Spiders Pull Away Late

UNCG 58 - Richmond 78

UNCG Athletics Recap
Richmond Athletics Recap

Halftime: UNCG 30 - Richmond 38

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Nick Paulos (12)
Leader Rebounds: Aloysius Henry (10)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (3)
Team FG: 23-66 (34.8%)
Team 3 Pt: 6-22 (27.3%)
Team FT: 6-8 (75.0%)
Rebounds: 46
Turnovers: 17

Richmond Stats
Leader Points: Darien Brothers (20)
Leader Rebounds: Darrius Garrett (12)
Leader Assists: Darien Brothers (5)
Team FG: 28-62 (45.2%)
Team 3 Pt: 10-28 (35.7%)
Team FT: 12-16 (75.0%)
Rebounds: 35
Turnovers: 8

Thoughts
UNCG scored the first 12 point after halftime to take a 4 point lead on Richmond. The game remained close until a little before the 8 minute mark. However, with the score tied at 55, UNCG was out scored 23-3 to finish the game.

G is continuing to play very hard, and at times, very well under new coach Wes Miller. However, these late game swoons are becoming a a little too common.

On the bright side, this game saw a re-emergence of Alysius Henry and Nick Paulos. The Spartans will need Henry's rebounding and Paulos's shooting going into conference play. Hopefully, their strong play can continue.

UNCG (2-11) @ Richmond (8-6)

When: Friday, December 30 4 pm
Where: Robbins Center (9,071)
TV: None

Richmond Athletics

UNCG Notes
Last Game: VCU (L 68-80) Recap
PPG: 64.2
RPG: 34.8
APG: 11.1
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (15.4)
Leader Rebounds: Aaron Brackett (5.4)
Leader Assists: Kyle Randall (2.2)
FG %: 37.6
3 Pt %: 29.9
FT %: 61.6

Richmond Notes
Last Game: Liberty (W 77-61) Recap
PPG: 70.6
RPG: 30.0
APG: 12.0
Leader Points: Darrien Brothers (13.9)
Leader Rebounds: Darrius Garrett (6.4)
Leader Assists: Cedrick Lindsay (4.1)
FG %: 43.9
3 Pt %: 38.7
FT %: 75.7

Thoughts
The good news ... Richmond ranks almost at the very bottom of the NCAA in rebounding. UNCG has done very well in rebounding all season long. Hopefully this is one of the areas that the Spartans can take advantage of the Spiders. Also, teams have shot a little over 70% from the free throw line this season. While this has very little to do with either of today's participants, maybe UNCG can finally start to shoot well from the free throw line.

The bad news ... Richmond is a very good shooting team that doesn't turn the basketball over often. The Spartans haven't been a poor defensive team this season. However, the stats show the Spiders to be very good on the offensive end. UNCG will have to play with great focus to come away with a win.

Spartans Hang Tough But Still Lose

UNCG 53 - Richmond 63

News & Record
Richmond Times-Dispatch
UNCG Athletics
Richmond Athletics

Richmond (8-3) @ UNCG (0-10)

When: Wednesday, December 22 12 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None/Spartan All-Access

Richmond Athletics
Richmond Forum

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG battled back from a 37-16 halftime defecit at Clemson before falling 71-67. Korey Van Dussen led UNCG with 20 points and 6 assists. It was the third straight ACC team that UNCG had faced on the road.
- Today's game marks the first of 5 straight that UNCG will play at home. The Spartans will host #1 Duke a week from today before moving into Southern Conference play.
- Kyle Randall lead UNCG in scoring (11.9) and assists (3.7). Aloysius Henry leads UNCG in rebounding (5.7).
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 40.7% from the field, 36.1% from behind the arc and 67.5% from the free throw line.

Spider Notes:
- In their last game, Georgia Tech pulled away from Richmond in the second half of the "Battle at Atlantis". The Yellow Jackets won by the score of 67-54. Justin Harper led Richmond with 15 points and 5 rebounds.
-The Spiders are 1-0 against the SoCon so far this year. Richmond defeated the Citadel 79-37 to start the season. Richmond also has defeated UNCG's opening night opponent VCU, 72-60.
- Last year, UNCG played at Richmond on December 22. It was also a noon start time for that game. In that game, David Gonzalves helped Richmond come back from a slow start to defeat UNCG 89-63.
- Richmond came into last year's contest sporting the exact same 8-3 record as this year.
- Kevin Anderson leads Richmond in scoring (16.6) and assists (3.8). Harper is averaging 14.0 points and team best 6.0 rebounds.
- For the year, Richmond is shooting 50.3% from the field, 42.0% from behind the arc and 60.7%from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
UNCG again gets to face another tough opponent and has another opportunity to show its improvement from the start of the season. The Spartans have played solid, tough basketball as of late, and it would be nice to see them finally push through for a breakthrough win.

Richmond is off to a great start again and comes in sporting some of the best offensive numbers in the country. UNCG will have to have it's best defensive effort of the year to have a shot at this one.

Maybe the Spartans can catch the Spiders looking ahead to Christmas break and not ready to play at this early start time. If so, it should make for a great present to all of the Spartan fans.

Go Spartans !!!

UNCG's "Secret Scrimmages"

According to Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports, The Spartans will be holding "Secret Scrimmages" against UNC and Radford. Find his entire list is here ...

*I've listed other SoCon games and other teams of interest.

SECRET SCRIMMAGES

Fri., Oct. 29
Samford at Kennesaw State

Sat., Oct. 30
Clemson at Georgia
Virginia Tech vs. Georgetown
Wake Forest at College of Charleston
George Mason at Richmond
VCU at La Salle
High Point at East Carolina

Sun., Oct. 31
UNC at UNC Greensboro
UT Chattanooga at Ole Miss
Wofford vs. Belmont at Maryville College

Fri., Nov. 5
Radford at UNC Greensboro

Sat., Nov. 6
Charlotte at Virginia Tech
Liberty at Appalachian State

UNCG Offering 5-Game Ticket Plan

UNCG is offering ticket plans (called "Gimme 5") for this season in men's basketball. It's an option for people who might not want a whole season ticket package. Here's how it works ...

Everyone gets:
- Duke

Blue Game (pick 1):
- FSU
- Miami
- Virginia Tech

Yellow Game (pick 3):
- NC A&T
- Furman
- Richmond
- Samford
- Chattanooga
- Elon
- Davidson
- Ga Southern
- App State
- Citadel
- Western Carolina

The prices are $45 (upper level) and $65 (lower level) per seat.

Turnovers Bury the Spartans

UNCG 63 - Richmond 89

News & Record
Richmond Times Dispatch
UNCG Athletics
Richmond Athletics

Holiday plans dictate that this post be very brief. I apologize that I can't do the normal game review. I'll be back doing full ones next week.

20 UNCG turnovers, coupled with Richmond shooting 55% squashed any threat of a Spartan upset. Brandon Evans scored 22 points, but he wasn't joined by anyone else in double figures. The Spartans don't play again until next Monday when they host Wake Forest. The Deacs will be the first of 3 straight ACC opponents to visit the Greensboro Coliseum.

UNCG (2-7) @ Richmond (8-3)

When: Tuesday, December 22 12 noon
Where: Robins Center (9,071)
TV: None

Richmond Athletics
Richmond Forum

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG fell behind Akron 18-4 and never recovered. The Spartans lost 83-59. Brandon Evans led UNCG with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
- Friday's loss broke a UNCG 2 game road winning streak. The Spartans had previously won at USC-Upstate and Samford.
- After playing at Richmond, the Spartan will have a 5 game home stand starting on 12/28. UNCG will host Wake Forest, NC State, Maryland, Wofford and Furman before going on the road again.
- Ben Stywall (12.0) leads a trio of Spartan players averaging double digits in scoring. Evans (11.3) and Kyle Randall (10.2) are the other players. Stywall also leads UNCG in rebounding (8.7). Randall leads in assists (2.3).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.1% from the field, 32.6% from behind the arc and 69.6% from the free throw line.

Spider Notes:
- On Saturday, Richmond rallied from an 8 point halftime deficit to defeat #13 Florida 56-53. The Spiders held Florida to just 26% shooting in the second half. David Gonzalvez lead the scoring with 16 points.
- Richmond comes into the game sporting a 5-0 home record. Included in that record is a home win over the SoCon's UT-Chattanooga, 75-49.
- The Spiders were selected to finish third in the Atlantic 10 (A10) conference during the preseason. Three players (Gonzalvez, Kevin Anderson & Dan Geriot) were selected as all-conference players.
- Anderson leads Richmond in points (16.5) and assists (3.2). Geriot leads the team in rebounds (5.9).
- For the year, Richmond is shooting 44.0% from the field, 32.8% from behind the arc and 73.7% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
I looked over a lot of information to put together this preview. Other than Duke, Richmond is probably the best team the UNCG will play this season. They have a lot of guys that do a lot of things well. They shoot the ball really well and are very solid on defense.

Playing this game at 12 noon is the only thing that may help the Spartans. Maybe this early game time will have the Spiders trying to sleepwalk past UNCG. Also, UNCG's record may contribute to a lack of effort by Richmond. If the team can bring some big energy to the court, maybe they can steal a big road win.

Go Spartans !!!

New Spartan

Rivals, Scout and Yahoo Sports are reporting UNCG has received a committment for the 2010 class.

UNC-Greensboro has snatched up 6-foot-9, 200-pound power forward Cody Henegar of Jasper (Tenn.) Marion County High School.

According to his travel team coach Alex Waddy of the Nashville Celtics, Henegar chose UNC-Greensboro over offers from Tulane, MTSU, Richmond and Belmont.

- Cody has already been nominated for the 2010 McDonald's All-Amercian game.

- Scouthoops and Rivals have him listed as a 2-Star prospect. ESPN recruiting graded Cody at a 70 before his senior year.

- According to his AAU (Nashville Celtics) team's website, Cody's nickname is "Dirk".

- From his coach's Twitter page:

He loved the coaching staff and the schedule was very intriguing. Not many schools can offer playing Clemson, Duke, NC State and Va Tech.

- Here are discussions on Cody from Richmond and UT-Chattanooga forums.

"Henegar has the frame to put on some weight and muscle. He has a nice touch all the way to behind the 3 point line. He's able to block shots without fouling, that's probably not as easy as it sounds even though he's usually at least four or five inches taller than the opposing team's posts."

"Cody is a very skilled but finesse 6'9 Forward who shoots the ball well from outside and passes the ball well for his size. His game is face to the basket with more of a european style. I think any program with his size will benefit by having him in the fold."

- Article from Tennessee Prep Hoops.

- N&R blurb about the committment.