UNCG 92, Mars Hill 48
GREENSBORO, N.C. – All five UNCG men’s basketball starters scored in double figures as the Spartans coasted past Mars Hill 92-48 Wednesday afternoon on campus at Fleming Gymnasium in their final non-conference game of the year. The Spartans return to Southern Conference play Saturday evening as they host league-newcomer Mercer at the Greensboro Coliseum at 5 p.m.
The Spartans (5-9) dominated play as they connected on 50.7 percent (35-of-69) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from long range in the victory. UNCG was strong defensively, limiting Mars Hill to just 32.8 percent (20-of-61) shooting from the field and only 21.4 percent (6-of-28) from distance. The Spartans also forced the Lions into 20 turnovers, which UNCG turned into 28 points. The Spartans’ 92 points are a season-high and their 44-point victory is the largest of the season.
Sophomore guard Tevon Saddler led the way with a game-high 19 points, six rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes of action. Saddler connected on 7-of-11 from the field and hit 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White added 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. White scored 16 of his points in the second half and finished the game shooting 7-of-11 from the field and hitting all four free throws.
Junior forward Kayel Locke added 17 points and seven rebounds as he was 7-of-13 from the field. Senior guard Nicholas Paulos chipped in 13 points and six rebounds as he hit 4-of-7 from distance. Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points and six rebounds as he made his second consecutive start.
The Spartans came out of the gate quickly, opening to a 12-4 lead on the Lions as Locke scored six points early in the paint setting the stage for the game. After Mars Hill slowed the early momentum for UNCG trimming the deficit to 14-8, the Spartans went to the outside to extend their lead to 25-13. UNCG hit three consecutive 3-pointers during the stretch as Baldwin, Saddler and Paulos hit from the outside to extend the lead to double figures.
Mars Hill narrowed the gap back to six at 27-21 with a 7-2 run but the Spartans closed the half on a 15-4 run to take a 42-25 lead at the break. Baldwin and junior Ben Dickinson added four points each during the stretch while Paulos nailed a 3-pointer just inside the half court line at the buzzer to send UNCG into the locker room carrying a 17-point lead.
The Spartans connected on 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the field and hit 5-of-12 from long range in the opening half. Mars Hill was limited to 39.3 percent (11-of-28) shooting from the field and hit just 2-of-10 from distance in the first half.
The Spartans opened up the second half on a 17-8 run to extend the lead to 59-33. White was the primary force in the early going, scoring the first eight points of the half for the Spartans as UNCG pounded the ball in the paint. The Spartans out-scored the Lions 44-14 in the paint for the game.
UNCG ended any doubt in the game as it posted a 24-0 run over a span of 7:43 to take a 21-point lead to a 45-point lead. Saddler kicked off the dominating run by converting an old-fashioned three-point play on his way to six points during the stretch. Locke and Baldwin scored five points in the run while White capped it off with six straight points to finish the convincing victory.
Dickinson added six points in the victory off the bench as he was 3-of-6 from the field. Freshman walk-on Garrett Collins hit a pair of 3-pointers in five minutes of play. Kevin Haynes scored 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting while Brandon McCarter added nine points to lead Mars Hill.
Tennessee 71, ETSU 61
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Leading by four points midway through the second half, the ETSU men’s basketball team suffered through an eight-minute scoring drought, allowing SEC opponent Tennessee to regain the lead and escape with a 71-61 non-conference victory over the Buccaneers Wednesday afternoon inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Bucs (6-4) led 56-52 with 9:39 left, but did not hit another field goal until 1:07 left in regulation. During that time, Tennessee – which finished with a 38-20 rebounding advantage for the game – used its size advantage to go on a 19-5 run and close out the game. ETSU did hit an impressive 13 3-pointers in the contest, but it was not enough to upend the Volunteers, who improved to 8-4 on the year.
Senior guard Rashawn Rembert had seven of the Bucs’ 13 made 3-pointers, scoring a game-high 21 points, while junior forward Lester Wilson hit four threes and finished with 16. For Tennessee, All-SEC guard Josh Richardson had a team-high 19 points, while post Armani Moore netted 13 and Derek Reese added 12.
The Bucs got off to a great start, as Rembert hit three straight 3-pointers and a thunderous dunk by A.J. Merriweather helped ETSU build an early 13-0 lead. Tennessee responded though, putting together a 22-7 run over the next 10 minutes to take the advantage 22-20 with seven minutes left before the half.
Tennessee’s lead grew to as many as seven at 32-25 before Rembert closed the half with another pair of 3-pointers to make it 32-31 at the break. In the first half, the Bucs shot 41 percent from 3-point range and Rembert led the way with a game-high 18 points.
ETSU’s 3-point attack caught fire again early in the second half, as Rembert connected for his seventh three of the game and Wilson hit a pair, pushing the Bucs back out to a 44-40 lead with 14:57 remaining in regulation.
The Bucs continued to answer Tennessee’s offensive punches over the next six minutes, but with 7:17 left on the clock, the Vols did manage to finally take a 57-56 lead on a layup by Reese. The UT lead ultimately grew to eight at 64-56 with three minutes left. ETSU did make it 64-59 following three foul shots by senior guard Jalen Riley, but that was as close as ETSU would get the rest of the way.
For the game, junior guard Petey McClain matched his career high with 11 assists. Meanwhile, as a team the Bucs shot 41 percent from 3-point range, while the Vols hit on 50 percent from the field.
The Vols outscored the Bucs 38-14 in the paint, besting the Bucs 12-3 on offensive rebounds. A crowd of 14,245 were on hand for the game.
#2 Duke 84, Wofford 55
DURHAM, N.C. – The second-ranked Duke Blue Devils shot 56 percent from the field and pulled away in the second half for an 84-55 win over Wofford Wednesday afternoon. Duke held a slim 31-24 halftime advantage, but pulled away in the second half by outscoring the Terriers 43-21 in the second frame. The Blue Devils began the second half on a 26-15 run to pull away.
Duke (12-0) put four players in double figures, led by Jahlil Okafor’s game-high 24 points. The freshman was 11-of-13 from the field and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Fellow newcomer Justise Winslow added 16 points and seven rebounds for Duke while Quinn Cook scored 15. Amile Jefferson scored 10 points to give Duke four starters in double figures. Tyus Jones recorded a game-high five assists.
Karl Cochran was the only Terrier to score in double figures as the senior tallied 13 points and pulled down five rebounds. Justin Gordon scored nine for Wofford and Eric Garcia added eight points for the Terriers. Spencer Collins also pulled down five rebounds for Wofford.
The Blue Devils were 29-of-52 from the field and were 8-of-16 from 3-point range. The Terriers were limited to just 38 percent shooting as Wofford connected on just 21-of-55 attempts from the field. Wofford was 5-of-17 from beyond the arc. Duke recorded 10 steals and forced the Terriers into 13 turnovers. Wofford (9-4) held a slim 15-14 edge in points off the bench.
Wofford will travel to take on Samford Saturday afternoon in the Terriers’ Southern Conference opener.