CHARLESTON, S.C. - Ben Stywall broke the school record for rebounds in a season and finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds as UNC Greensboro knocked off The Citadel, 59-53, at McAlister Field House in Saturday afternoon men's basketball action.
Stywall, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., recorded his 13th double-double of the season, shooting 8-for-10 from the floor and surpassing Eric Cuthrell's mark for rebounds in a season. Stywall now has 286 rebounds this season, surpassing Cuthrell's mark of 284 in 1994-95. Stywall's 13 double-doubles is one shy of Kyle Hines' single-season school mark.
The Spartans used a 17-4 run midway through the second half and held The Citadel to just 12 points over the final 12:44. UNCG kept the Bulldogs off-balance all day long by switching defenses, including a confusing zone that kept The Citadel out of rhythm.
Mikko Koivisto added 18 points for UNCG (6-21, 5-11), which snapped the Bulldogs' five-game winning streak. The Citadel had also won four in a row at home.
UNCG, which snapped a five-game losing streak, tied a season-low with just seven turnovers in the contest. UNCG also had a 41-24 advantage on the glass, including 15 offensive rebounds. The Spartans held a 23-9 rebounding advantage in the second half, limiting The Citadel to just one offensive board.
Austin Dahn led The Citadel with 17 points and Cameron Wells added 14 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
The Spartans held the Bulldogs without a field goal for eight minutes in the first half to overcome some of its own early sluggish offense. In a first half that features 11 lead changes, UNCG managed to take a 24-23 lead into the locker room by committing just two turnovers in the first 20 minutes. UNCG shot 10-for-26 from the floor in the opening half, while The Citadel was just 9-for-25.
Both teams found a rhythm early in the second half, UNCG knocking down 4-of-6 and Citadel 3-of-6 to open things up. Mikko Koivisto's three-pointer from the left corner with 16:26 to play was UNCG's first trey of the afternoon and gave the Spartans a 33-28 lead.
But that was UNCG's last field goal for the next five minutes and the Bulldogs responded with a 13-2 run to retake the lead. Austin Dahn's three-pointer capped the run and gave the Bulldogs a 41-35 lead, their biggest to that point, with 12:44 to go.
The Spartans climbed back in it with three straight three-pointers by Koivisto, Kyle Randall and Kendall Toney, to claim a 44-43 lead with 9:10 to play. That sparked a 17-4 burst by the Spartans that gave them a lead they would not surrender. Stywall chipped in with six straight points in the run.
Despite going 15-for-23 from the line on the day, the Spartans made free throws when it counted. UNCG was 7-for-8 from the line in the final two minutes to seal the win.
UNCG returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Davidson for a 7 p.m. contest.
AGATE
UNCG 59, THE CITADEL 53
UNCG (6-21, 5-11)
Ben Stywall 8-10 3-9 19; Mikko Koivisto 6-14 4-4 18; Kyle Randall 2-5 4-4 9; Kendall Toney 2-8 0-0 5; Pete Brown 0-5 4-6 4; Brian Cole 1-2 0-0 2; Korey Van Dussen 1-4 0-0 2; DeAngelo Jackson 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Evans 0-1 0-0 0; Elhanan Bone 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 15-23 59.
THE CITADEL (15-13, 9-7)
Austin Dahn 5-11 2-2 17; Cameron Wells 6-19 2-2 14; Bryan Streeter 3-3 1-1 7; Harrison Dupont 3-6 0-0 7; Bo Holston 1-2 0-0 3; Zach Urbanus 1-8 0-0 3; Cosmo Morabbi 1-3 0-0 2; Joe Wolfinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 5-5 53.
Halftime: UNCG 24-23. 3-point goals--UNCG 4-15 (Mikko Koivisto 2-7; Kyle Randall 1-1; Kendall Toney 1-6; Korey Van Dussen 0-1), The Citadel 8-22 (Austin Dahn 5-9; Harrison Dupont 1-1; Zach Urbanus 1-6; Bo Holston 1-1; Cosmo Morabbi 0-2; Cameron Wells 0-3). Fouled out--UNCG-None, The Citadel-None. Rebounds-UNCG 41 (Ben Stywall 14), The Citadel 24 (Cameron Wells 6). Assists--UNCG 3 (Mikko Koivisto 2), The Citadel 14 (Cameron Wells 8). Total fouls--UNCG 10, The Citadel 13. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, The Citadel-None. A-3024
FREE THROWS: Koivisto moved into 11th place on the school's career scoring list, moving past Derrick Nix (1984-88). Koivisto now has 1,148 points for his career... Stywall moved closer to second on the career rebounding list. He now has 925 for his career, eight behind Bruce Shaw. He raised his scoring total to 1,191 career points, good for 10th... UNCG is now 44-21 over the last five years when holding the opposition under 70 points... UNCG leads the all-time series with The Citadel, 12-7... Toney's trey in the decisive run was his only of the day, extended his streak to 18 consecutive games with a three-pointer... UNCG had lost nine of its last 10 televised games prior to Saturday.
- UNCG -
