GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team dropped its first game of the season Tuesday night as the Spartans fell to cross-state foe UNCW 84-72 in the Greensboro Coliseum opener. The Spartans will hit the road for four straight games, beginning this weekend with three games in three days at the EMU Showcase in Ypsilanti, Mich., where they will face Longwood (Friday), Eastern Michigan (Saturday) and Youngstown State (Sunday).
"Give a lot of credit to Wilmington tonight and congrats to Kevin on his first win as a Division I coach," head coach Wes Miller said. "I thought they shot the ball really well tonight, but certainly thought we helped them. We got a long way to go defensively, but I do believe we can get there. We have to get our guys to understand how important it is to be keyed in defensively and we have the guys that can do that. I like my guys. I like the way we fight and play together we just have to get better on the defensive end."
UNCW was strong offensively, shooting 65.3 percent (32-of-49) from the field in the victory and connected on 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from 3-point land. The Spartans conversely connected on 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field but only hit 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from long range and just 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the charity stripe.
UNCG out-rebounded the Seahawks by a 32-26 margin, including 13 on the offensive end. Junior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) paced the attack with 22 points and eight rebounds as he was 5-of-9 from the field and hit 12-of-16 on the charity stripe. Craig Ponders led the Seahawks with a game-high 26 points as he was 9-of-11 from the field, 4-of-4 from 3-point land and 4-of-7 from the line.
Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) continued his strong start to the season as he scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting. Sophomore guard Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy) rounded out the Spartans in double figures with 16 points and six assists in 35 minutes of action.
The Spartans came out of the gate strong holding an early 9-6 lead as Saddler scored five early points. UNCW slowed the Spartans with its zone defense and posted a 14-2 run to take a 20-11 lead as Dylan Underwood hit an early 3-pointer and Craig Ponder capped the run by scoring in transition to force a UNCG timeout.
The Spartans answered back with six straight points, forcing the Seahawks into a timeout with the score at 20-17. Locke scored four points in the run while senior Jamal Mitchell (Charlotte, N.C./Gardner-Webb) hit a baseline jumper. UNCW answered back with an 11-2 run to take a 31-19 lead and force the Spartans into another timeout.
UNCG made a late push to enter the half down 39-31. Junior forward Ben Dickinson (Alexandria, Va./Loyola Marymount) scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds down the stretch of the first half to provide the Spartans with a spark on the offensive end.
The Spartans connected on just 40 percent (10-of-25) from the field but missed all nine of its 3-points in the opening half. Locke and Saddler led the Spartans with 10 points each while Dickinson chipped in seven points. UNCW connected on 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field and hit 3-of-6 (50%) from long range. Ponder led the Seahawks with 11 points while Sherwood chipped in 10 points off the bench.
The Spartans came out of the break and quickly forced the Seahawks into a pair of turnovers, turning them into five quick points. Locke opened the scoring with a basket in the paint while senior guard Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) nailed the Spartans' first 3-pointer of the game.
After Locke narrowed the gap to 44-42 with an old-fashioned three-point play, the Seahawks scored six straight to extend the lead back to eight as Cedrick Williams and Ponder hit long-range shots. The Spartans kept battling but each time they made a run, UNCW was there to answer.
UNCG made one last push, scoring eight straight points to force a timeout at 63-58. White started the run as he made a steal at half court and drove the length of the floor to score in transition igniting the crowd while Paulos capped the run with another 3-pointer.
The Spartans got as close at 67-64 with 6:58 remaining in the game as Saddler scored in transition. Ponder had the answer for the Seahawks though, scoring seven straight points himself to take the lead back to double figures, sealing the victory.
Paulos finished the game with six points and six rebounds as he played a team-high 38 minutes in the loss. Dickinson finished with seven points and six rebounds off the bench, playing 14 minutes. Sherwood ended the night with 16 points off the bench for UNCW, hitting 6-of-8 from the field, including four 3-pointers.
The Spartans return to action Friday afternoon as they play the first game of the EMU Showcase in Ypsilanti, Mich. UNCG is slated to tip-off against Longwood in game one at 4:30 p.m.
