UNCG 75, Stetson 68
ESTERO, Fla. – The UNCG men’s basketball team wrapped up play in the inaugural Gulf Coast Showcase Wednesday afternoon with a 75-68 victory over Stetson at Germain Arena in the consolation bracket. The Spartans were able to clinch the victory at the free throw line, hitting 80 percent on the day, including 92.9 percent (13-of-14) in the second half.
“Today’s win was good for our guys,” head coach Wes Miller said. “It is good because it was like a conference game where we had to grind out a back and forth game. All we talked about in the locker room before hand is we have to fight together and we showed that fight today. We were able to come together as a team and make plays down the stretch to secure the victory.”
Junior forward Kyle Cain once again led the way with his second double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, both game-highs. Cain connected on 9-of-16 from the field to reach 21 points for the second straight day. Junior Nicholas Paulos added 11 point on the strength of three three-pointers in the victory.
Freshman Tyrone Outlaw played a pivotal role in the victory, especially down the stretch, as he finished with 10 points, including going 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Classmate Tevon Saddler rounded out the four Spartans in double figures scoring with 10 points off the bench as he was 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
UNCG finished the game shooting 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the field and 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from distance in the victory. The Spartans also got back to winning the rebounding battle, holding a 33-29 advantage on the glass. Stetson connected on 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from long range in the loss as Raymone Andrews led the team with 16 points and Willie Green added 15 points.
Stetson jumped out to an early 14-5 lead just under five minutes into the game. The Hatters hit a pair of early three-pointers as Green and Kentwan Smith hit from distance. Andrews dished out five assists on the Hatters’ first six field goals of the game.
UNCG regrouped and posted an 8-1 run to trim the deficit to 15-13. Paulos started the comeback with a three-pointer on the wing while redshirt freshman center R.J. White scored on a post move. Outlaw pulled the Spartans within two as he drove baseline for a layup.
After Stetson extended the lead back to six at 23-17, senior Drew Parker quickly tied the game with back-to-back three-pointers. The teams went back and forth until Paulos blocked a shot on one end of the floor and scored on a fast break basket on the other end to give UNCG a 27-25 lead.
The Spartans took a 36-34 lead into the locker room after Outlaw hit two free throws on a Stetson technical foul. UNCG connected on 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from the field and hit 7-of-11 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. Cain led all scorers with 10 points while Parker and Saddler each chipped in six points.
Stetson connected on 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the field and hit 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Hatters had seven different players score either four or five points in the first half in the balanced scoring attack.
The Hatters posted an early 7-2 run in the second half to take a 45-40 lead. The Spartans responded with a 7-2 run of their own to tie the game at 47-47. Sophomore guard Jordan Potts hit a three-pointer and Cain scored in the post to tie the game.
UNCG looked to get some breathing room at 56-52 when Paulos hit two straight from distance and Potts hit another three-pointer to force Stetson into a timeout. The Hatters responded with seven straight points to retake the lead at 59-56 as Greene scored four points and Andrews added a three-pointer.
The Spartans finally took the lead back for good with a 9-2 run to take a 65-61 advantage. Cain scored baskets on each end of the run while Outlaw converted an old-fashioned three-point play out of a timeout to give the Spartans the lead back that they would never relinquish.
Stetson tried to make a run, trimming the lead down to two at 65-63 before Saddler came up with a steal on one end, which led to another three-point play by Outlaw. After the Hatters again narrowed the gap to two at 70-68, Potts was fouled on a drive and calmly hit a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game with 38 seconds left at 72-68. UNCG came up with a defensive stop once again as Saddler picked up a steal and was quickly fouled before hitting both at the charity stripe to ice the victory away
Potts finished the game with nine points and five assists off the bench as he played 24 minutes. He was 2-of-2 from distance in the victory, raising his season numbers to 12-of-16 for the sophomore who started his freshman year hitting just one of his first 20 from long range.
Georgia Southern 76, Presbyterian 66
CANCUN, Mexico. – Georgia Southern took a 76-66 win over Presbyterian College in the final game at the 2013 Cancun Challenge Wednesday. Georgia Southern made 11 three-pointers en route to the win over the Blue Hose. The Eagles are back at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Campbell from 7 p.m. inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
“I was proud of Curtis Diamond’s play today,” said Head Coach Mark Byington. “He did a great job of stepping up in the absence of Brian Holmes and made some great shots. We faced some adversity tonight, but we responded well and got the win.”
Georgia Southern (3-4) connected early and often from long distance, making 11 from the bonusphere on the afternoon. Jelani Hewitt posted a game-high 26 points and was joined by Tre Bussey who had 21 on the afternoon. Hewitt went 3-of-9 from outside while Bussey was 3-of-5 from the perimeter.
Curtis Diamond had his best game with Georgia Southern with 18 points and 5-of-14 shooting from downtown. Angel Matias pulled nine rebounds as the Eagles out-rebounded PC 38-25 and held a 12-2 advantage on the offensive glass.
Presbyterian College (1-7) was paced by 22 points from Reggie Dillard and got 11 first half points from Jordan Downing in a losing effort.
The Eagles took a five-point lead into halftime and extended the advantage to as many as 14 before Presbyterian came back to make the game interesting down the stretch.