Late first half run lifts Princeton past UNCG, 65-50

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Dan Mavraides scored nine straight points to spark a 15-4 run by Princeton to close out the first half on the way to a 65-50 win over UNC Greensboro on Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Tigers (4-4) were paced by Ian Hummer, who had a game-high 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 9-of-11 from the stripe. Mavraides finished with 13 points.

Brandon Evans and Ben Stywall led the Spartans (2-6) with 14 points each. The two also led UNCG with seven rebounds apiece.

Despite a span of nearly five minutes without a bucket, the Tigers shot 50 percent from the floor (25-of-50) and committed a season-low nine turnovers. Princeton was just 4-of-19 from three-point range, but 21-of-31 inside the arc. Princeton also took advantage of 15 UNCG turnovers, holding a 17-2 advantage in points of turnovers.

Princeton led by 13 at the break following its 15-4 run and increased it to 16 at 40-24 early in the second half. The Spartans began to chip away midway through the half, however, holding Princeton without a field goal for 4:37. A Ben Stywall free throw with just over six minutes remaining capped a 6-0 spurt to pull UNCG to within 48-41.

The Spartans were never able to make it closer than seven points the rest of the afternoon, however. The Tigers went on an 11-2 run to regain control.

The Spartans began the game on a high note as Pete Brown slammed home the first basket of the afternoon. The two teams would stay close for most of the half. A layup by Evans with 7:26 remaining before intermission pulled UNCG to within 20-18, but Princeton would go on a run to close out the half. UNCG's 22 points at the break made for its lowest opening half of the season.

Princeton outrebounded the Spartans 20-12 in the first half, which included only one offensive rebound for the home side. The Spartans had 25 offensive rebounds in their previous outing six days earlier against College of Charleston. The Tigers moved the ball all day in their patented offensive, recording assists on 19 of 25 field goals.

UNCG had 12 offensive rebounds in the second half, when it outrebounded the Tigers 21-9. But the Spartans were 1-for-9 from behind the arc in the second half and 2-for-14 on the afternoon.

The Spartans return to action on Friday as they hit the road to face Akron at 7 p.m..

AGATE

PRINCETON 65, UNCG 50

PRINCETON (4-4)

Ian Hummer 4-5 9-11 17; Dan Mavraides 6-13 0-0 13; Douglas Davis 4-12 0-0 8; Patrick Saunders 3-5 0-0 7; Kareem Maddox 3-4 0-0 6; Marcus Schroeder 2-5 0-0 5; Pawel Buczak 1-2 2-2 4; Will Barrett 1-1 0-0 3; Brendan Connolly 1-1

0-0 2; Nick Lake 0-1 0-0 0; John Comfort 0-0 0-0 0; Zach Finley 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals 25-50 11-13 65.

UNCG (2-6, 1-1 SoCon)

Brandon Evans 6-12 0-1 14; Ben Stywall 6-9 2-3 14; Kyle Randall 4-11 0-0 8;Brian Cole 2-4 0-0 4; Mikko Koivisto 0-5 3-3  3; Pete Brown 1-3 1-2 3; Korey Van Dussen 1-5 0-0 2; Montel Smith 1-1 0-0 2; Deangelo Jackson 0-1 0-0 0; Elhanan Bone 0-0 0-0 0; Kendall Toney 0-3 0-1 0; Darrius Sellers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 6-10 50.

Halftime: Princeton 35-22. 3-point goals--Princeton 4-19 (Marcus Schroeder 1-4; Dan Mavraides 1-6; Will Barrett 1-1; Patrick Saunders 1-1; Pawel Buczak 0-1; Kareem Maddox 0-1; Douglas Davis 0-5), UNCG 2-14 (Brandon Evans 2-4; Kyle Randall 0-3; Mikko Koivisto 0-4; Korey Van Dussen 0-2; Kendall Toney 0-1). Fouled out--Princeton-None, UNCG-None. Rebounds--Princeton 29 (Marcus Schroeder 7), UNCG 33 (Brandon Evans 7; Ben Stywall 7). Assists--Princeton 19 (Pawel Buczak 6), UNCG 7 (Brandon Evans 2). Total fouls--Princeton 16, UNCG 15. Technical fouls--Princeton-None, UNCG-None. A-2079

FREE THROWS: With UNCG outrebounding the Tigers 33-29, it marked the fifth time this year in eight games that the Spartans have outrebounded their opponent. Four of those games have resulted in losses...The 50 points scored by the Spartans was the second-lowest points total this season. UNCG had only 46 points in the loss on the road to Virginia Tech... Princeton's bench outscored UNCG's bench, 28-9. UNCG's bench came into the game averaging 20.9 points per game...UNCG's Mikko Koivisto, hampered by a sore hip, has just one field goal in his last four games... It was the second time this season Princeton has shot 50 percent or better from the field. It was the fourth time that UNCG has surrendered 50 percent or better.

- UNCG -