Neely leads UNC Greensboro against Furman after 22-point performance

By Canadian Press on January 22, 2026.

Furman Paladins (13-7, 4-3 SoCon) at UNC Greensboro Spartans (8-12, 4-3 SoCon)

Greensboro, North Carolina; Friday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UNC Greensboro faces Furman after Justin Neely scored 22 points in UNC Greensboro’s 85-78 win against the VMI Keydets.

The Spartans have gone 5-4 at home. UNC Greensboro has a 1-1 record in one-possession games.

The Paladins are 4-3 against conference opponents. Furman is sixth in the SoCon scoring 77.1 points per game and is shooting 46.9%.

UNC Greensboro averages 78.8 points, 8.5 more per game than the 70.3 Furman allows. Furman has shot at a 46.9% rate from the field this season, 1.2 percentage points higher than the 45.7% shooting opponents of UNC Greensboro have averaged.

The Spartans and Paladins face off Friday for the first time in SoCon play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Neely is averaging 16.4 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Spartans. KJ Younger is averaging 15.8 points over the last 10 games.

Charles Johnston is averaging 10.4 points and 9.7 rebounds for the Paladins. Asa Thomas is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 6-4, averaging 84.3 points, 36.7 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 5.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.9 points per game.

Paladins: 7-3, averaging 78.4 points, 37.6 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 6.2 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press