GREENSBORO, N.C. - The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball graduate student Keondre Kennedy posted a double-double with 16 points and eleven rebounds as the Spartans claimed a Monday evening home opening contest over Johnson & Wales Charlotte (JWU Charlotte), 93-60 in Fleming Gym.
 
This was the fifth-straight season-opener earning a win for the Spartans, as they have continued their streak since the 2018-19 season. This is also the first win inside Fleming Gym since December 21, 2019 when the Spartans defeated Northern Kentucky 67-50 and the third-straight win since mainly playing in the Greensboro Coliseum.
 
How it Happened
 
The Spartans jumped to an early 9-0 advantage to force a JWU Charlotte 30-second timeout 2:02 into the start of the first half. The Wildcats cut the lead down to two, 9-7, but the Spartans inflated the lead back to nine at the 13:11 mark after a three-point stretch from Jalen Breath. The redshirt freshman later propelled the Spartans to a double-figure lead at the 9:35 mark of the period with a pair of free throws. 
 
UNCG grew their lead to 14 points at the 3:07 mark as Donovan Atwell made his first field goal as a Spartan to give UNCG a 35-21 advantage. Kobe Langley closed the period with a three-point field goal to give the Spartans their largest lead of the first half, 18 points, with 33 seconds left to send UNCG to the locker room with a 40-22 advantage.
 
The Spartans extended their lead to 20 in the second half after Mohammed Abdulsalam recovered a long rebound and ran the floor to convert a field goal on the fast break. That bucket was part of a 9-2 run that extended until the 15:10 mark. The Spartans' lead extended to 28 at the 8:49 mark on a Kennedy three-point field goal. Kennedy sank his second three-point field goal 1:20 later to reset the lead at 28, 75-47. The Spartans' lead grew as large as 34 points with 3:21 remaining as UNCG claimed victory.
 
By the Numbers

• Kennedy shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range.
• Bas Leyte posted ten points on 5-of-7 shooting and eight rebounds with two blocks
• Mikeal Brown-Jones came off the bench to post 10 points and eight rebounds on five-of ten shooting.
• Donovan Atwell posted 12 points in eleven minutes off the bench.
• UNCG out-rebounded Johnson & Wales, 56-39.
• The Spartans shot 43.8 percent from the field for the contest compared to JWU Charlotte's 31.8 percent.

From Head Coach Mike Jones
"It's great to get back on the floor after all this time off. I was pleased for the most part with how hard our guys played and how they competed. We really shared the ball and got a lot of great looks because of it. Defensively, we were good in spurts but not nearly where we need to be as far as consistency goes. I can't wait to get back in practice so we can get better."

Records
JWU Charlotte: 0-2
UNCG: 1-0
 
Up Next
 
The Spartans take to the road, traveling to Coral Gables, Florida to take on Miami on Friday at 7 p.m.