Spartans Streak Past Bobcats in Exhibition

UNCG 104 - Lees-McRae 76

UNCG Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 50 - Lees-McRae 36

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Kayel Locke (30)
Leader Rebounds: Kyle Cain (11)
Leader Assists: Parker, Saddler (Tied - 6)
FG: 39-67 (58.2%)
3 Pt: 5-13 (38.5%)
FT: 21-31 (67.7%)
Rebounds: 44
Turnovers: 16

Lees-McRae Stats
Leader Points: Mike Chambers (19)
Leader Rebounds: Bond, Moore (Tied - 5)
Leader Assists: Darius Smith (9)
FG: 28-63 (44.4%)
3 Pt: 6-17 (35.3%)
FT: 14-24 (58.3%)
Rebounds: 33
Turnovers: 21

Thoughts
The completely new look UNCG Spartans showed some substantial firepower on the offensive end by having 5 guys score in double figures and Spartans fans finally got to see Kyle Cain in uniform. Cain didn't disappoint by recording a double double (14 points & 11 rebounds). The star of the show for me, though, was Tevon Saddler. The freshman from Baltimore had a great all around game by tallying 16 points, 6 assists and 5 steals. Saddler did a great job of running the break, getting to the rim and setting up teammates (and himself) for easy baskets.

Most of the new guys got decent minutes and made some nice plays. Tyrone Outlaw was very efficient and scoring 13 points. Diante Baldwin, Jordy Kuiper and Clay Byrd also had their moments. Plus, it was nice to see the new guys blend nicely with returning players Kayel Locke and  Nicholas Paulos. Locke did his normal thing of making and array of shots around the basket and Paulos took and made 3 pointers in rhythm. All-in-all it was a very good offensive showing.

On the negative side, the Spartans were sloppy with the ball and allowed too many 2nd chance attempts to a team were undersized. These are things that I expect UNCG will work on this week as they head into a game with a very good front line. However, some of these negatives might be due to Coach Miller looking for the right combinations of players. Also, Jordan Potts didn't dress for this game. Not sure of the reason, though.

In the end, it was about what I expected to see on both ends of the court. It was nice to see the balance and sharing of the basketball. The final score honestly never really mattered as UNCG controlled the game the entire time. Now it's time for the real thing.

Go Spartans !!!