NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team opened the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship with a 76-64 victory over Kansas City on Friday morning.
 
Three Spartans scored double figures, including Donovan Atwell who dominated from behind the arc shooting 8-for-15. Atwell tallied a new career high and led the game with 26 points. Mikeal Brown-Jones recorded 22 points and Joryam Saizonou chipped in 10 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Kansas City made the first basket of the game, but Mikeal Brown-Jones started an eight-point run to put the Spartans up 8-3 at 16:55. The Roos tied the game at 14:52 and took just their second lead of the game as Anderson Kopp made three free throws, 11-10. Donovan Atwell made his second of six three-pointers in the first half at 14:07 to regain the lead for the Spartans, 13-11. Kansas City came within one point twice in the remaining minutes of the half, but the Spartans maintained the advantage and saw its first double-digit lead at 5:52, 33-12, on a three-pointer by Atwell. The two teams traded baskets and the Roos' Jamar Brown hit Kansas City's sixth three of the game with 41-seconds left on the clock to cut the deficit to 11, 41-30. This is the third game that UNCG has led at the half by double figures this season.
 
UNCG opened the second half with a 10-6 run for a 15-point advantage, 51-36, at 16:57.  The Roos' Kopp made a three-pointer at 13:37 to cut the deficit to nine, but the Spartans' Tim Ceaser responded a few seconds later with his own three-pointer, 55-43. Kansas City scored nine-straight points, its largest run of the game, to come within three, 55-52, before Brown-Jones completed a three-point play for a 58-52 advantage at 8:14. UNCG climbed its way back to a 15-point lead on a 14-2 run, which included Jalen Breath's first-collegiate dunk at 4:48, 69-54. Kansas City made two three pointers in the final two minutes of the game, but the Spartans prevailed and held on for a 76-64 win.
 
From Atwell on the game and his performance
"My teammates get me open on the floor and we run our offense. We trust in what we do. We follow the game plan, and we execute. We want to take it one game at a time. We follow the game plan that Coach Jones puts us through, and it works for us. It has been a lot of fun so far this season. Off the court we are all hanging out together, we have great team chemistry, so it just makes it easier on the court."
 
From Coach Jones
"It is good to get the first one under your belt. We talked about how you can't win a championship unless you win the first game. I thought our guys came out with a great focus. Brotherhood is a big part of what we do. We have to work hard at it. We have to go deeper than just playing video games and actually having conversations with each other to build relationships. When we went overseas this summer, the guys hung out a lot this summer and we are seeing those connections pay off."

BY THE NUMBERS

• UNCG outshot Kansas City in field goals, 50.0-percent to 35.8-percent.  
• The Spartans also shot 44.4-percent from behind the arc, compared to the Roos' 35.3-percent.
• Atwell paced the game with a career-best 26 points, shooting 8-for-15 from behind the arc.
• Brown-Jones totaled 22 points, just two shy of matching his career best.
• He led the Spartans with seven rebounds.
• Saizonou was the third Spartan with double figures, scoring 10 points.
• Kobe Langley dished out nine assists, just one shy of matching his career best.
• The Roos also saw three with double-figures, including Cameron Faas with a team-best 18 points.

RECORDS
UNCG: 3-1
Kansas City: 2-3
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans advance to a semifinal game tomorrow, Saturday, November 25 with a start time of 4:30 p.m. UNCG will face the winner of Delaware versus Brown.
 
For more information on the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship, click here.