BIRMINGHAM, Al. – Regardless of how tough of an afternoon the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team was enduring,
Bas Leyte only knows one way to play: All out.
After
Kobe Langley's shot was blocked on a fastbreak attempt, Leyte ran the floor like a thoroughbred and grabbed the offensive rebound. His hard work resulted in a foul being called and shooting a pair of free throws.
Late in the game, trailing by eight points,
Mohammed Abdulsalam drew an offensive foul.
Kobe Langley stepped into the passing lane, stole the ball, and raced coast to coast for a layup to bring UNCG to within three points with 50 seconds remaining.
The effort was there throughout the game for the Spartans. Unfortunately, UNCG could never find its offensive rhythm during a tough 55-49 setback to Samford in a Southern Conference contest at Pete Hanna Arena Saturday.
Trailing by three points with a minute remaining, UNCG forced a missed shot, but couldn't secure the defensive rebound as the loose ball squirted out of the hands of a Spartan player.
Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be for the Spartans despite holding Samford without a basket for the final 8 minutes, 6 seconds of the contest. Samford made two of its final 13 shot attempts.
Records
UNCG 16-12 overall, 8-8 SoCon
Samford 18-9, 8-7
Quotable
UNCG head coach Mike Jones on the game.
"We probably could not have played worse offensively, and it still was a two-possession game on the road against a team that's playing really well. Credit to their defense. I felt they changed defenses and mixed it up and made it hard for us to see where our good looks were. A lot of that responsibility is on me. We have to be better offensively. At the end of the day, you have a chance to win games because you defend with heart and passion and with the exception of about a four- or five-minute segment in the first half, we did that for most of the game."
How It Happened
- Kobe Langley and Bas Leyte led UNCG in scoring with 13 points each.
- Langley complemented his effort with a career-best eight rebounds.
- Kaleb Hunter scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
- Samford was the 13th team this season that UNCG held below 60 points.
- Trailing 48-40, UNCG scored five straight points to close to within, 48-45 thanks to the Langley brothers. Keyshaun made a 3-pointer and Kobe scored a layup.
- After UNCG closed to within, 33-30 and 36-33, early in the second half, Samford's Ques Glover made a 3-pointer to extend the lead.
- UNCG scored seven of the last nine points of the first half to close to within, 33-24, at intermission.
- Kobe Langley made UNCG's first 3-pointer of the contest.
- UNCG's largest deficit was 31-17.
- After the Spartans closed to 21-17, Samford scored 10 consecutive points highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Ques Glover.
- Leyte gave UNCG an early 2-0 lead.
Inside the Numbers
- This was the 11th game this season in which Leyte has scored in double figures.
- He has scored in double-digits 12 times in his career.
- This was the ninth time this season and in his career that Kobe Langley has hit for double figures.
- Hunter has scored in double figures 11 times this season and 41 in his career.
- This was the 22nd time this year that Leyte has finished with at least five rebounds.
- UNCG finished 5-4 on the road in SoCon games this season.
- UNCG won the rebounding battle, 40-34.
- Samford extended its home winning streak to five games.
- Samford ended a 10-game losing streak to UNCG.
- This was Samford's first win over UNCG since 2016.
- Glover scored 20 points.
- Logan Dye finished with 13 points.
- Samford made five of its final six free throws to close the contest.
Up Next
- UNCG hosts Western Carolina on Wednesday in its penultimate regular-season contest of the season.
- Tip-off from the Greensboro Coliseum is at 7 p.m.
2022 SoCon Tournament
- For information regarding the 2022 Ingles Southern Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, N.C., which will run from March 3-7, please visit: www.soconhoops.com. If you would like to purchase tickets, please contact the UNCG Ticket Office at 336-334-3250.
