UNCG Notches Big Southern Conference Win

UNC Greensboro Pulls Within a Game of League Leading ETSU in the Loss Column

UNC Greensboro blocked a school-record 14 shots en route to ending the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games, as the Spartans posted a 74-56 win over East Tennessee State in Southern Conference basketball action Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

With the win, the Spartans improved to 20-6 overall and 11-2 in Southern Conference play, while the Bucs fell to 22-5 overall and 13-1 in league play. The 20th win by the Spartans marks the first time since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1993-94 that UNCG has registered back-to-back 20-win campaigns.

Francis Alonso went for 20 pts/photo courtesy UNCG athletics

The Spartans posted a 25-10 mark and qualified for the NIT last season. The Spartans also set a new school-record for home wins, having posted a 14-1 record at both the Greensboro Coliseum and Fleming Gym this season. It was the ninth win in the past 10 games for the Spartans, and was UNCG's fourth-straight win. The win by UNCG avenged what was a 68-58 loss to the Bucs back on Jan. 13, and the Bucs have won three of the past five matchups between the two programs, which dates back to the start of the 2016-17 season, with ETSU claiming one of its two wins in the 2017 Southern Conference championship game, with a 79-74 win.

The Spartans put on another defensive exhibition Monday night, as the nation's eighth-ranked scoring defense held the Bucs to a season lows for points (56), field goal percentage (30.3%), while also blocking a school-record 14 shots. Sophomore center James Dickey came into the game as the SoCon's leading shot blocker with 46 on the season, and on Monday night, he showed why, blocking a single-game school-record with eight blocks in the win. 

Dickey's eight blocks against the Spartans surpassed the previous record of seven swats set by former Southern Conference and Spartan great Kyle Hines. Hines blocked seven shots in a game five times in his standout career, which spanned from 2004-08. In addition to his eight blocks, Dickey also added eight points and seven rebounds to his overall stat line. 

The Spartans had three players finish with double-figure scoring efforts, with Francis Alonso leading the way with 20 points . Alonso finished the night connecting on 6-of-13 shots from the field, including 3-for-7 from three-point land and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. In addition to his point production, Alonso also posted two steals, two rebounds and an assist in the win. 

In addition to Alonso, junior guard Demetrius Troy and senior forward Jordy Kuiper and added 17 and 13 points, respectively, to the UNCG cause. 

The Spartans looked like they might break the game wide open in the opening half of play, using a 10-2 run to race out to a 23-11 lead after an Alonso layup with 10:33 remaining in the opening frame. However, the Bucs would eventually close to within two by the halftime break, at 33-31, after Jalan McCloud connected on a three as time expired in the half, as the Bucs closed the half on a 20-8 run to close the gap.

In the second half, the Spartans didn't let that momentum established by the Bucs on the McCloud triple, as UNCG would stretch its lead back to seven following a 7-2 spurt to open up a 40-33 lead following an Alonso triple and a Kuiper layup off the glass with 17:38 remaining in the game. 

After ETSU narrowed the UNCG lead to five, at 44-39, following a Devontavius Payne triple with 9:53 to play. However, the Spartans would score the next nine points of the game to open up a 14-point lead (53-39) after a Kuiper triple with 11:14 left. Over the final 11 minutes, the Spartans' lead would never dip below double digits, and the Spartans would extend their lead to as much as 20 points on a triple from Marvin Smith triple with 1:04 remaining, giving UNCG its largest lead of the game, at 74-54. 

That Smith triple completed a 17-8 run down the stretch to put the game out of reach. ETSU's Desonta Bradford capped the game with two of his game-high 21 points on an angry, emphatic dunk to set the final margin. 

 Bradford was the only Buccaneer player in double figures, posting 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range. Bradford also connected on 4-of-5 shots from the charity stripe. In addition to his scoring performance, Bradford added six boards, four steals and an assist to round out his night. 

The Bucs had a season-low four assists on 20 made field goals, connecting on 20-of-66 shots in the game. The Bucs did hold advantages on the backboards (42-40), bench scoring (22-11), points off turnovers (17-10), and second-chance points (20-12). 

Meanwhile, the Spartans held a narrow advantage in points in the paint (28-26) and shot the ball at a 49.1% (27-of-55) clip from the field for the game, including an impressive 55% (11-of-20) from three-point land. The Spartans knocked down 69.2% from their shots from the charity stripe (9-of-13) for the game. The Spartans turned the ball over 14 times, while forcing 10 ETSU miscues. UNCG recorded 13 assists on 27 made baskets.  

UNCG returns to action Thursday night, with a trip to The Citadel's McAlister Field House in a tip-off time set for 7 p.m. ETSU will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday, with a short trek over to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts. Tip-off time is set for 2 p.m. for that contest. 

Mercer Claims Third Straight Win; Top Samford 74-69

Mercer claimed its third-straight Southern Conference win, as the Bears downed Samford, 74-69, Monday night at the Pete Hanna Center.

With the win, the Bears improved to 13-13 overall and 6-7 in Southern Conference play, while Samford fell to 9-19 overall and 5-10 in league action. The Bears put themselves in prime positioning to draw one of the top six seeds for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville next month. The win gives Mercer, who defeated Samford 81-50 at Hawkins Arena last month, the season sweep of the Bulldogs. 

Mercer's Ross Cummings/Photo courtesy of Mercer athletics

Sophomore sharp-shooter Ross Cummings continued his strong play of late, leading three Bears in double figures, as he posted a game-high 21 points in the win. For the game, Cummings connected on 7-of-15 shots from the field, including 4-for-10 from three-point range and was 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. He also added four boards, a steal and an assist to his overall stat line. Thirteen of Cummings 21 points came in the second half. 

'

Jordan Strawberry and Demetre Rivers closed out the double-figure scorers for the Bears, adding 18 and 13 points, respectively. Strawberry also added six rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals in what was another solid effort, shouldering more of the load in the backcourt with the continued absence of top-scorer Ria'n Holland, who continues to recover from a wrist injury. 

Mercer ran out to the early lead in the opening half and never trailed. After Samford went on a 5-0 run to tie the game, 22-22, with an Alex Thompson layup with a little over four minutes remaining, the Bears ended the half on a 12-6 run to take a 34-28 lead to the break following a Ryan Johnson layup with four seconds remaining. 

In the second half, Samford opened the second frame in good form, racing out of the locker room with an 8-0 run to take a 36-34 lead following a Thompson triple with 17:41 remaining in the contest. But nine unanswered points by the Bears saw them take the lead back, at 43-36, following a Strawberry charity shot with 14 minutes to play. Despite a four-minute stretch without points, the Bears were able to not relinquish the lead, hitting some clutch foul shots in the process. The Bulldogs would tie the game once more, with a Thompson jumper with seven minutes remaining to tie the game, 57-57. 

However, despite the Bulldogs getting within one three times in the final seven minutes, an important 3:14 scoring drought from the field created by the Mercer's stout defense to close the game proved to be enough.

Samford was led in scoring by Triston Chambers, who finished with 16 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-for-7 from long-range. He was also a perfect 5-for-5 from the line with a steal to lead three Bulldogs in double figures. Thompson and sophomore point guard Josh Sharkey rounded out the double figure scorers for the Bulldogs, posting 15 points apiece. Sharkey led the Bulldogs with eight assists, while Justin Coleman dished out seven helpers in the losing effort.

Mercer returns to the hardwood in search of its fourth-straight win when it hosts VMI Thursday night at Hawkins Arena, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Samford will be back in action Saturday when it welcomes Furman to the Pete Hanna Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

If The General Shale Brick Southern Conference Tournament Started Tomorrow:

Thursday, Mar. 2, 2018

#8 The Citadel vs. #9 Chattanooga--5 p.m.

#7 Samford vs. #10 VMI--7:30 approx

Friday, Mar. 3, 2018

#1 ETSU vs. The Citadel/Chattanooga--12 p.m.

#4 Furman vs. #5 Western Carolina (tiebreaker as of now would go to Wofford because Furman has lost twice to UNCG already)--2:30 p.m. approx.

#2 UNCG vs. #Samford/VMI winner--6 p.m.

#3 Wofford vs. #6 Mercer--9:30 p.m. approx