SoCon Tournament: Full Coverage

UNCG ends Mountaineers season

Steve Behr, sports@wataugademocrat.com

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Things must have looked good to UNC Greensboro coach Mike Dement by halftime.

The Spartans held a seven-point halftime lead over Appalachian State and their top scorer, 6-foot-6 power forward Kyle Hines, had scored just four points.

Appalachian State forward Jeremy Clayton tried to match Hines by scoring 13 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Mark Mitchell/Watauga Democrat

The inevitable — Hines going on a scoring streak — happened early in the second half and was enough to bury Appalachian State 63-46 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament at the North Charleston Coliseum.

It was only the third time in the Houston Fancher era that the Mountaineers were eliminated in their first game of the tournament and the first time it had happened with the Mountaineers (18-13) holding a winning record.

“We had a tough time getting our offense going today,” Fancher said. “They defended us well. They forced us into some tough shots. You get into a situation where if you don’t make a couple of shots, you tighten up a bit and we tightened up a little bit today.”

After a slow start by both teams produced a 28-21 UNCG halftime lead, the Spartans were the first team to lighten up.

A Ben Stywall field goal, the first of the second half, gave Greensboro a 30-21 lead.

Hines took it from there by scoring the Spartans’ next 12 points, six of them on two old-fashioned three-point plays.

It was more than what the Mountaineers, the North Division champions and the tournament’s No. 4 seed, could handle.

Hines ignited a 10-4 run that gave the Spartans a 38-25 lead, and when Appalachian State went on a 9-2 run of its own to pull to within 40-34, Hines hit a three-point play to stop the Mountaineers in their tracks.

“It wasn’t really something we talked about,” Hines said about getting the ball more in the second half.

“Coach thought I was holding on to the ball a little too long in the post, but it’s a credit to my teammates. I had four points in the first half and they made the calls and started getting the ball to me and I started to get to the free-throw line. I had to be more aggressive.”

“It’s no secret that we’re always trying to throw the ball to Kyle,” Dement added.

Fancher was also annoyed when UNC Greensboro guard Kevin Oleksiak drove to the basket for any easy layup, against Appalachian State’s 2-3 zone, during the Mountaineers’ comeback attempt.

“That was a key stretch,” Fancher said. “We’re trying to make a run. It takes so much energy to get yourself back there and we just got beat off the dribble and Oleksiak lays it up against the zone. That’s really unspeakable. That can’t happen.”

UNC Greensboro put the Mountaineers away for good with a 14-2 run, giving the Spartans a 57-38 lead with 4:17 left in the game. Hines finished with 20 points, five blocked shots and 10 rebounds.

Appalachian State forward Jeremy Clayton tried to match Hines by scoring 13 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

But the Mountaineers had to play without leading scorer Donte Minter, who fouled out with 5:29 left in the game. Minter, who picked up all five of his fouls in the second half, hit 2-of-7 from the field and finished with four points.

“When you look at our success, our offense has a lot to do with what happens with Donte on the floor,” Fancher said. “He never really got established today on a consistent basis.”

Kellen Brand was the only other Mountaineer to score in double figures with 12 points. Appalachian State struggled offensively for most of the game, hitting just 35.1 percent overall.

UNC Greensboro did not exactly light up the arena, hitting 43.1 percent from the field. But the Spartans hit all 13 of their foul shots, while Appalachian State, usually a good free-throw shooting team, hit just 2-of-9 from the foul line.

The 46 points in the Mountaineers’ lowest total in the school’s tournament history, two points less than the 48 they scored against Chattanooga in 2001.

The Spartans also got 10 points from Toney, nine from Stywall and eight from Mikko Koivisto.

UNC Greensboro (19-11) takes on Davidson in the semifinals Sunday.

UNC Greensboro 63, Appalachian State 46

UNC Greensboro (19-11)
Stywall 4-9, 0-0 9, Hines 6-13 8-8 20, Johnson 1-3 2-2 5, Koivisto 2-3 3-3 8, Oleksiak 2-9 0-0 4, Clement 1-2 0-0 3, Oliver 1-3 0-0 2, Toney 4-7 0-0 10, Galic 1-2 0-0 2, Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 13-13 38.

Appalachian State (18-13)
Clayton 6-11 1-4 13, Minter 2-7 0-0 4, Abraham 1-4 0-2 2, Bremudez 3-6 1-2 7, Brand 5-11 0-1 12, Sims 3-10 0-0 8, Booth 0-1 0-0 0, McMillan 0-0 0-0 0, Highsmith 0-0 0-0 0, Butts 0-2 0-0- 0, Bowne 0-1 0-0 0, McLaughlin-Williams 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 2-9 46.
Halftime score—UNCG 28, ASU 21. Three-point goals—UNCG 6-19 (Toney 2-5, Stywall 1-2, Johnson 1-2, Koivisto 1-2, Clement 1-2, Galic 0-1, Oliver 0-1, Hines 0-1, Oleksiak 0-3), ASU 4-14 Brand 2-2, Sims 2-5, Booth 0-1, McLaughlin-Williams 0-2, Abraham 0-2, Bermudez 0-2). Rebounds—UNCG 38 (Hines 10), ASU 33 (Clayton, Bermudez 7). Assists—UNCG 13 (Oleksiak 5), ASU 6 (Minter, Bermudez 2). Turnovers—UNCG 13, ASU 12. Total fouls—UNCG 15, ASU 15. Fouled out—ASU, Minter. Technical fouls—None.