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CULLOWHEE — UNCG senior forward Ben Stywall recorded his seventh double-double of the season, but Western Carolina slowly pulled away in the second half for a 79-69 win over the Spartans in Southern Conference men's basketball action Thursday night at the Ramsey Center.

UNCG had just two field goals in a 10-minute span of the second half as Western Carolina slowly pulled away to raise its record to 13-3 overall, 3-1 in SoCon play. The Spartans dropped to 3-14 overall, 2-4 in SoCon action.

Jake Robinson had 19 points and five rebounds to lead Western Carolina. He was 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range, in 24 minutes of action. He was one of four Catamounts in double figures. Kendall Russell and Brigham Waginger each added 14 points and Brandon Giles had 11.

Stywall, a Charlotte native who topped 1,000 points for his career on Monday, finished with a season-high 24 points and 14 rebounds, recording his fourth double-double in six SoCon games this season. The other three came against ACC teams. His seven double-doubles this season leads the conference.

Brandon Evans added 17 points and Kyle Randall chipped in 14 points for the Spartans.

With both teams shooting the ball well in the opening half, neither team got much separation in a well-played first half. Western Carolina opened up an early five-point lead, but eight straight points by Evans erased that deficit and gave the Spartans their first lead of the night.

UNCG (3-14) — Stywall 8-13 8-11 24, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Koivisto 0-5 2-2 2, Randall 5-12 3-4 14, Toney 2-2 0-0 5, VanDussen 1-3 2-2 5, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Evans 6-13 4-4 17, Cole 0-2 0-2 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 19-25 69.

WESTERN CAROLINA (13-3) — Russell 3-4 8-8 14, Gordon 3-9 2-2 8, Giles 4-12 2-2 11, Waginger 5-9 0-0 14, Mutombo 2-8 3-5 7, Cole 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-4 3-5 5, Gailliard 0-1 1-2 1, Gallagher 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 6-8 4-4 19. Totals 24-55 23-28 79.

Halftime—Western Carolina 35-31.
3-point goals—UNCG 4-14 (Toney 1-1, VanDussen 1-2, Randall 1-3, Evans 1-4, Stywall 0-1, Koivisto 0-3), Western Carolina 8-17 (Waginger 4-7, Robinson 3-4, Giles 1-3, Williams 0-1, Mutombo 0-2).
Fouled out—Gordon.
Rebounds—UNCG 36 (Stywall 14), Western Carolina 31 (Giles 8).
Assists—UNCG 6 (Evans, Stywall 2), Western Carolina 12 (Mutombo, Waginger 3).
Total fouls—UNCG 22, Western Carolina 20.
A—3,027.