GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team takes its four-game winning streak on the road Saturday night as the Spartans travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face Southern Conference foe Samford. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (ET) at the Pete Hanna Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the ESPN App with Ryan Brown and Rick Cleveland on the call.
UNCG enters Saturday's game with a 15-5 overall record and a 6-1 mark in Southern Conference play. The Spartans have won four-straight games and 11 out of their last 13 outings. The Spartans enter Saturday's game leading the Southern Conference and ranking fourth in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 61.8 points per game. The Spartans are holding opponents to 30.8 percent (119-of-386) shooting from 3-point land, ranking 23rd in the nation.
UNCG is coming off an impressive 71-61 victory over Furman Wednesday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans held the league second-highest scoring team to 18 points below its season average and to a season-low 61 points. The Spartans turned the game around in the second half with a 17-1 run, holding Furman without a field goal for over eight minutes.
The Spartans are averaging 72.1 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent (511-of-1167) from the field and 35.5 percent (192-of-541) from 3-point land. Opponents are averaging 61.8 points per game this season while shooting 41.7 percent (412-of-989) from the field and 30.8 percent (119-of-386) from distance.
Junior guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) leads the team in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Alonso ranks third in the conference in scoring. He leads the team with 69 made 3-pointers, connecting on 44.5 percent while also shooting 87 percent (60-of-69) from the free throw line. Senior forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) is second on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game while ranking second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game. Smith is second on the team with 42 made 3-pointers, connecting on 33.1 percent from deep.
Sophomore forward James Dickey (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) leads the team and the SoCon on the glass grabbing 8.4 rebounds per game. Dickey also leads the league with 64 offensive rebounds. He adds 8.3 points per game and is shooting 51.6 percent (63-of-122) from the field. Freshman guard Isaiah Miller (Covington, Ga./Newton) is third on the team in scoring at 7.3 points per game in just 14.8 minutes per game off the bench. Miller is shooting 50.4 percent (63-of-125) from the field.
Junior guard Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) leads the team with 74 assists and averages 6.9 points per game. Troy has hit 26 3-pointer and is shooting 32.9 percent from deep. He has scored in double figures in three-straight games, averaging 11.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game during that stretch. Senior forward Jordy Kuiper (Groningen, Netherlands/Canaries Basketball Academy) adds 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Samford enters Saturday's game with a 7-14 overall record and a 3-5 mark in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs have dropped four-straight games since opening league play with a 3-1 mark. Samford's last four games have been losses at Mercer, Wofford, at Furman and at Chattanooga. The Bulldogs are 6-3 at home this season, including a 2-2 mark in league play. Samford averages 75.0 points per game while shooting 46.9 percent (563-of-1201) from the field and 37.7 percent (190-of-504) from 3-point land. Opponents average 78.9 points per game while shooting 47.9 percent (598-of-1248) from the field and 35.5 percent (199-of-560) from 3-point land.
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and is third on the team with 4.8 rebounds per game. Denzel-Dyson leads the team with 50 3-pointers, connecting on 43.1 percent from deep. He is also shooting 74.7 percent (59-of-79) from the free throw line. Justin Coleman leads the team with 127 assists and is second on the team with 13.1 points per game. Coleman is shooting 37.6 percent from 3-point land, hitting 35 3-pointers. Alex Thompson rounds out the Bulldogs in double figure scorers at 11.7 points per game and has hit 28 3-pointers. Triston Chambers is second on the team with 40 3-pointers, connecting on 47.6 percent.
Saturday's game marks the 21st meeting all-time between UNCG and Samford. The two teams are evenly matched at 10-10 all-time. The teams split the season series last year but the Spartans have won five out of the last six meetings, including the last two games in Birmingham at the Pete Hanna Center. Last season, Samford posted a 62-73 victory in Greensboro in the Spartans' second Southern Conference game of the year. UNCG evened the series with an 81-75 victory on the road against the Bulldogs.
Alonso averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game against Samford, hitting 8-of-22 (36.4%) from distance. Former Spartan RJ White added 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while Diante Baldwin chipped in 14.5 points per game. Kuiper averaged 8.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the field. Denzel-Dyson led the way averaging 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as he hit 5-of-10 from 3-point land. Christen Cunningham added 13.0 points and 5.5 assists per game while Chambers averaged 11.0 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep.
-- UNCG --
