GREENSBORO, NC Ricky Hickman scored 21 points and Kyle Hines added 20 points to lead four Spartans in double figures as UNC Greensboro rolled to a 88-68 victory over Belmont Abbey in exhibition men's basketball action Monday night at Fleming Gymnasium.
Hines, a sophomore from
Sicklerville, NJ, picked up right where he left off at the end of his rookie campaign that earned him Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. He shot 8-for-12 from the floor and added five rebounds. Hickman, a junior from Kernersville, NC, knocked down 8-of-13 from the floor and added six rebounds and four assists.
Everson Simmons and Brian Beckford added 13 and 10 points, respectively for UNCG. Sidney Hoff had a double-double to lead Belmont Abbey, recording 16 points and 13 rebounds. Anthony Hall also had 16 points for the Crusaders.
Belmont Abbey, a Division II school from the Carolinas Virginia Athletic Conference, came out with full court pressure, trying to force the up-tempo game that it likes. It got the Crusaders an early 9-6 lead before UNCG went on a 19-4 run to take its first double-digit lead of the night, 25-13.
The margin remained in double-digits after that while the Spartans kept rotating fresh bodies into the game. UNCG played 12 different players in the first 11:14. Meanwhile, when Hickman knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing with 5:07 left in the first half, the Spartans extended the lead to 20, 42-22.
The Crusaders were hampered by 17 first half turnovers and UNCG shot 52.4 percent from the floor as the Spartans took a 50-32 lead into the locker room. Hickman had 11 points in the first half and Hines had 10 points to lead the way for UNCG.
The second half was more of the same. UNCG extended the lead to 26 a little less than four minutes into the second half when Dwayne Johnson picked someone's pocket at mid-court and fed it to Hickman for a reverse dunk and a 60-34 lead.
The Spartans led by as many as 31 in the second half as they rolled to the victory in their only open exhibition contest of the pre-season. Belmont Abbey put together a run midway through the second half, closing to within 15 at 76-61 with six minutes to play, but got no closer.
UNC Greensboro will open the 2005-06 regular season Sunday at the eight-team Black Coaches Association (BCA) Classic in Seattle, WA against UW-Green Bay. Tip-off is slated for 11 pm eastern time (8 pm local).
AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO 88, BELMONT ABBEY 68
BELMONT ABBEY
Hall, Anthony 6-13 0-0 16; Hoff, Sidney 5-13 6-7 16; Lavann, Greg 4-12 0-0 10; Petway, Paul 3-6 3-4 9; Jones, Maurice 3-11 1-2 7; Humphrey, Damien 2-5 2-2 6; Williams, Steve 1-6 0-0 2; Ferriera, Israel 1-1 0-0 2; Morales, Fard 0-2 0-0 0; Bauza, Karl 0-0 0-0 0; Fuller, Demetrice 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-72 12-15 68.
UNC GREENSBORO
Hickman, Ricky 8-13 2-3 21; Hines, Kyle 8-12 4-5 20; Simmons, Everson 5-6 1-4 13; Beckford, Brian 5-8 0-1 10; Akinosho, Matt 4-7 1-3 9; McClenny, David 2-8 0-0 4; Tooms, Bart 1-4 1-2 3; Oleksiak, Kevin 1-7 0-0 2; Everette,
Dustin 1-1 0-0 2; Bernard, Derrick 1-1 0-0 2; Moore, Donald 1-1 0-0 2; Boddie, Devin 0-3 0-0 0; Vlazny, Gregory 0-0 0-0 0; Campbell, Marc 0-0 0-0 0; Johnson, Dwayne 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 37-74 9-18 88.
Halftime: UNCG 50-32. 3-point goals-Belmont Abbey 6-23 (Hall, Anthony 4-10; Lavann, Greg 2-7; Petway, Paul 0-1; Humphrey, Damien 0-1; Williams, Steve 0-1; Morales, Fard 0-1; Fuller, Demetrice 0-2), UNC Greensboro 5-12 (Hickman, Ricky 3-5; Simmons, Everson 2-3; McClenny, David 0-1; Oleksiak, Kevin 0-1; Johnson, Dwayne 0-2). Fouled out--Belmont Abbey-None, UNC Greensboro-None. Rebounds-Belmont Abbey 51 (Hoff, Sidney 13), UNC Greensboro 41 (Beckford, Brian 6; Hickman, Ricky 6). Assists-Belmont Abbey 9 (Williams, Steve 4), UNC Greensboro 24 (Johnson, Dwayne 10). Total fouls-Belmont Abbey 17, UNC Greensboro 16. Att: 1010
UNCG
