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GREENSBORO — UNCG won one for its missing leader Thursday night, making sure he will feel good the next time he drives past the Elon exit sign.

With head coach Mike Dement serving a one-game suspension mandated by Southern Conference rules after he was ejected from the game against Samford on Saturday, the Spartans jumped on Elon early and held off a Phoenix comeback to win 62-55 in the Greensboro Coliseum.

Dement helped prepare the team for the game during the week, emphasizing the "backyard rivalry" nature of the game between two schools located about 25 miles apart on Interstate 40/85. He was with the players through the pre-game meal, then left about four hours before tipoff. He watched the game on video stream in his campus office.

"I feel like he gave us a lot of motivation for this game," UNCG center Pete Brown said. "He always loves to get a win against Elon. He said he likes to ... have a good feeling when he drives past the (Elon exit) sign."

Associate head coach Rod Jensen assumed the reins, his first game in that role since 2002, when he finished his tenure at Boise State.

"Nothing changed for our preparation," Jensen said. "(The coaching staff) watched film together, we made decisions together -- the only difference was he wasn't on the sidelines tonight. He was here in spirit, the kids were motivated to play hard for him in his absence and I thought they really played hard tonight."

Jensen also had to fill the duties of talking to the booster club before the game and the media afterwards, but the result made it worthwhile as the Spartans won their third straight game in the Coliseum (the Samford game was in Fleming Gym). They improved to 5-16 overall and 4-6 in the league.

Guard Mikko Koivisto, who led UNCG with a season-high 17 points, said it was a little different without Dement.

"You always go through the same routine before every game and you're used to seeing him over there, used to seeing him talking to us before the game," Koivisto said. "At the same time, coach Jensen and the other assistants did a great job of preparing us."

Both Jensen and Elon coach Matt Matheny said UNCG set the tone defensively in the first half. The Phoenix missed their first 11 shots and never really recovered as the Spartans bolted to a 31-16 halftime lead.

"When the game started, they started and we didn't," said Elon's Adam Constantine, who totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Elon (4-16, 2-7) made a strong run in the second half, cutting the lead to one twice. But a pair of 3-pointers by Koivisto, sandwiched around an Elon basket, pushed the lead to 56-51 and Elon had nothing left in its tank.

"The reason they won is because they were the aggressors, particularly in the first half," Matheny said. "I thought we came back in the second half and really put together some stretches of good basketball, clawed out way back. We could not get over the hump."

The Phoenix never tied the game or took the lead, which was crucial to the Spartans.

"We played too hard to give up the lead and I thought that would have been crushing," Jensen said.

UNCG blocked 11 Phoenix shots, with Brown swatting away a career-high six.

"I just try to control the paint as much as I can," said Brown, who had 19 blocks in his last four games.

The win, incidentally, will count on Dement's record. That was at the discretion of UNCG sports information director Mike Hirschman.

ELON (4-16) — Constantine 6-12 1-3 13, Douglas 1-6 0-0 2, Spradlin 7-15 2-6 18, Carter 1-7 0-0 2, Long 3-10 0-2 8, Bonney 0-2 2-4 2, Birdette 2-6 1-1 5, Ervin 1-1 0-0 2, Ogolo 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Grable 0-2 3-4 3. Totals 21-61 9-20 55.

UNCG (5-16) — Stywall 7-12 0-2 14, Brown 2-4 1-2 5, Koivisto 6-16 0-0 17, Randall 4-7 3-4 11, Toney 3-6 0-1 8, VanDussen 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Evans 3-6 0-0 7, Cole 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 4-9 62.

Halftime—UNCG 31-16.
3-point goals—Elon 4-22 (Long 2-5, Spradlin 2-6, Carter 0-2, Birdette 0-4, Douglas 0-5), UNCG 8-17 (Koivisto 5-11, Toney 2-4, Evans 1-1, Smith 0-1).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—Elon 39 (Constantine 11), UNCG 33 (Stywall 9).
Assists—Elon 8 (Spradlin 3), UNCG 16 (Koivisto, Randall 4).
Total fouls—Elon 14, UNCG 19.
A—3,338.