UNCG Men’s Basketball Falls at Elon, 74-65
ELON, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s basketball team made a second-half push but came up short against Elon, 74-65, on Friday night at the Schar Center, in its first road battle of the season.
RJ Greer led the Spartans with career-bests in points (18), three-pointers made (4) and steals (2). Dionte Neal and Jon Mani both scored a career-best 16 points apiece, and Cameron Grant added 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded the lead early and tied the score three times. Grant’s three-pointer briefly put UNCG in front, 11-10, but Elon answered to regain the lead. The Phoenix then used a 9-0 run to move ahead 22-13. Greer stopped the stretch with a three, though Elon continued to score inside, taking a 39-22 advantage into halftime.
UNCG opened the second half with a 12-2 response, where seven of the 12 points came from Greer to pull within seven, 41-34. The Spartans kept cutting into the gap, as Mani’s three-pointer at 14:45 made it a six-point deficit, 45-39.
Elon answered with a 10-2 run to stretch its lead back to double figures, 55-41. The Spartans continued to battle, with Neal and Mani scoring to make it 55-45 and Greer’s two free throws later cut the margin to eight, 57-49.
Elon maintained its advantage through the final stretch. Greer hit two late threes, and Neal added a layup and free throw, but the Phoenix converted at the line to close out the 74-65 win.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
Elon held a 45-22 rebounding advantage, including 14 offensive boards.
The Spartans outmatched the Phoenix in three-point percentage (28.6-22.2) and free throw percentage (81.8-76.2), while Elon edged UNCG in field goal percentage (46.6-42.1).
UNCG made eight three-pointers, while Elon made four.
The Spartans scored 13 points off turnovers, matching Elon’s total.
Four Spartans reached double figures.
RECORDS
UNCG: 1-1
Elon: 2-0
UNCG BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
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WHAT’S NEXT
UNCG will remain on the road and travel to Chicago, Illinois, to face UIC on Monday inside Credit Union I Arena. The game is slated for 6:00 p.m. CT, 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Spartans will then host Lees-McRae on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. inside Bodford Arena. This game will be Military/First Responder Appreciation Day.
Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro