UNCG - Wofford Box Score

Box Score

GREENSBORO, NC – Senior forward Ronnie Burrell scored 19 points, including a pair of three-pointers in an early second half run, as UNC Greensboro defeated Wofford, 61-44, in Southern Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night at Fleming Gymnasium.

Burrell, who entered the game with just four career three-pointers – two in each of the last two seasons, knocked down a trey to open the second half and added another just over two minutes later to cap a 16-4 run that began late in the first half and ended with UNCG holding a 39-26 lead.

Wofford (8-5, 1-1) battled back with an 11-2 run to close the gap to 41-37. A jumper by Howard Wilkerson capped the run at the 11:09 mark. Wilkerson, a pre-season All-SoCon selection, finished the game with a team-high 12 points.

However, UNCG responded with a run that put the game away. The Terriers were held to just seven points over the final 11 minutes, including a 12-0 run capped off by Ray Bristow's three-pointer from the right wing as the shot clock expired. Bristow's shot broke the Terriers' backs with 2:17 to play, giving UNCG a commanding 17-point lead.

“That was our best defensive effort in my six years, I think,” said UNCG coach Fran McCaffery. “In order to be successful, you have to defend well. You have to defend your home court and you have to defend within the context of the game, and we did both of those tonight. I expected this game to play into the 80's. Wofford is a potent offensive team. We are a potent offensive team. No way would I expect 61-44. But we stressed the importance of defending them time-and-again in the film preparation for this game., and we did a great job on the defensive end. Wofford is a very good basketball team.”

Bristow, a junior from Winston-Salem, NC, finished the game with 12 points. Kyle Hines, a freshman from Sicklerville, NJ recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked three shots, extending his season total to 51 and making him the fastest Spartan to 50 blocked shots in a season. He entered the game ranked third in the nation in blocked shots at 4.5 per contest.

Burrell's 19 points put him over the 800-point mark for his career and was his 10th double-digit scoring effort of the season.

Neither team got off to a great start from the field. Wofford missed 11 of its first 12 from the field, while UNCG failed on eight of its first 11 shots from the floor. The Spartans broke an 11-11 tie with six straight points midway through the first half, a margin that held fairly firm until UNCG's big run early in the second half.

“Tonight was a combination of their defense and our offense,” said Wofford coach Mike Young. “UNCG is a good basketball team and Fran is a good coach. That team will win some games by playing like that. But, we didn't execute the way we should on defense tonight, either.”

UNCG (8-4, 1-0) won a SoCon opener for the second straight season. The Spartans held a 16-9 advantage in points off turnovers, despite committing 18 turnovers to Wofford's 14. UNCG is now 8-0 this season when scoring more points off turnovers than the opposition.

The 44 points allowed were the fewest by the Spartans since February 28, 2002 when UNCG held Wofford to just 41 points in a first-round SoCon Tournament win.

UNCG, which has won eight in a row at Fleming Gymnasium, hits the road for a pair of games beginning Saturday when it takes on Appalachian State. Game time is 3:30 pm.

AGATE

WOFFORD (8-5, 1-1)

Wilkerson, 6-14 0-1 12; Taylor, 4-8 1-1 9; Daniels, 2-10 0-0 5; Stephens, 2-3 0-0 5; Marshall, 1-8 2-2 4; Fields, 1-3 1-2 4; Borders, 1-5 1-1 3; Gibson, 0-8 2-2 2; Tarr, 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-59 7-9 44.

UNC GREENSBORO (8-4, 1-0)

Burrell, 4-11 9-10 19; Hines, 7-10 1-3 15; Bristow, 4-10 3-4 12; Gross, 3-5 0-2 8; Hickman, 2-7 3-6 7; Beckford, 0-0 0-0 0; Oleksiak, 0-0 0-0 0; Johnson, 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-43 16-25 61.

Halftime: UNCG 29-22. 3-point goals-Wofford 3-20 (Daniels, 1-6; Fields, 1-2; Stephens, 1-2; Borders, 0-1; Gibson, 0-6; Marshall, 0-2; Taylor, 0-1), UNC Greensboro 5-11 (Gross, 2-3; Burrell, 2-2; Bristow, 1-3; Hickman, 0-3). Fouled out--Wofford-None, UNC Greensboro-None. Rebounds-Wofford 31 (Wilkerson, 9; Daniels, 9), UNC Greensboro 41 (Hines, 11). Assists-Wofford 8 (Wilkerson, 3; Gibson, 3), UNC Greensboro 6 (Bristow, 2; Burrell, 2; Hines, 2). Total fouls-Wofford 20, UNC Greensboro 10. A-695.

- UNCG -