UNCG Men’s Basketball Falls 70-68 in Close Game to Samford
GREENSBORO, N.C. – In a battle to the end, the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s basketball team fell to Southern Conference (SoCon) foe Samford on Saturday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Three Spartans scored double figures, while Keondre Kennedy earned UNCG’s only double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNCG started off the game with a 12-3 run for a nine-point lead. Six of the 12 points included three pointers from Bas Leyte and Dante Treacy. The Bulldogs followed it up with a 13-0 run to hod a four-point advantage, 16-12, with 8:16 remaining in the first frame. Samford didn’t turn back, keeping the lead for the remainder of the game. Keyshaun Langley hit one of four of his three pointers at 7:53 to cut the deficit to one, 15-16. Samford’s next four baskets were from behind the arc, as the Spartans fought to keep the deficit less than 10 before the half. UNCG closed the half with a 7-1 run, as Samford held the edge, 34-31.
The first five baskets of the second half were three pointers, as the Bulldogs led by six, 43-37. Three were from Samford, while two were from UNCG’s Kennedy and Treacy. Samford grew its lead to 14 behind a 16-6 run, for its largest advantage of the game, 60-46. Following a 20-7 run by the Spartans, UNCG cut the deficit to one, 66-67. The Bulldogs won the free throw battle, to take the win by two, 70-68.
BY THE NUMBERS
Kennedy and Keyshaun Langley led the team with 16 points.
Kennedy registered his fourth double-double of his career.
Mikeal Brown-Jones chipped in 11 points and five rebounds.
Mohammed Abdulsalam contributed nine points and nine boards.
UNCG has now totaled 26 dunks this season, as Kobe Langley finished an alley-oop from Keyshaun Langley in the first half of the game.
The Spartans outscored the Bulldogs in second-chance points, 19-2, points off turnovers, 12-7, and points in the paint, 18-16.
Samford held the advantage in points off the bench, 25-16.
The Bulldogs held the advantage in field goal percentage (50.0 – 38.9) and three-point percentage (48.4 – 35.7).
UNCG went 16-for-21 (76.2) in free-throw percentage, compared to Samford’s 5-for-11 (45.5).
RECORDS
UNCG: 9-8, 3-1 SoCon
Samford: 10-7, 4-0 SoCon
UP NEXT
The Spartans hit the road next week traveling to Lexington, Virginia to face VMI for a mid-week SoCon contest on Wednesday, January 11 at 7 p.m. They then face Furman on Saturday, January 14 at 4 p.m. in Greenville, S.C.
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro