GREENSBORO, N.C. – Surging UNCG got 16 points from Francis Alonso and a 10-point second half from Marvin Smith to turn the tables on short-handed Longwood after halftime and pull out a 71-40 win Tuesday night at the UNCG Classic at Greensboro Coliseum.
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Alonso, just one night after erupting for 32 points in a 76-61 win against Delaware, hit three three-pointers Tuesday to propel the Spartans (4-1) to their fourth straight win. He drilled two of those treys and scored 10 points in the first half before passing the baton to Smith, who scored all 10 of his points in a one-sided second half.
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Smith's second-half takeover made the game a tale of two halves after UNCG took control of a game that was evenly matched through the first half, despite Longwood going into battle without the Big South's second-leading scorer Isaiah Walton and key forward Jahleem Montague due to injuries.
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"We competed, but our lack of depth in the second half caught up to us," said head coach
Jayson Gee. "They changed some things defensively on us, and we had trouble scoring."
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Longwood (0-4) and UNCG traded blows through the first 20 minutes, with the Lancers outrebounding the Southern Conference's top rebounding team 16-15 during that span. In Walton's absence, Lancer guard B.K. Ashe went off for 17 points in the first half to keep the game tied as late as the 4:45 mark before UNCG guard Malik Massey hit a three-pointer with 2:03 left to send the Spartans into halftime leading 33-29.
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UNCG went on to find the solution to Ashe and the entire Lancer squad at halftime.
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Deploying a defense that entered the night holding opponents to a Southern Conference-low 54.2 points per game, the Spartans shut out Ashe the entire second half and held Longwood to 3-of-21 shooting from the field. They outrebounded Longwood 28-11 the rest of the way, thanks in large part to 6-10, 200-pound forward James Dickey, who grabbed eight of his game-high 11 boards in the second half.
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"We played a really good team tonight, a really good defensive team," said Longwood captain
Damarion Geter, who scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. "We played a good first half, but we have to put it together for a whole game. The second half they were able to slow us down a lot. They went zone, which messed up our pace. Give credit to them for being able to make that adjustment. We couldn't make the adjustment ourselves."
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Without Walton, Longwood's secondary scoring options were sparse behind Ashe, as Geter's eight points and freshman Kamil Chapman's seven were the closest any other Lancers got to double figures. The Spartans, meanwhile, saw three players score in double figures, as Kyrin Galloway delivered 11 off the bench, eight of which came in UNCG's one-sided second half.
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Point guard Demetrius Troy played a role in that multi-headed attack as well, dishing six assists, including on four of UNCG's 11 three-pointers.
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"For sure they had a body advantage on us, but our young kids came in and played hard," Gee said. "Kamil [Chapman] came in and played hard, and Jordan [Cintron] came in and played hard. They were put in some situations they weren't quite ready for, but I think at the end of the day we just have to stay focused. I ended up taking those guys out at the end because I just thought, 'Let's put this one behind us, move forward and get ready for tomorrow.'"
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Cintron played a career-high 23 minutes, racking up five rebounds, a steal and the first two points of his career, both on free throws. Chapman, meanwhile, played 20 minutes for the second straight game and knocked down a pair of three-pointers in a return to his home state.
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However, those two freshmen, and the rest of the Lancers, have little time to rest their legs. Less than 24 hours away, the UNCG Spartan Classic continues for Longwood Wednesday with a 3 p.m. meeting against Delaware in UNCG's Fleming Gymnasium.
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