UNCGSPARTANS.COM
3-23-2019
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro men’s basketball saw its season come to an end on Saturday afternoon, as the Spartans fell to Lipscomb 86-69 at the Greensboro Coliseum. While the Spartans fell to the Bisons, the 2018-19 season was UNCG’s (29-7) winningest in program history.
“This has been a historic year for our program,” said Head Coach Wes Miller. “29-7 is just remarkable and it speaks to what our players have built here year after year over the last four or five years. Listen, only one team in this tournament is going to end the year on a win, only one team in the NCAA Tournament’s going to end the year on a win, so most people are going to have nights where the season ends like this.
“I just hate that this team, which is one of the great teams in the history in my opinion of the program and maybe even the recent history of the Southern Conference …I hate that it ended on a night where we didn’t play our best.”
UNCG went into the halftime break down 43-35 after Lipscomb hit its final six shots and 11 of its final 12 attempts in the first half. Overall, the Bisons shot nearly 55 percent from the field in the opening frame and connected on 5-of-11 shots from three-point range.
While the Spartans led for more than 12 minutes in the first half, twice UNCG went on scoring droughts that lasted three minutes or longer. UNCG started the game up 5-0 in the first minute, including a layup from sophomore guard Isaiah Miller right off the opening tip, but went cold from the field after Miller hit a layup with 14:16 left in the first half. The Spartans would not record another point until 11:19 left when redshirt freshman Kaleb Hunter connected on a layup.
Senior guard Francis Alonso led all players in the first half with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Thirty-three of UNCG’s 35 first half points came from their guards while forward Angelo Allegri made one attempt.
UNCG, however, was unable to mount a comeback in the second half – trailing by as much as 29 before falling by 17.
Alonso finished his final collegiate game with 27 points. In total, Alonso wraps up his UNCG career as the program’s lead in three pointers made, minutes played, games played and games started while he’s second in points scored, field goals made and free throws made.
As for Troy, he ranks top five in program history in both assists and steals. He’s one of only three players in program history to be in the top five of both statistical categories, joining former teammate Diante Baldwin and Courtney Eldridge.
Senior center Lloyd Burgess, who checked in late into the contest, also contributed to the Spartans’ success over the last four seasons, appearing in 55 games with two starts.
News And Notes
–UNCG finishes the season with a 29-7 overall record. The 29 victories set a new program benchmark this season, surpassing the 27 victories collected by last year’s team.
–The 15 home victories this year were also the second-most in program history, behind only the 16 home victories registered by last year’s squad.
–UNCG won 11 road games this season, which marked just the second time in school history the team reached a double-digit win total in road contests.
–UNCG reached the finals of the Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale for the third straight season.
–This season marked the third-straight 20-win season, the first such time the program has ever achieved such a stretch.
–This year’s team was the first in program history to reach 20 wins before the month of February, doing so during a victory over VMI on Jan. 31.
–UNCG received the No. 1-overall seed in this year’s NIT after narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament as the Southern Conference’s first-ever at-large team.
–On Tuesday, UNCG won its first-ever game NIT game, defeating Campbell 84-69 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
— UNCG –
