GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team won its first game against the Samford Bulldogs since 2022 behind a 108-100 victory on Saturday evening at Fleming Gymnasium in The Southern Conference (SoCon) regular season finale.
 
This was the second win against Samford for Head Coach Mike Jones as a Spartan, the first since Jan. 22, 2022, in Greensboro when UNCG won, 61-58. This was the eighth year in Jones' time as a head coach at Radford and UNCG with 20 or more wins and third-straight season with 20 or more wins in the Blue & Gold. With the victory, UNCG reached the 20-win mark for the eighth year out of nine.
 
This was the second game this season that the Spartans have reached the century mark. Four from UNCG tallied double figures, including Kenyon Giles pacing the team with 25 points. Demetrius Davis registered a career-high 22 points, while Ronald Polite III had 18 points and Donovan Atwell had 14 points. This was the seventh game this season where four Spartans scored double figures.

Following the win, UNCG recognized its eight seniors in Davis, Polite III, Akrum Ahemed, Malik Henry, Muon Reath, Joryam Saizonou, Jalen Breath and Miles Jones. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Samford got on the board first with a quick three-pointer 15 seconds into the game. The Spartans' Giles and Atwell drained their own from long range for a 6-5 advantage. After a layup from each team, UNCG went on a 7-3 run to go up three, 13-10, with 15:45 on the clock. The Bulldogs responded with their own 7-2 run for a 17-15 advantage with 13:11 left in the half. Fleming Gym started rocking after a loud dunk from Henry at 12:20 for a 19-19 tied score. UNCG tied the game at 24-24 with 10:31 on the clock which was part of a 21-5 run that put the Spartans up 11, 40-29. The Spartans maintained the advantage the rest of the half to go to the locker room with a 52-40 cushion.
 
The Spartans utilized a 17-8 run out of the break to climb to a 21-point lead, 69-48. UNCG saw a 24-point cushion three times, for its largest lead of the game. The final 24-point lead came at 6:55 on a Giles three-pointer, 90-66. UNCG maintained a double-figure lead, but Samford chipped away to give the Bulldogs a nine-point deficit, 104-95, with 1:03 left. UNCG scored four points and Samford tallied five in the final minutes, as the Spartans held the eight-point lead for the 108-100 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Henry led the game with eight rebounds, while Jalen Breath had seven.
• Breath and Ahemed chipped in nine points.
• Polite III tallied a game-high seven assists.
• The Spartans edged the Bulldogs in field goal percentage (55.2-49.2), (50.0-39.3) and free throw percentage (75.6-77.5).
• This was the third game this season that UNCG has averaged .500 or better from three-point range and 10^th time with a .500 or better field goal percentage.
• The Spartans outrebounded the Bulldogs, 38-30.

RECORDS
UNCG: 20-11, 13-5 SoCon
SAM: 22-9, 12-6 SoCon

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UP NEXT
UNCG turned in its third-straight 20-win season at 20-11 overall and 13-5 in SoCon play and earned the second seed in the 2025 SoCon Tournament. The Tournament takes place between March 7-10 at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina.
 
Click here for more information on the 2025 Men's and Women's SoCon Basketball Tournaments