ZARAGOZA, Spain – The UNCG men’s basketball team had five players score in double figures Tuesday night as the Spartans posted an 87-54 victory over the Aragon Select team comprised of professional players from Zaragoza at the Siglo XXI Center. The game is the Spartans third on their trip through Spain that will see them play two more games this week in Barcelona.
UNCG dominated play in the paint in the victory as it posted a 57-29 advantage on the glass and outscored Aragon Select by a 54-30 margin in the paint. Redshirt freshman R.J. White and junior Kyle Cain highlighted the post play as they both recorded double-doubles. White scored a team-high 14 points while grabbing 14 rebounds as he was 7-of-9 from the field, while Cain grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds and scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field.
Freshman guard Clay Byrd also was tied for the team-lead in scoring with 14 points as he hit 4-of-8 from three-point land. Junior Jamal Mitchel saw his first action of the trip and scored 11 points off the bench in 11 minutes of action on his 22nd birthday. Freshman Tyrone Outlaw rounded out the Spartans in double figures as he scored 10 points while also dishing out five assists.
UNCG finished the game shooting 52.9 percent (37-of-70) from the field and hit 5-of-15 from long range. The Spartans dished out 24 assists on their 37 field goals as freshman Diante Baldwin was tied for the team lead with five helpers. Aragon Select was limited to just 32.8 percent (20-of-61) shooting from the field and 20 percent (4-of-20) from three-point land in the loss.
The Spartans and Aragon Select traded baskets in the early going with UNCG holding an early 11-10 lead. The Spartans responded with a 9-2 run to take a 20-12 lead as sophomore Kayel Locke scored four straight in the run while Byrd nailed a three-pointer in transition.
Aragon Select kept the game a four-point contest at 30-22 before the Spartans posted another 9-2 run to extend the lead into double figures at 39-24. Byrd nailed another three-pointer in the run while White scored on an offensive rebound. The Spartans dominated play in the pain in the first half as they out-scored Aragon Select 30-16 in the first half on their way to a 42-28 lead.
Byrd led UNCG with 11 points in the first half as he hit 3-of-7 from three-point land while Locke added nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting in the half. Cain highlighted the Spartans rebounding edge as he grabbed 11 defensive boards in the first half as UNCG owned a 32-16 edge on the glass. Cain also added six points while White grabbed eight rebounds.
The Spartans ended any doubt coming out of the break at halftime as they opened the second half on a 27-13 run to take a 71-41 lead with just under eight minutes remaining. Baldwin scored six points in the stretch while Cain and Outlaw each added four points during the game-ending run.
The Spartans return to action for their third of five final two games on the trip as they travel to the Barcelona. UNCG will face off against Catalunya Select at the Pavello Viladecavalls Thursday night at 7 p.m.