UNCG Men’s Basketball Drops Regular Season Finale at Samford, 87-78
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s basketball team dropped its Southern Conference (SoCon) regular season finale with the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday night, 87-78, inside the Pete Hanna Center.
Five Spartans reached double-figures in the contest with Lilian Marville pacing the team with 21 points. Donald Whitehead Jr. added 14 points and Valentino Pinedo, KJ Younger and Clinton Efinda chipped in 11 points apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Samford controlled the early goings of the contest, starting out with an 11-3 advantage four minutes in. However, the Spartans quickly responded with a 10-2 run to tie things up at 12:32, 13-13. Samford knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to take the 19-13 lead and maintain the advantage the rest of the way. With the Bulldogs on top, 23-15, UNCG recorded eight unanswered points to cut the deficit to one at 9:27, 23-22. Samford maintained the lead, but Marville knocked down the triple to make it a nine-point game to conclude the half, 50-41.
The scoring went back-and-forth coming out of the locker room, but the Bulldogs held the lead. With Samford in control by 10 at 17:37, the Spartans posted a 7-0 run to make it a four-point game at 15:19, 56-52. Samford retaliated with an 8-0 run to take back a 12-point advantage at 13:44, 64-52. Samford continued to control the tempo, taking the 87-68 lead with 2:06 on the clock. However, the Spartans were able to collect the final 10 points of the contest, but it wouldn’t be enough to hold the Bulldogs from taking the 87-78 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
Pinedo paced the Spartans with eight rebounds and two blocks.
Marville led UNCG with three assists.
Five different Spartans collected at least one steal.
UNCG bested Samford in points off turnovers (24-7), bench points (29-23), points in the paint (24-20) and steals (8-4).
Samford led the way in rebounds (40-32), fast break points (14-9), blocks (3-2) and assists (11-16).
The contest was tied in second chance points (12-12).
RECORDS
UNCG: 13-18, 9-9 SoCon
SAM: 18-13, 11-7 SoCon
UP NEXT
The Spartans will await their fate into the 2026 SoCon Men’s Basketball Tournament. The tournament, which is held in Asheville, North Carolina, at Harrah’s Cherokee Center, is scheduled to begin March 6 and run through March 9.
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro