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| UNCG guard Kenyon Giles led the Spartans with 19 points in its 58-50 win at Furman |
With the win, the Spartans improved to 18-9 overall and took a half-game lead in the Southern Conference standings, improving to 11-3 in league action, as the Spartans’ league co-leader coming into the day—the Chattanooga Mocs (18-8, 10-3 SoCon)—will tip-off against East Tennessee State (15-11, 8-5 SoCon) tonight at 7 p.m. EST this evening.
The last time the Spartans played at “The Well” back in Mike Jones’ first season (2021-22) as the Spartans' head coach, UNCG claimed a narrow 58-56 (Feb. 6, 2022) defensive battle that, in many ways, resembled what transpired three years later in the same venue. That game three years ago would see Furman shoot 30.2% from the field and it opponent hit that identical point total of 58, in what was another rock fight or the basketball version of a rock pitcher’s duel.
After VMI's (13-14, 7-7 SoCon) 80-71 win at Mercer later Saturday evening, the Paladins and Keydets are now tied for sixth in the standings on record, however, by virtue of VMI's 91-82 win back on Jan. 22 in Lexington, the Paladins are actually in seventh place by virtue of that result, despite the two teams being tied on record.
VMI and Furman face each next Saturday at The Well in what looks like it will be a titanic league clash that could decide who gets the final bye for the upcoming SoCon Tournament next month, and who is playing on Friday.
UNCG inched a little closer to its first regular-season SoCon title since the 2020-21 season, and if the Spartans can win home games against Samford (20-7, 10-4 SoCon) and Chattanooga (17-9, 10-3 SoCon) down the stretch, UNCG would have the No. 1 overall seed heading to Asheville, and knowing the trend that the last seven SoCon title winners have had the No. 1 seed going into the tournament should at least provide some comfort in a league race that has been wild in 2025.
The irony of the game is that Furman played some of its best defense of the season, limiting UNCG to just 39.3% shooting for the game, which included just a 33.3% effort (4-of-12) from three-point range, as the Spartans entered the game as the league’s top three-point shooting team. Overall, the Spartans would connect on 39.3% (22-of-56) for the game. UNCG finished connecting on an impressive 80.3% (10-of-12) from the charity stripe.
In addition to its season-low 26.8% shooting clip for the game, Furman finished just 26.7% (8-of-30) from three-point range. The Paladins connected on 70.6% (12-of-17) from the free throw line.
Coming into this afternoon’s contest, UNCG was making 37.8% of its shots from three, while ranking third in the league in total made three-point field goals (251) behind only Samford (286) and Furman (276).
The Paladins held the Spartans to a season-low matching four made threes, while the 58 total points matched a season-low established earlier this season in a loss to UTEP Ball Dawgs Classic in Henderson, NV, as the Spartans dropped a 64-58 contest against the Miners.
The Spartans were 0-2 with losses to SMU and San Jose State when making five threes or less in a game this season coming into the Saturday afternoon league clash until winning Saturday's clash by making just four. The 12 attempted threes by the Spartans were also a season-low for a single game this season, which was also a tip of the cap to the defense played by the Paladins.
The first meeting between the Paladins and Spartans was vastly different than the second one, with the Spartans connecting on 57.4% (31-of-54) from the field and 52.2% (12-of-23) from three-point range, posting their highest point total against an NCAA Division I opponent this season with 84 points, while it remains just one of three 80-point scoring outputs against NCAA Division I foes this season.
UNCG had just two players finish the afternoon in double figures, with Kenyon Giles finishing the contest with a team-leading 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 from three-point range. Giles netted a game-high 25 points in the first meeting with Furman this season, as he led the Spartans to the 84-67 win over the Paladins back on Jan. 4. Giles also added a strong 4-for-4 effort from the line, while adding four assists and blocked a shot.
Aside from Giles, the only other Spartans player to reach double figures in the game was Ronald Polite III, who was extremely efficient leading UNCG's offense on a day when points came at a premium. The graduate transfer from George Mason showed tremendous poise and veteran leadership in leading a UNCG offense that shared Polite's efficiency for the game, finishing 11-of-28 in each half to highlight that efficiency.
Polite finished 5-of-11 from the field and was 5-for-6 from the line, and didn't attempt a three in the game for just the second time this season. The native of Temple Hills, MD, also went 5-for-6 from the line and had a team-leading five assists to just one turnover, helping manage an offensive afternoon that, while points were tough to come by, the importance of taking care of the basketball was maybe just as important as scoring the ball, and he helped play caretaker of a UNCG offense that committed just eight total miscues in the game. Polite's 15 points Saturday gives him exactly 1,000 points for his career.
Donovan Atwell finished with just eight points, which was six points below his 14.2 PPG average coming into the matchup, however, his three-pointer with 1:12 remaining, which extended UNCG's lead from five to eight points, at 56-48, turned out to be arguably the biggest shot of the game. The junior all-conference guard finished 3-of-12 from the field and was 2-for-7 from long-range.
Atwell is absolutely one of the top players in the SoCon, and he showed it on both ends today, as even though he only had eight points, his influence on the basketball game was apparent, and that includes on the defensive end of the floor. The 6-5 guard added seven rebounds and an assist, owning an impressive +19 during his 33 minutes of floor action.
Jalen Breath was UNCG's top scorer in the paint, finishing with seven points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals in a solid afternoon of work.
The Huntersville, N.C., product came into the game ranking fifth nationally and first overall in the SoCon in three-pointers made, with 85 made this season. He also came into the game leading the league in three-point field goal percentage (41.3%), as well as leading the league in three-pointers attempted (206) and ranked second in threes made per game (3.27).
For the Paladins, it was a game that saw Paladin guards shoot 44 of the Paladins’ 56 shots in the game, combining for 44 of the team’s 50 points.
The Paladins
only had four players make a shot from the field in the game, with the lone
post player to record points in the game being Tyrese Hughey, who finished with
five points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field, while also contributing five
rebounds and a block in 13:23 off the bench for the Paladins. The senior forward
was also a perfect 3-for-3 from the line. It was Hughey’s first action in a
game since Jan. 13 against Wofford.
Hughey, Cooper Bowser, Garrett Hien, Ben VanderWal and Charles Johnston connected on a combined 1-of-12 shots from the field, with Bowser and VanderWal attempting just one shot between the two of them. Free throws by Hien and Johnston gave the Paladin post players a combined seven points in the game. Furman’s PJay Smith Jr. (17 pts), Nick Anderson (16 pts) and Tom House (10 pts) combined to score the other 43 points on 14-of-29 (48.2%) shooting from the field, which included an 8-of-22 (36.4%) effort from three-point range.
Smith finished his day connecting on 4-of-14 shots from the field, including going 3-of-8 from long range, while going a perfect 6-for-6 from long range. The senior guard added three rebounds and an assist, but had five turnovers, as the Paladins committed a total of 12 in the game, while forcing only eight out of UNCG.
Overall, the Paladins held advantages in total rebounds (40-39), bench scoring (16-9) and fast-break points (4-2). The Spartans held advantages in total assists (10-7), points from turnovers (11-9), second-chance points (9-5), and points in the paint (26-10).
In roughly the opening five minutes of both halves of Saturday's SoCon game between the Paladins and Spartans, UNCG outscored Furman 18-3, which was monumental in a game that was nearly even the for the remaining 30 minutes of action.
How It Happened:
After starting so well against Mercer, taking a 13-4 early lead, Furman
found itself battling a deficit from the outset of Saturday’s contest, as UNCG
assumed an early 9-0 start to the game until five minutes in PJay Smith Jr.
knocked down a jumper and after a pair of Spartans free throws before Tom House
scored on a driving layup to get the Paladins to within seven (11-4) by the
second media timeout.
The opening minutes of the game were a harbinger of things to come for the Paladins, who matched UNCG's intensity for most of the afternoon, playing its best game on the defensive end of the floor since getting off to a 12-1 start to the season during non-conference play.
The Paladins would stem the momentum of UNCG in the middle portions of the opening 20 minutes of basketball, as after trailing 11-4 at the first media, would use a 14-6 run to take its only lead of the game, at 18-17, following a Nick Anderson triple with 6:47 remaining in the opening half. Tyrese Hughey sparked both of Furman's primary runs in the game, checking in at the 15:14 mark of the first half, forcing a UNCG turnover almost immediately, and then added a help-side block and an offensive rebound in nearly six minutes of work in the opening half, coinciding with Furman getting the crowd into the game and taking its lone lead of the night.
The Spartans responded with a 7-0 spurt to take the lead for good, using a Kenyon Giles jumper, a three from the top of the key from Donovan Atwell, and then a second Giles jumper gave the Spartans a 24-18 lead with 5:34 left in the half. Furman trimmed the lead back to three when Garrett Hien hit a foul shot and Nick Anderson followed with a mid-range jumper, slicing Mercer's lead in half, at 24-21, with 4:32 remaining in the frame.
Ronald Polite III connected on a teardrop in the lane to increase the Spartans lead to five with 3:48 left in the half, however, Hien found an open Nick Anderson on the right wing for a triple, cutting the UNCG lead to two (26-24) with 3:03 remaining in the frame.
The final points of the half would come from Giles, who was rewarded for his strong penetration into the lane, and he followed that with a fade-a-way jumper to increase UNCG's lead to two possessions with 1:34 remaining in the half.
In the second half, the Spartans came out with a 9-3 spurt to start the frame, as UNCG assumed its largest lead of the game, at 37-27, with Joryiam Saizonou capping the run at the 15:17 mark of the second half.
The Paladins used a 10-0 run, which included five points from Hughey on a pair of free throws and a three-point play the old-fashioned way after he scored in the lane and was fouled by Miles Jones with 10:57 remaining.
Much like its response in the opening half, the Spartans responded like a veteran squad does when facing adversity on the road, using a 9-0 run to take back momentum and control of the basketball game. Polite III both started and ended the run for UNCG, using a pair of made charity shots after getting fouled by Eddrin Bronson, and then at the end of the nine-point run, gave the Spartans a 46-37 lead following a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 7:30 left following a foul by Smith.
With Furman still facing a nine-point deficit (51-42) remaining, the Paladins would get six-straight on a rare stretch of consecutive scoring possessions, getting a three-point play the old-fashioned way with Anderson getting fouled on a layup, and the graduate transfer would connect on the foul shot to get Furman within six, at 51-45, with 2:38 left.
Following a miss by Polite III, Smith took down the board and got the Paladin to within a possession, as his high arching triple got the Paladins to within 51-48 with 1:22 left.
However, UNCG had one last spurt, using a Giles elbow jumper and after Smith missed a three on the other end, Atwell provided the biggest shot of the night for UNCG, connecting on a three from the left wing to extend the Spartans lead back to eight (56-48) with 1:10 left. Anderson connected on a jumper with 55 seconds left to get Furman back to within six, however, Giles would seal the win with two made free throws on the ensuing UNCG possession, setting the final score and margin.
The Paladins will look to get back on the winning track Wednesday night, heading into the league's toughest road venue at the Pete Hanna Center to face defending champion Samford (20-7, 10-4 SoCon), with tip-off time set for 7:30 p.m. EST. UNCG returns to the floor against Wednesday night in a key league clash at East Tennessee State (15-11, 8-5 SoCon), with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. EST at Freedom Hall.
Postgame Press Conference:
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