Men's Basketball Travels To East Carolina Friday
Freshman forward Kayel Locke
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team hits the road for the second time this season as the Spartans travel across the state to take on East Carolina Friday night at 7 p.m. at Minges Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and online at www.uncgspartans.com with Scott Pryzwansky providing the call, while a video stream is available online via ECU, but a fee is required to watch. A link is available at www.uncgspartans.com to the online video stream.
The Spartans enter Friday's game with a 1-1 overall record after posting a 16-point victory over Winston-Salem State in the home opener Monday. UNCG posted a dominated 30-6 run in the second half to capture the victory as junior Trevis Simpson (Douglas, Ga./Coffee) scored a game-high 26 points. Simpson's 26-point outburst is the highest so far in the Southern Conference this season as he was 10-of-16 from the field, including four three-pointers. He leads the team and is second in the conference in scoring at 22.0 points per game.
Senior Derrell Armstrong (Mechanicsville, Md./Allegany CC) added 21 points off the bench hitting 9-of-11 from the field, including his first eight shots in the victory. Armstrong hit 3-of-4 from long range, sparking the run by scoring 10 straight points to start the spurt. Armstrong is second on the team in scoring on the year, averaging 15.5 points per game.
Freshman forward Kayel Locke (Owings Mill, Md./McDonogh) rounds out the Spartans averaging double figures on the season as he tallies 12.0 points per game.
Friday's game marks the 11th meeting all-time between UNCG and East Carolina, including the fifth straight year the teams have met during non-conference play. The Spartans trail the all-time series by an 8-2 margin as the Pirates have won five straight in the series. UNCG posted its two victories during the 2001-02 season and in Greenville during the 2004-05 season.
Last year, East Carolina posted a 71-62 victory at the Greensboro Coliseum to spoil then-interim head coach Wes Miller's debut. The Pirates posted a 15-0 second half run to overcome a 10-point deficit to secure the victory. Simpson led the Spartans with 24 points as he was 9-of-21 shooting from the field while Korey Van Dussen (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland East) chipped in 11 points. East Carolina was led by Miguel Paul who scored 17 points while Darius Morrow added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
East Carolina enters Friday's game with a 2-0 record on the season after picking up back-to-back home wins over a pair of non-Division I teams in Washing & Lee and Methodist, both by double digits. Paul was chosen as a preseason All-Conference USA selection to lead the Pirates, but sat out the first two games due to a suspension. Maurice Kemp has picked up the slack in his absence averaging 20.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in the first two contests of the year.
- UNCG -