington, Ga./Newton) chips in 7.2 points per game and a team-high 26 steals off the bench. Miller is shooting 50 percent (60-of-120) from the field. Junior guard Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) leads the team with 70 assists while adding 6.6 points per game. Troy is shooting 32.9 percent (25-of-76) from the field. Senior forward Jordy Kuiper (Groningen, Netherlands/Canaries Basketball Academy) adds 6.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Kuiper is fourth on the team with 20 made 3-pointers.
Wednesday's game marks the 32nd meeting all-time between UNCG and Furman. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a 15-16 margin and the two teams have split the regular season series for the past three years. Last season, the Spartans dropped a 73-67 contest at the Greensboro Coliseum in January to the Paladins. UNCG evened the season series by recording a 73-52 victory over Furman in Greenville. The Spartans averaged 70.0 points per game against Furman last year, shooting 50 percent (51-of-102) from the field and 38.8 percent (19-of-49) from 3-point land.
Former Spartans Diante Baldwin and RJ White averaged 17.5 points and 17.0 points per game, respectively. Alonso averaged 16.5 points per game while shooting 60 percent (9-of-15) from deep. Dickey grabbed 12.0 rebounds per game against the Paladins. Furman averaged 62.5 points per game while shooting 40.7 percent (46-of-113) from the field an 28.6 percent (14-of-49) from deep. Devin Sibley, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year, averaged 21.0 points per game while shooting 69.9 percent (16-of-23) from the field. Jordan Lyons added 9.0 points per game while John Davis added 8.0 points per game.
Furman enters Wednesday's game with a 14-6 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Southern Conference play. The Paladins have dropped two out of their last three but those two losses have come at Wofford and by one-point to league-leading ETSU at home. Furman has picked up league wins over VMI, The Citadel, Mercer, Chattanooga and most recently Samford. The Paladins are averaging 79.3 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent (568-of-1230) from the field and 34.9 percent (205-of-588) from distance. Opponents are averaging 68.1 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent (506-of-1156) from the field and 31.6 percent (136-of-431) from 3-point land.
The Paladins have four players averaging over 11.0 points per game and five players with 40 or more assists on the year. Devin Sibley leads the Paladins in scoring at 15.4 points per game and is fourth on the team with 47 assists. Sibley is tied for the team-lead with 37 made 3-pointers, connecting on 37.4 percent. He also grabs 4.6 rebounds per game. Daniel Fowler is second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game and third on the team with 35 made 3-pointers, connecting on 40.2 percent. Fowler also grabs 4.0 rebounds per game and has dished out 46 assists.
Forward Matt Rafferty leads the team with 62 assists while also leading the team with 7.8 rebounds per game. Rafferty averages 11.6 points per game and is shooting 60 percent (93-of-155) from the field. John Davis rounds out the double figure scorers at 11.2 points per game while adding 49 assists. Jordan Lyons is tied for the team lead with 37 made 3-pointers, adding 8.3 points per game.
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