GREENSBORO, NC – Kyle Hines led the way with 18 points and 21 rebounds as UNC Greensboro won its Southern Conference opener, 72-58, over College of Charleston at Fleming Gymnasium on Saturday night.
Hines' 21 rebounds were the most by a player in 17 seasons of play at Fleming Gymnasium and a UNCG Division I era record. It was the most by a Spartan since 1973 and the first 20-rebound game since Verdell Ellis did it on Feb. 20, 1988, against Greensboro College. Back then, UNCG was an NCAA Division III member.
The previous arena record was held by Middle Tennessee State's Napolean Rhodes. It also marked just the fifth time a Spartan eclipsed the 20-rebound mark, joining Ellis and Bruce Shaw, who did it three times in the early 1970's.
UNCG (4-3, 1-0) went 10:04 between field goals with a halftime intermission in the midst of the drought and saw all but two points of a 20-point advantage dissipate. However, a 12-0 run midway through the second half, opened the lead back up and put the Spartans on their way to their fourth win of the season and their first over the Cougars since 2001-02.
Dontaye Draper led College of Charleston (2-2, 0-1) with 17 points. Ricky Hickman added 15 points for UNCG and Bart Tooms chipped in with 11.
“It's a big win; a conference game this early that you can win is big,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “We rebounded very well tonight, particularly Kyle. We stressed that when we came back from South Carolina (for Thursday's practice). I thought we got tired late. We didn't finish the way I would like, but that happens with a young squad.
“We had a 20-point lead and had trouble holding on to it, but that happens. I think we've done that in each of our wins (lost a lead, but regained it) and that shows good character, particularly with a young squad like we have.”
The game opened with the Spartans hot, and the Cougars not. The Spartans held College of Charleston without a field goal for the first six minutes to open the contest. The Cougars missed their first eight shots from the field and continued to struggle after that. The stingy defense, combined with better than 50 percent shooting from the field, helped UNCG to a 19-4 lead nine minutes in.
UNCG freshman Everson Simmons knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing with 7:31 to go in the first half to push the margin to 20, 28-8. But that would be UNCG's last field goal of the first half and the Cougars began to chip away from there. The Spartans got sloppy, turning the ball over six times in the next four minutes, and College of Charleston scored nine straight points to cut it to 28-17. That is as close as they would get in the first half as UNCG took a 33-19 lead into the locker room.
Draper scored the first five points of the second half and 10 points total in a 15-3 run over the first four minutes of the second half that pulled College of Charleston within two, 36-34. The Spartans ran off 12 straight points, however, to push the lead back to 14 with 10:30 to play. After that, the Cougars never got closer than seven.
Lost in everything was Hines' 500th career point. Achieving it in just his 36th career game, he is the fastest to do it in UNCG's Division I era. Jay Joseph, UNCG's all-time leading scorer, scored 500 in 39 career games.
UNCG returns to action on Tuesday night when the Spartans take on East Carolina in Greenville.
SIDELINES: Hines hit his first three shots from the field to end the drama of his 500th career point early. He is the fastest to 500 in UNCG's Division I era, recording it in his 36th career game. Robert Bryant was the fastest in school history, achieving the mark in just the 19th game of his only season as a Spartan (1984-85)... Hines grabbed 11 of his rebounds in the first half. It was his 14th career double-double... Dwayne Johnson also set a career-high with nine points despite a bout with a stomach bug... ... UNCG has now won 18 in a row when leading at the half dating back to March 2004.
AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO 72, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 58
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (2-2, 0-1)
Draper, Dontaye 6-13 2-3 17; Hammond, Marcus 5-15 2-4 14; Hall, Drew 2-4 6-6 11; Johnson, Jermaine 2-7 0-0 4; Jackson, Josh 1-1 2-4 4; Hairston, J.R. 1-4 2-2 4; Lawrence, David 1-7 0-0 2; McCandies, Philip 1-4 0-0 2; Dickerson, Renardo 0-6 0-3 0; Scott, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-61 14-22 58.
UNCG (4-3, 1-0)
Hines, Kyle 8-11 2-6 18; Hickman, Ricky 3-9 8-9 15; Tooms, Bart 4-7 3-5 11; Johnson, Dwayne 2-4 5-6 9; Akinosho, Matt 2-3 4-6 8; Beckford, Brian 1-1 2-2 4; Simmons, Everson 1-1 0-0 3; Oleksiak, Kevin 0-8 2-2 2; McClenny, David 1-3 0-0 2; Moore, Donald 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 26-36 72.
Halftime: UNCG 33-19. 3-point goals-College of Charleston 6-25 (Draper, Dontaye 3-8; Hammond, Marcus 2-7; Hall, Drew 1-3; Hairston, J.R. 0-2; Lawrence, David 0-2; McCandies, Philip 0-1; Dickerson, Renardo 0-2), UNCG 2-11 (Hickman, Ricky 1-5; Simmons, Everson 1-1; Oleksiak, Kevin 0-3; Tooms, Bart 0-1; Hines, Kyle 0-1). Fouled out--College of Charleston-Draper, Dontaye, UNCG-None. Rebounds-College of Charleston 33 (Johnson, Jermaine 6), UNCG 46 (Hines, Kyle 21). Assists-College of Charleston 6 (Hall, Drew 4), UNCG 14 (Oleksiak, Kevin 7). Total fouls-College of Charleston 28, UNCG 23. A-1276
- UNCG -
