SPRINGFIELD, MO Missouri State used a 24-7 run that closed out the first half and opened the second half to break open a tight game and defeat UNC Greensboro, 79-52, at the Hammons Center in the 2007 Price Cutter Classic on Saturday night.

In the loss, Kyle Hines set UNCG's all-time career scoring record, surpassing Jay Joseph with 2:30 to play on a spin move in the paint. Hines finished the game with 12 points and now has 1,647 points for his career. He also extended his streak to 53 consecutive games scoring double figures, the longest current streak in the nation.

The Bears (2-1) did a good job of frustrating Hines for much of the night with their beefy front line. Missouri State did not allow him to get an uncontested pass and kept a body in front of him when he did touch the ball on the offensive end of the floor. As a result, Hines missed 13 of his first 15 shots from the floor. A career 58 percent shooter from the field, he finished the night just 5-for-20 from the floor.

Kevin Oleksiak added 11 points for UNCG, including the 100th three-pointer of his career. He is the 10th player in school history to achieve the milestone.

Meanwhile, Missouri State could do no wrong in the second half, opening the second half by scoring 17 of the first 20 points to blow the game wide open. The Bears shot 63 percent from the floor in the second half.

Deven Mitchell led Missouri State with a double-double, logging 24 points and 10 rebounds. Dale Lambert also had 20 points, while Drew Richards chipped in with 14 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor.

The Spartans (2-1) played without starting point guard Dwayne Johnson. A three-year starter at point guard, Johnson suffered a concussion in a collision midway through the second half of Friday night's win. His status is day-to-day.

“Give them credit,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “They did a good job on us tonight. They got physical with Kyle and made things difficult offensively. On the defensive end, we went into a zone because Richards was hurting us and their guards knocked down shots. I did think our defensive effort at times was lacking, though.

“Not having Dwayne hurts. That's the first time in three or four years we've played without him. We put two freshmen out there and it is a good learning experience for them. The result is not, certainly. You'd rather have a better result, but it will make them better to go through this and play that kind of minutes in that kind of environment.”

Missouri State took an early lead with a 9-2 run that gave the Bears an 11-8 advantage seven minutes in. The Spartans didn't help their cause early on, either, committing seven turnovers and getting just eight field goal attempts in the game's first 10 minutes. But UNCG was able to hang around by keeping the Bears off of the offensive glass.

For all of UNCG's offensive sputters, however, Mikko Koivisto's three-pointer from the left wing with 4:30 left in the opening half kept UNCG within a single point, 22-21. But the Bears closed out the half on a 9-4 spurt to take a 31-25 lead to the locker room.

The Bears opened the second half with a 17-3 run to open up their first double-digit lead of the game, which was eventually extended to 48-28 with 12:40 to play.

UNCG, which was trying to become 3-0 for the first time in 25 years, returns to the floor for its home opener next Saturday, playing host to USC Upstate in the 200th men's basketball game played at Fleming Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 pm.

AGATE

MISSOURI STATE 79, UNCG 52

UNCG (2-1)

Kyle Hines 5-20 2-3 12; Kevin Oleksiak 3-6 2-2 11; Mikko Koivisto 3-5 0-0 8; Daniel Oliver 2-5 1-2 6; Landon Clement 2-8 0-0 6; Pete Brown 1-1 2-2 4; Ben Stywall 1-4 0-2 3; Kendall Toney 1-4 0-1 2; Davor Galic 0-0 0-0 0; Darrius Sellers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 7-12 52.

MISSOURI STATE (2-1)

Deven Mitchell 10-13 4-5 24; Dale Lamberth 7-13 2-2 20; Drew Richards 7-7 0-0 14; Shane Laurie 3-6 0-0 8; Spencer Laurie 2-7 0-0 5; Wade Knapp 1-5 2-2 4; Dex Manswell 1-2 0-0 2; Justin Fuehrmeyer 1-5 0-0 2; Ryan Jehle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-58 8-9 79.

Halftime: Missouri State 31-25. 3-point goals--UNCG 9-21 (Kevin Oleksiak 3-4; Mikko Koivisto 2-4; Landon Clement 2-5; Ben Stywall 1-2; Daniel Oliver 1-4; Kendall Toney 0-2), Missouri State 7-19 (Dale Lamberth 4-8; Shane Laurie 2-4; Spencer Laurie 1-3; Justin Fuehrmeyer 0-4). Fouled out--UNCG-None, Missouri State-None. Rebounds--UNCG 32 (Ben Stywall 5; Kendall Toney 5), Missouri State 32 (Deven Mitchell 10). Assists--UNCG 14 (Landon Clement 4), Missouri State 27 (Justin Fuehrmeyer 12). Total fouls--UNCG 15, Missouri State 13. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, Missouri State-None. Att - 5734

FREE THROWS: It was just the second time the Spartans had ever played a Missouri Valley Conference member school. The other meeting was with Evansville in the 1999-2000 season... Freshman guard Daniel Oliver made his first career start in place of the injured Johnson... Mikko Koivisto now has at least one three-pointer in 13 consecutive games.

- UNCG -