UNCG-Western Carolina box score
Box Score
Kyle Hines had his 11th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds |
CULLOWHEE, NC – UNC Greensboro went on an 18-5 run to close out the game and rally from a 10-point deficit to defeat Western Carolina, 79-76, in Southern Conference men's basketball action and lock up a first-round bye in next week's SoCon Tournament.
With UNCG's win, its third in a row, coupled with Appalachian State's 58-55 loss at Elon, the Spartans will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Kyocera Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, which will be held in Chattanooga at McKenzie Arena beginning Wednesday, March 2. UNCG will open play at the tournament on Thursday at approximately 2:30 pm against the winner of the Western Carolina-Georgia Southern game. UNCG and Appalachian State finished with identical 9-7 SoCon records, but UNCG won both regular season meetings to gain the tie-breaker advantage.
It is the third time in the last five years that UNCG earned one of the four precious first-round byes into the SoCon Tournament. The win was UNCG's second in 12 trips to Cullowhee.
UNCG (16-11, 9-7) was led by Kyle Hines' 20 points and 12 rebounds. The freshman from Sicklerville, NJ recorded his sixth 20-point game and SoCon leading 11th double-double of the season. Hines also broke the SoCon freshman record for blocks. Less than two minutes into the contest, Hines recorded his 94th blocked shot of the season, surpassing the record previously held by current Western Carolina senior Rans Brempong, who played in his final home game on Saturday night.
UNCG also got 19 points from Ricky Hickman, including six points in one possession that turned the game around late, 15 points from Ronnie Burrell and 12 points from Josh Gross.
Western Carolina was led by Negus McKenna's game-high 21 points. David Berghoefer added 16 points and Brempong and Trey Hopkins each added 13 points. Berghoefer also grabbed 14 rebounds.
“I was really impressed with our team's ability to come out right away and get a lead and then to fight back from down by 10 with four minutes to go,” said UNCG coach Fran McCaffery. “Our team knew the magnitude of this game. We needed to get a little help from Elon and it all went our way. That bye is very important.”
For the third straight game, the Spartans got off to a fast start. Dwayne Johnson knocked down UNCG's third three-pointer of the night to cap a 13-2 run that spanned the first three minutes of the game.
Western Carolina got back in it midway through the first half. The Catamounts went on 12-2 run to close to within a point, 18-17, with 9:45 left before halftime. But Burrell scored six of UNCG's next eight points to open the lead back up to six.
The Catamounts rallied to take its first lead of the night just before half, albeit a brief one. McKenna's basket with 33 seconds left in the first half gave Western Carolina a 38-37 lead. However, a dunk by Gross with six seconds left gave UNCG a one-point lead going into the locker room.
The second half became a see-saw affair as the lead changed hands seven times over the first nine minutes. Western Carolina took its largest lead to that point when Hopkins knocked down a three-pointer to give the Catamounts a 57-53 lead with 10:36 to play.
The Catamounts then went on a run to open up a 10-point lead. With the score tied 57-57, Western Carolina went on a 12-2 run, getting five points from McKenna and four from Berghoefer, to take a 69-59 lead.
But UNCG rallied to take a lead with less than two minutes to play, thanks in big-part to a six-point possession by Ricky Hickman. Hickman scored and was fouled intentionally with 2:30 to play. The sophomore from Winston-Salem, NC hit one of his two free throws, then knocked down a three-pointer from the right side with 2:04 remaining to tie the game, 74-74.
Burrell followed with a jumper in the lane with 1:14 left to give UNCG the lead it would not surrender. Hines put the game away with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds to play.
UNCG has not lost this season when leading at the half. The Spartans are 13-0 when leading after the first 20 minutes.
AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO (16-11, 9-7)
HINES, 8-14 4-8 20; HICKMAN, 4-8 9-12 19; BURRELL, 3-8 9-10 15; GROSS, 4-5 3-4 12; BRISTOW, 3-16 1-2 8; JOHNSON, 2-3 0-0 5; BECKFORD, 0-1 0-0 0; OLEKSIAK, 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 26-36 79.
WESTERN CAROLINA (8-21, 4-12)
McKENNA, 8-18 2-2 21; BERGHOEFER, 7-15 2-4 16; HOPKINS, 5-8 1-2 13; BREMPONG, 6-16 1-1 13; GREATHOUSE, 2-5 0-0 6; NLANDU, 2-6 0-0 4; WOODYARD, 1-4 0-2 3; WILSON, 0-3 0-0 0; RUSSELL, 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-76 6-11 76.
Halftime: UNCG 39-38. 3-point goals-UNC Greensboro 5-15 (HICKMAN, 2-4; BRISTOW, 1-6; GROSS, 1-2; JOHNSON, 1-1; OLEKSIAK, 0-1; BURRELL, 0-1), Western Carolina 8-19 (McKENNA, 3-7; HOPKINS, 2-4; GREATHOUSE, 2-5; WOODYARD, 1-2; NLANDU, 0-1). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-None, Western Carolina-NLANDU,. Rebounds-UNC Greensboro 39 (HINES, 12), Western Carolina 44 (BERGHOEFER, 14). Assists-UNC Greensboro 8 (BRISTOW, 4), Western Carolina 18 (HOPKINS, 8). Total fouls-UNC Greensboro 12, Western Carolina 21. Att: 1087.
– UNCG –
