SPARTAN ESSENTIALS
Who: Western Carolina (9-15, 3-8)
Where: Ramsey Center | Cullowhee, N.C.
When: Monday, February 7, 2022 | 7 p.m. 
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Listen
Game Notes: UNCG | Western Carolina

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- De'Monte Buckingham has thrilled audiences and dissected defenses from coast-to-coast during his memorable college basketball career. He started at Richmond where he was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. Then took his talents to Bakersfield, California.
 
For his grand finale, Buckingham, a Richmond native, returned to his east coast roots and blessed the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball program with his scoring, rebounding, and leadership gifts.
 
Buckingham achieved a personal milestone when he scored his 1,500th career point at 1:04 p.m. Eastern Standard Time during UNCG's 58-56 victory over Furman Saturday afternoon at Ben Secours Wellness Arena, site of the first two rounds of the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
 
"This means a lot," said Buckingham of his 1,500th point following the Furman game. "When I first came into college, I just wanted to work hard. I feel that my hard work has transitioned over to the games. It's a blessing from the man above that I can achieve this goal. I just want to keep pushing along with my teammates. Scoring my 1,500th career point against a tough team like Furman is special."
 
An explosive package of electricity and grit, Buckingham scored 733 points in two years at Richmond. He added 361 points during his career at Cal State-Bakersfield. This season, in emerging as UNCG's leading scorer, Buckingham has scored 312 points.
 
In addition to his 13.6 points per game average, Buckingham has been a force in other areas as well. He's seventh in the SoCon in rebounding (6.7), ninth in 3-point field goal percentage (42.2), and ninth in 3-pointers made per game (2.2). The 51 3-pointers he's made this season are the most he has made in a single season.
 
"He's a gritty dude and our type of guy," UNCG head men's basketball coach Mike Jones said. "He'll take charges, grab rebounds, dive on the floor, run the court and score points. He's a natural scorer. The other stuff he does is much more impactful. He's willing to be coached at all times and never takes anything personal. We love players like that."
 
Add it up and it's 1,506 points and still counting since UNCG has a minimum of eight games remaining beginning with a trip to Western Carolina Monday night. This will conclude an arduous journey of playing four road games in 12 days in three states.
 
Last Time Out

• Bas Leyte notched his first career double-double to lead UNCG to a 58-56 victory over Furman on Saturday.
• Nicolas Robinson recorded the third triple-double in Western Carolina's NCAA Division I men's basketball era with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, but VMI used a late run to earn a 76-69 victory on Friday.

 
A Look At UNCG

• The Spartans have won two of their last three SoCon road games.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, UNCG has 138 victories, the most of any SoCon program.
• Kaleb Hunter has scored in double figures in three of UNCG's last four games.
• Bas Leyte has grabbed at least five rebounds in five straight games.
• UNCG has held 10 teams below 60 points this season.
• The Spartans lead the SoCon in rebounding margin (+5.7) and are second in scoring defense (64.9).
• UNCG is 5-2 in games decided by three points or less.

 
A Look At Western Carolina

• The Catamounts are 6-3 at home.
• Western Carolina has made 16 3-pointers in two consecutive games.
• Robinson leads Western Carolina in scoring (15.2 points per game).
• Robinson is fifth in the SoCon in rebounding (7.5 per game) and ninth in scoring.
• Travion McCray contributes 11.3 points per contest.
• Vonterius Woolbright is fourth in assists per game (4.0).
• Western Carolina is fifth in the SoCon in rebounding margin.

 
Series History

• Western Carolina won the last meeting between the two teams, 81-80, on Feb. 24, 2021, at the Greensboro Coliseum.
• The teams split last year's season series with each claiming a road victory.
• UNCG's last visit to Cullowhee resulted in an easy 77-56 win on Feb. 22, 2021.
• Western Carolina leads the all-time series, 33-26.
• UNCG has won 10 of the last 11 matchups in this series.

 
Up Next

• UNCG spends the week at home with a pair of games against The Citadel (Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.) and Mercer (Sunday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m.).