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Men’s Basketball Wraps Up Road Swing Saturday At Wofford
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team concludes its three-game road swing through the Palmetto State Saturday as the Spartans will face Southern Conference foe Wofford. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Benjamin Johnson Arena and will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM as well as online at www.uncgspartans.com.
Saturday's game marks the 31st meeting all-time between UNCG and Wofford, dating back to 1985. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a 20-10 margin but posted a 71-52 victory earlier this season in the Greensboro Coliseum. That victory snapped the Spartans' nine-game losing streak against the Terriers.
UNCG used a 15-3 run to close out the first half and posted an 11-1 run early in the second half to claim the victory. Simpson led three Spartans in double figures with 19 points as he was 7-of-14 from the field. Fifth-year senior Kelvin McNeil (Newport News, Va./Delaware) scored a career-high 13 points as he was 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Wofford was led by Spencer Collins and Karl Cochran who scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Saturday's game will be a contrast of styles between the two teams. UNCG enters the game leading the lead in scoring at 72.6 points per game but also allow the most points at 74.7 points per game. Conversely, Wofford is the opposite as it has the league's lowest scoring offense at 59.0 points per game but owns the stiffest defense at 60.9 points per game.
The Spartans are coming off their first road win of the season Thursday night as they scored a season-high 88 points on their way to an 88-65 victory over Furman. UNCG connected on 60 percent (36-of-60) from the field and 60 percent (9-of-15) from three-point land in the victory. Junior Trevis Simpson (Douglas, Ga./Coffee) led four players in double figures with a game-high 29 points in 29 minutes of action. Simpson was 10-of-18 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
The Spartans enter the game with a 7-15 overall record and a 5-6 mark in SoCon play to sit just one game out of second place in the North Division. Simpson leads the team and the conference in scoring at 20.2 points per game, which ranks 16th in NCAA Division I. Over the past five games, he is averaging 27.2 points per game and is shooting 42.9 percent (15-of-35) from long distance.
Senior guard Derrell Armstrong (Mechanicsville, Md./Allegany CC) is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game and second on the glass at 5.0 rebounds per game. Freshman Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) rounds out the Spartans averaging double figures as he chips in 10.7 points per game. Both Armstrong and Locke scored 11 points in the victory Thursday.
Wofford enters Saturday's game with a 9-15 overall record and a 3-8 mark in SoCon play. The Terriers are coming off their best win in league play as they defeated SoCon North Division leading Elon 60-50 Thursday night at home. Collins led the Terriers with 16 points in the victory while Cochran added 13 points.
Cochran leads Wofford in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has taken 381 shots from the field, over 100 more shots than any other Terrier. Additionally, he leads the team with 60 three-pointers as he is shooting 31.1 percent (60-of-193) from long range. Collins is second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game while also hitting 33 three-pointers. Lee Skinner leads the team on the glass grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game while adding 10.5 points per game.
- UNCG -
