UNCG-Catawba Exhibition Box Score
Josh Gross had 16 points and 10 rebounds |
GREENSBORO, NC – The starting frontcourt trio of Ronnie Burrell, Kyle Hines and Josh Gross combined for 51 points as UNC Greensboro defeated Catawba, 73-65, in exhibition men's basketball action at Fleming Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
The UNCG frontcourt was impressive to say the least. Burrell, Gross and Hines accounted for 44 of UNCG's first 51 points. Gross opened the game with a pair of dunks and scored the first six points of the game. He finished the night with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Burrell, a pre-season All-Southern Conference selection, had 16 points, including a game-high 12 in the first half. Hines, a freshman from Sicklerville, NJ, celebrated his coming-out party with a game-high 19 points, 15 rebounds, also a game-high, and three blocks.
The trio combined to shoot 18-for-32 from the floor and pull down 30 of UNCG's 44 rebounds.
Catawba hung with the Spartans early, trailing 9-7 after the first four minutes of play. However, UNCG ran off eight straight points to open up a double-digit lead, 17-7. Catawba climbed back in it, running off seven straight. The run was capped off by Jamel Hamilton's three-pointer that cut the UNCG lead to 17-14. Hamilton finished the game with a team-high 17 points off of the bench.
The Spartans opened the lead back up to 10 points with 3:50 to play in the first half when Ricky Hickman knocked down a three-pointer to make it a 31-21 game. However, the Indians scored eight of the final 10 points of the first half to close it to a four-point advantage, 33-29, at the break.
UNCG gradually opened the lead back up. The margin hit 10 points, 50-40, with 13:24 to play after Hines converted a conventional three-point play. The Spartans took their biggest lead of the night nearly eight minutes later, 63-50, when Dwayne Johnson hit a runner in the lane.
The Spartans made their free throws down the stretch to put the game away. UNCG knocked down 8 out of 10 from the line in the final five minutes to keep the Indians out of striking distance.
UNCG played without the services of Devin Boddie and Dwon Clifton. Clifton sat out with a leg injury, while Boddie was out of the line-up with a knee injury. The missing duo, however, gave UNCG coach Fran McCaffery a chance to use a lot of younger players, including three freshmen in the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Indians, who lost to Athletes-in-Action on Monday night, 81-72, also got 10 points and seven rebounds from Brian Graves. Graves also had a game-high four assists.
UNCG opens the regular season on November 19 against Montreat at 7 p.m.
AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO 73, CATAWBA 65
CATAWBA: Hamilton, Jamel 6-15 2-2 17; Graves, Brian 5-14 0-1 10; Murphy, Ahmad 3-5 1-2 8; Manning, Jolly 2-5 3-6 7; Thomson, Andy 3-6 0-0 6; Bartasius, Rokus 3-3 0-0 6; Magnusson, Helgi 2-11 0-0 5; Gibson, Jorvewe 1-3 0-0 2; Snyder, Zach 1-1 0-0 2; Frasier, Brian 1-3 0-0 2; Diggs, Jason 0-1 0-0 0; Reddick, Marcus 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 6-11 65.
UNC GREENSBORO: Hines, Kyle 7-13 5-7 19; Burrell, Ronnie 6-9 4-5 16; Gross, Josh 5-10 6-8 16; Hickman, Ricky 2-10 2-6 7; Beckford, Brian 3-3 1-2 7; Bristow, Ray 1-7 3-4 5; Johnson, Dwayne 1-2 1-2 3; Oleksiak, Kevin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 22-34 73.
Halftime: UNCG, 33-29. 3-point goals: Catawba 5-23 (Hamilton 3-9; Magnusson 1-4; Murphy 1-2; Thomson 0-1; Frasier 0-1; Diggs 0-1; Reddick 0-1; Graves 0-4), UNC Greensboro 1-7 (Hickman 1-2; Burrell 0-1; Gross 0-1; Bristow 0-1; Johnson 0-1; Oleksiak 0-1). Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Catawba 38 (Thomson 10), UNC Greensboro 44 (Hines 15). Assists: Catawba 11 (Graves 4), UNC Greensboro 8 (Hickman 2; Johnson 2; Bristow 2). Total fouls-Catawba 24, UNC Greensboro 12. A-748
- UNCG -
