Neely scores 25 as UNC Greensboro downs Western Carolina 81-78

Justin Neely scored 25 points, including five throws in the last three seconds, as UNC Greensboro beat Western Carolina 81-78 on Wednesday.

The Associated Press
February 5, 2026 at 1:53AM

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Justin Neely scored 25 points, including five throws in the last three seconds, as UNC Greensboro beat Western Carolina 81-78 on Wednesday.

Neely grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to tie the score at 78 with three seconds remaining. He was fouled on a 3-point try after a steal on the inbounds play and made three free throws for the win.

In all, Neely made a career-high 19-for-21 from the free throw line. He recorded his 15th double-double of the season.

Neely added 11 rebounds for the Spartans (9-15, 5-6 Southern Conference). Lilian Marville scored 14 points, going 5 of 10 (4 for 4 from 3-point range). Noah Norgaard went 4 of 9 from the field (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 12 points.

Marcus Kell finished with 27 points and seven rebounds for the Catamounts (8-14, 4-7). Tahlan Pettway added 14 points for Western Carolina. Justin Johnson also had nine points.

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

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