UNCG (3-13, 2-3) at W. Carolina (12-3, 2-1)

Ramsey Center • Cullowhee, N.C.
Jan. 14, 2010 • Game 17
Radio: WUAG 103.1-FM, WPET 950-AM  (Scott Pryzwansky, Dick Stewart)
Internet: UNCGSpartans.com (video, free audio), Yahoo! Sports (audio)
LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com

Brandon Evans has scored in double figures in 11 games thus far this season.

BREAKING IT DOWN (courtesy stats, inc. - through Tuesday)

UNCG (3-13)
Offense (Rank)
Points: 62.9 (292)
Rebounds: 15.4 (7)
Assists: 9.1 (342)
FG%: 37.7% (333)
FT%: 70.0% (130)
3P%: 27.6% (333)

Defense (Rank)
Points: 76.0 (310)
Rebounds: 21.4 (313)
Assists: 15.0 (297)
FG%: 49.0% (336)
FT%: 67.2% (125)
3P%: 35.5% (234)  

RPI - 225 // SOS - 47 (WarrenNolan.com)

W. Carolina (12-3)
Offense (Rank)
Points: 74.6 (83)
Rebounds: 13.5 (72)
Assists: 14.4 (108)
FG%: 44.8% (123)
FT%: 64.7% (281)
3P%: 35.6% (132)

Defense (Rank)
Points: 64.0 (84)
Rebounds: 22.8 (255)
Assists: 10.1 (25)
FG%: 40.3% (71)
FT%: 65.8% (79)
3P%: 26.4% (6)  

RPI - 54 // SOS - 164 (WarrenNolan.com)

INJURY UPDATE

Taylor Hoffer is out for the season and will redshirt following preseason surgery on his leg. Kyle Randall injured his thigh in the game at Chattanooga on Monday. He is listed as probable.

MILESTONE WATCH

Several milestones to watch in the upcoming contests:

• Mikko Koivisto surpassed 1,000 points for his career against Furman. He is in 16th place with 1,010 career points, five behind Kevin Oleksiak, currently a member of the UNCG staff as Director of Basketball Operations.
• Ben Stywall surpassed 1,000 points for his career against Chattanooga. He is in 17th place with 1,005 career points, five behind Kovisto and 10 behind Oleksiak.
• Ben Stywall has 788 career rebounds passing Demetrius Cherry in the Richmond game for fourth place (722). Up next is Eric Cuthrell at 859.
• Kendall Toney is fifth in school history for career three-pointers with 174. Nathan Jameson is fourth at 188.
• Mikko Koivisto is third in school history for career three-pointers with 227. Jay Joseph is second at 261.
• Mikko Koivisto has 165 career assists, good for 15th in school history. He is six behind Jay Joseph (168) for 14th place.
• Ben Stywall has 18 career double-doubles, fourth in school history. He is tied Verdell Ellis (18). Eric Cuthrell is third with 21.

SPEAKING STYWALL

UNCG's Ben Stywall is off to a solid start despite facing some stiff competition this season. Stywall leads the Southern Conference in rebounding at 9.4 per game entering play tonight. Stywall had four straight double-doubles prior to the Furman game last Saturday, when he was held to 11 points and four rebounds. His six double-doubles this season (three against the ACC and three against the SoCon) lead the SoCon.

Against six ACC teams this season, Stywall averaged 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, shooting 46 percent from the floor.

WOW, WHAT A DAY!

UNCG's conference opener at Samford - the program's first-ever against the Bulldogs - was quite the performance. A few of the notes from that game:

• UNCG held Samford without a field goal for the final 11:15.
• The Spartans held a 27-9 advantage in rebounding in the second half, when Samford shot just 3-of-22 from the floor.
• The 40 points allowed were the fewest in the Division I era and fewest since Dec. 2, 1985 against Piedmont Bible.
• The previous mark for scoring margin in a road conference game was 23 against Winthrop in 1995.
• It was the largest margin of victory over a Division I foe ever (30 in an 84-54 win over The Citadel) and the largest since an 85-47 win over Division III Greensboro College (Dec. 16, 2005).

THE IRON THREE... AND ANOTHER

UNCG seniors Pete Brown, Ben Stywall and Kendall Toney each achieved a remarkable milestone on at Akron. The trio played in their 100th career game. It was also their 100th consecutive career game, having never missed a game at UNCG. With them achieving the milestone, there have now been 32 Spartans to play 100 games in their career.

Brown's streak was snapped when he missed the NC State game due to a stomach virus - his first missed game in 103 during his UNCG tenure. He had appeared in 102 straight games prior to that. Stywall and Toney still have a consecutive games streak, currently sitting at 107 straight.

Mikko Koivisto joined the club when he played his 100th career game against Maryland last Sunday.

SLOW STARTS

UNCG has had some first half struggles this season, being outscored on average 36.2 to 29.2 Some other notes that jump out on the way to that number:

• UNCG has surrendered 50 percent field goal shooting or better in the first half in nine of 16 games this season, although they have done a better job in the last two games. For the year, opponents are shooting 46.3 percent from the floor in the first half.
• UNCG has no one averaging more than five points in the first half of games this year. Ben Stywall is averaging a team-high 5.0 points in the first half of games this season.
• The Spartans are shooting just 37.3 percent from the floor overall in the opening period, 28.5 percent from three-point range.
• UNCG has committed 134 turnovers in the first half through 16 games, while opponents have committed just 112.
• UNCG has been outrebounded in the first half of nine of 16 games and was even-up in another two.

CROWDED COLISEUM DEBUT

UNCG lost in its first home outing to No. 22 Clemson, 89-67. (Complete game story and box score on page 19.) The game was played at UNCG's new home - the Greensboro Coliseum - in front of a crowd of 5,672. In that number, there were about 1,000 walk-ups the day of the game and more than 2,200 student tickets. In fact, 1,633 student tickets were distributed the first day for the Clemson game. Take note that UNCG's on-campus facility Fleming Gym has a capacity of 1,831.

THE QUOTE TO SUM IT UP

Mike Dement was talking with the FSN broadcast crew prior to the Clemson game and summed up his three early season games against the ACC this way... "We're playing three games against the ACC to open the season. There are ACC teams not ready to play three ACC opponents to open the season."

SEASON TICKET RECORD

UNCG sold a record number of season tickets for this first season in the Coliseum. There are a total of 1,354 season tickets for the 2009-10 basketball season.

TOUGH CLOSING AT VIRGINIA TECH

UNCG was tied with Virginia Tech, 38-38, with 10:48 to play. But UNCG turned the ball over on six of their next seven possessions as Virginia Tech went on an 11-0 run. The Spartans went 5:40 between field goals. The end result was a 59-46 win by Virginia Tech.

ABOUT THE NEW HOUSE

Currently celebrating its 50th year, the Greensboro Coliseum has played host to the Final Four and numerous NCAA Tournament regional and opening rounds games - 51 to be exact, ACC Tournaments (including five of the next six years), and concert performers like The Who, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, George Strait, Jimmy Buffett and Shania Twain.

The venue holds 23,000, but it will be downsized to 7,617 for a typical configuration and will be enlarged when called for. The Spartans had played occasional games at the Coliseum over the years. Last February, UNCG and Davidson played here in front of a crowd of 11,267. The walk-up crowd for that was more than 1,800 fans - more than the capacity of UNCG's on-campus venue Fleming Gym (capacity 1,831). The Spartans drew more than 21,000 for No. 1 Duke in December 2005

UNCG ANNOUNCES MOVE OF SAMFORD GAME BACK TO FLEMING

UNCG Director of Athletics Kim Record confirmed last week that UNCG's game against Samford will be moving back to Fleming Gym due to a schedule conflict at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Coliseum will be hosting a George Strait / Reba McEntire that night, so the Spartans have agreed to move their game with Samford back to Fleming Gym.

Rescheduling the game was not a possibility because Samford is on a three-game road swing that weekend, also visiting Elon on Thursday night and Furman on Monday. In addition, the Bulldogs are travel partners with Chattanooga, meaning that the Mocs play UNCG on Thursday, Elon on Saturday and have the extra game at Wofford on Monday. Therefore, a shift in the slate would have meant game changes for six schools - one half of the Southern Conference.

Game time is still set for 4 p.m. All seats, with the exception of the on-floor seats, will be general admission. An overflow area is also being designed with closed circuit television in the HHP Building.

EARLY DIVIDENDS

The move to the Greensboro Coliseum and the upgraded schedule are already having a positive effect for UNCG's men's basketball program.

The Spartans signed four players during the early signing period with a big factor being playing against arguably the best non-conference slate in the country in a historic venue. Mike Dement told reporters last week, "we had one of our early signees verbally commit after watching us play Duke on television. We were on the bus coming back and he called one of our cell phones. That's what this move can do for us. More games on television and a beautiful venue like this is going to have a significant impact on who we can recruit."

A GOOD OPENING EFFORT

The final score from the season-opener at Duke may not have been indicative, but UNCG coach Mike Dement was not entirely displeased with his team's performance. The Spartans got solid production from three freshmen making their collegiate debut (Brian Cole, Korey Van Dussen and Kyle Randall) and didn't look flustered (just 14 turnovers) in one of the most intimidating environments in college basketball. In fact, UNCG played Duke even for most of the second half, with the Blue Devils extending their lead during a 13-5 run in a four-minute span midway through the second half. (Duke outscored UNCG, 48-35, in the second half).

One point that Dement made in the postgame press conference was that the Spartans didn't convert second chances against the bigger Blue Devils. UNCG had 13 offensive rebounds and just six second-chance points.

TWEET, TWEET

If you are a fan of Twitter, UNCG information can be found at several Twitter pages. For all general athletics information, the UNCG athletics Twitter is @uncgsports. More specifically, UNCG coach Mike Dement has his own Twitter page @coachmikedement. Director of Athletics Kim Record started her own page as well @UNCGSpartansAD.

A STRONG NUCLEUS

While coming off a disappointing season, the Spartans return a solid nucleus from last season's squad. Nearly 74 percent of last year's scoring returns, including three of the top four scorers from last year in Mikko Koivisto, Ben Stywall and Kendall Toney. Seven of the nine players returning from last year's roster have started 10 or more contests in their career. In addition, the Spartans regain the services of Darrius Sellers, who was lost for the season before it was even underway. Sellers suffered a leg injury that required surgery in preseason conditioning workouts after playing in 21 games as a freshman.

FRESH FACES

The Spartans also have a host of new faces that will likely see significant time this season. Brandon Evans sat out last season after transferring from East Carolina, where he was a key reserve for most of two seasons. Mike Dement has also added four freshmen, three of whom are expected to see the floor on an extended basis this season. Brian Cole will probably see even more playing time this season now that fellow freshman Taylor Hoffer is lost for the season due to leg surgery. Guards Korey Van Dussen and Kyle Randall come to UNCG highly-touted and will be a key part of the backcourt rotation. Van Dussen finished third in the Mr. Michigan voting last season at Zeeland East HS, where he led the team to their first regional title in 60 years. Randall was the AP's Class A Player of the Year in Pennsylvania.

SPARTANS SIGN FOUR

UNC Greensboro men's basketball coach Mike Dement has announced the signing of four student-athletes thus far during the National Letter of Intent program's early signing period.

The Spartans have received commitments from 6-9 power forward Cody Henegar, 6-6 shooting guard Mike Liabo, 6-2 guard Drew Parker and 6-5 wing Trevis Simpson.

"We are very pleased to welcome these four individuals into our program," said Dement. "This is a good class with still one grant to fill if we choose. All four young men come from outstanding backgrounds and we look forward to them joining us next fall.

"These kids and their families recognize the opportunity they have before them academically, as well as with our move to play our games in the Greensboro Coliseum and against the schedule we are going to face. They were attracted to those things and they are excited about it. We will expect them to play significant roles next season since we are graduating six seniors. They will be a big part of the future of this program."

UNCG will graduate five scholarship players this spring in Ben Stywall, Mikko Koivisto, Kendall Toney, Pete Brown and Montel Smith.

Henegar is a 6-9 post player from Marion County High School. A native of Jasper, Tenn., Henegar averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks per contest last season at Marion County. He played his AAU basketball for the Nashville Celtics, where he is averaging eight points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He's helped the Celtics to a 50-20 mark over the last two years, including a River City Showdown Championship and an Elite 8 finish at the adidas 64 Tournament in Las Vegas.

Ranked as one of the Top 20 players in the state of Tennessee this season, Henegar is a McDonald's All-American nominee. He was also named to the Class AA, 3-AA all-region team last season.

Liabo is a 6-6 shooting guard/small forward from Brehm Prep in Carbondale, Ill. Currently in a year of prep school, Liabo averaged 22.5 points per game last season as a senior for Brehm. A native of Crystal Lake, Ill., he played his AAU basketball for the Illinois Warriors. Liabo was a Class 5A all-state honorable mention selection for Gulf Coast High School in the Naples, Fla. area before his family moved to Illinois prior to last season. He averaged 20 points per game as a junior for Gulf Coast, breaking the school's single-season scoring mark.

Parker is a 6-2 point guard from Laporte High School in Laporte, Texas. He averaged 10 points and eight assists per contest last season as Laporte went 28-10. Parker is ranked in the Top 20 seniors in the state of Texas according to TexasHoops.com and some regard him as the top point guard in Houston.

Parker comes from a basketball family as his mother is a former high school coach and played at the University of Houston, while his father played collegiately at Iowa State and professionally in the ABA. Andrew, Sr., who was a third-round pick of the Washington Bullets in the 1979 NBA draft, also coached Drew's AAU squad, the Houston Clippers.

Simpson, a native of Douglas, Ga., is a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com and has been rated as high as a Top 100 player nationally. At 6-5 and 190 lbs, Simpson is athletic with a 42-inch vertical leap. Last season at Coffee County High School, he averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game, playing virtually every position on the floor and earning all-region honors. He played his AAU basketball previously with the Atlanta Celtics finished with the Georgia Hawks.

FOR YOUR TV GUIDE

Three of UNCG's five television appearances have now been picked up by ESPN Full Court. UNCG's games against Clemson, NC State and The Citadel will all be shown as part of the ESPN Full Court package. The Clemson and NC State games were also picked up by ESPN 360.

SoCon STANDING

The Spartans were picked tied for fifth in the Southern Conference's North Division during the coaches' preseason balloting. Western Carolina, which returns all five starters from last season, was picked to finish first in the North Division, while College of Charleston was picked to win the league's South Division.

In the conference coaches' voting, the Catamounts earned 10 first-place votes and finished the balloting with 64 points. Appalachian State earned the remaining two first-place votes in the North Division and finished with 55 points. Samford (44) was chosen third while last season's tournament champion, Chattanooga (39), was slotted fourth. Elon and UNCG tied for fifth place with 22 points apiece.

Behind eight first-place votes, College of Charleston was picked to win the South Division. The Cougars finished 15-5 in league play a season ago and advanced to the tournament championship before falling to the Mocs. Wofford picked up three first-place votes and finished second in the preseason balloting with 54 points. Davidson, which has won the South Division each of the past three years, earned the final first-place vote in the South Division and came in third with 48 points. The Citadel (36) finished fourth, followed by Furman (24) and Georgia Southern (21).

GRAB BAG

Mikko Koivisto: Has been bothered by a hip problem most of December... also missed two games due to a nasty stomach virus... has 227 three-point field goals, which is also third most in school history... was a perfect 16-for-16 from the foul line in the final two minutes of games last season and 25-of-26 from the stripe inside of the 5-minute mark... 17th players to score 1,000 points in his career... UNCG's top career free throw shooter at an 86.7% clip (157-181).

Ben Stywall: 18th player to record 1,000 points in his career... averaged 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds in the six games against ACC teams (shooting 46 pct from the floor), including a double-double in each of the last three games against the ACC...tied a career-high with 15 rebounds against Samford, including 12 in the decisive second half (a big part of UNCG's 27-9 rebound edge in the second half); followed that up with 14 rebounds against College of Charleston, including 11 on the offensive glass... his 15 rebounds against Samford marked just the 34th time in school history a player had 15 or more rebounds in a game; he is the seventh player to do it multiple times (also had 15 against Delaware in 2006-07)... the senior man in the Southern Conference, his 3,251 career minutes are the most among SoCon active players... moved into fourth on the school's career rebounding list... had 19 points - all in the second half - in the season-opener at Duke... tied a career-high with five steals against Clemson, to go along with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks... has 18 career double-doubles after his 17 points and 11 rebounds against Maryland, 18 points and 13 rebounds against NC State, and 13 points and 14 rebounds against Wake Forest; also had 11 points and 15 rebounds at Samford, 21 points and14 boards against College of Charleston and 21 points and 12 boards against Wofford; 18 double-doubles ranks fourth in school history (tied with Verdell Ellis)... his six double-doubles this season leads the league... active leader in the Southern Conference in free throws made (283) and attempted (447)... also the league's active leader in rebounds (788)... his 121 career steals is second on the SoCon's active leaders list.

Brandon Evans: Team-best 11 games scoring in double figures this season... had scored 10 or more points in seven straight and nine of the last 10 games before going field goal-less in the last two games. That included a season-high 22 points at Richmond. After having to sit out last year following his transfer from East Carolina, Evans scored just nine points in his first two games as a Spartan. However, he led the Spartans in scoring the next two games with 17 points against No. 22 Clemson and 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the win at USC Upstate (despite shooting 8-for-15 at the line)... had 16 points off of the bench in the win at Samford... his double-double against USC Upstate made him the first Spartan guard with a points-rebounds double-double since Ricky Hickman did it a double-overtime loss at NC State on January 2, 2007.

Former Spartans overseas: Several Spartans are playing overseas again this season. In fact, earlier this month, two of the three Spartans to have their number retired, met in a Lega Due game in Italy. Kyle Hines had 24 points as Prima Veroli beat A.B. Latina, 95-87. Courtney Eldridge had 22 for A.B. Latina. Hines is averaging 17.6 ppg and 7.5 rpg (his 64.6 FG pct. is second in the league), while Eldridge is averaging 15.6 ppg and 3.4 apg... others overseas include Bart Tooms (Netherlands - Upstairs Weert), Ronnie Taylor (France - Le Portel), Ricky Hickman (Finland - Namika Lahti), Josh Gross (Japan - Aishin), Davor Galic (Croatia - Darda), and Ronnie Burrell (Poland - Assec. Prokom)... Hickman is averaging 23.8 ppg for Namika Lahti, shooting 58 pct from the field... Gross went for 34 in a game earlier this year - one of nine double-figure games he has this season... Burrell recorded back-to-back double-doubles just before Christmas with 18 points and 10 rebounds and 20 points and 10 rebounds - his top two games this season... Taylor is averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 assists per game. (All stats through the end of December)

Spooner steps away: Walk-on Sean Spooner decided to leave the team prior to the season-opener.

Cleaning the glass: After getting beaten on the boards by Duke, 44-26, in the season-opener. UNCG outrebounded its next two opponents - Clemson and Virginia Tech. The Spartans had 20 offensive rebounds against Clemson on the way to a 37-35 advantage on the glass. .. In the last three outings, UNCG has outrebounded the opposition by 42. UNCG had a 40-22 advantage against Samford, including a 27-9 margin in the second half when UNCG outscored the Bulldogs, 42-12. The Spartans followed that up with a 49-29 advantage in the three-point loss to College of Charleston, including 25 offensive rebounds. All in all, UNCG has outrebounded the opposition in 10 of 16 games this year, including four of six ACC opponents.

Looking for 500: UNCG needs eight wins for 500 in the program's history. The Spartans have a 493-613 all-time record as a program. UNCG was 218-267 as a Division III program, 29-52 in three seasons at the Division II level and currently sits at 246-294 in the midst of its 19th season at the Division I level. UNCG has had 16 winning seasons in 42 years with Mike Dement leading the program to four of those.