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SPORTS

Spartans drop 10th straight

Tuesday, January 3, 2012
(Updated Friday, January 6 - 8:59 am)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Kenny Kadji scored 30 points to lead Miami past UNCG 99-89 on Monday night.

The Hurricanes (9-4) withstood an upset bid by the Spartans, who have lost 10 straight and are 0-5 under interim coach Wes Miller.

UNCG (2-13) cut a 93-80 deficit with seven unanswered points late in the second half. David Williams' layup with 1:36 remaining got the Spartans to within 93-87. Durand Scott secured the Miami win with four free throws, finishing with 17 points.

"This was one of those games that it was more of a shootout," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. "We certainly want to play a lot better defense than we played this evening."

Trevis Simpson scored 36 points to lead UNCG. Simpson shot 12 of 20 from the field and made 7 of 11 3-pointers.

Simpson scored 24 points in the first half and converted 5 of 7 shots from behind the arc. Simpson's final 3-pointer of the half turned into a four-point play. McKinney Jones fouled him on the shot and Simpson converted the free throw to give the Spartans a 46-41 lead with 2:51 remaining.

The Spartans started the second half on a 7-0 run. Simpson's 3-pointer 1:43 into the second half capped the run and gave UNCG a 56-49 lead.

"I'm really proud that our guys came into their gym and competed," Miller said. "I think for us moving forward is getting better on the defensive end of the floor."

For Miami, Shane Larkin scored 12 consecutive points during a 1:27 span that helped the Hurricanes rally from a seven-point deficit early in the second half. Larkin hit three 3-pointers and converted three free throws after being fouled on an attempted 3-pointer with 13:54 remaining. Larkin's free throws put Miami ahead for good at 68-67.

"My teammates did a great job of finding me open and I just hit my shots," said Larkin, who finished 18 points, 14 in the second half. "I've always had the confidence in my game. I just have to be more aggressive for a full game."

Rion Brown's 3-pointer with 10:38 remaining increased Miami's lead to 79-72. Trey McKinney Jones' two free throws with 6:30 left gave the Hurricanes an 86-76 lead for their first double-digit advantage since midway through the first half.

Malcolm Grant, the Hurricanes' leading scorer, returned after a two-game absence and scored eight points. Grant, who averages 15 points a game, left the team for two weeks because of a death in the family.

UNCG (2-13)

Williams 5-7 1-3 11, Simpson 12-20 5-5 36, Brackett 1-2 1-2 3, Parker 2-8 0-0 5, Van Dussen 0-3 1-2 1, Armstrong 1-4 2-2 4, Randall 5-7 0-0 12, Henry 3-7 2-2 8, Paulos 2-5 2-2 7, Hoffer 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 32-66 14-18 89.

MIAMI (9-4)

Kadji 10-15 10-13 30, Johnson 2-5 2-4 6, Scott 5-10 7-8 17, Grant 3-9 1-2 8, McKinney Jones 4-7 2-2 11, Larkin 4-6 7-7 18, Jones 1-2 1-2 3, Brown 2-5 0-0 6, Swoope 0-0 0-0 0, Adams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 30-38 99.

Halftime—Tied 49-49.

Percentages—UNCG (FG .485, FT .778), Miami (FG .525, FT .789).

3-point goals—UNCG 11-21 (Simpson 7-11, Randall 2-3, Parker 1-3, Paulos 1-3, Armstrong 0-1), Miami 7-20 (Larkin 3-4, Brown 2-3, McKinney Jones 1-4, Grant 1-6, Jones 0-1, Kadji 0-2).

Fouled out—Henry, Simpson.

Rebounds—UNCG 29 (Parker 6), Miami 38 (Kadji 12).

Team rebounds—UNCG 1, Miami 3.

Assists—UNCG 21 (Parker 10), Miami 12 (Larkin, Scott 3).

Blocked shots—UNCG 0, Miami 4 (Kadji 2, Johnson 2).

Turnovers—UNCG 20 (Armstrong 5), Miami 18 (Scott 5).

Steals—UNCG 13 (Williams 5), Miami 11 (Larkin 4).

Total fouls—UNCG 28, Miami 17.

Technical—Johnson.

A—2,900.

Officials—William Humes, Louie Andrakakos, Sean Casady.

Accompanying Photos

Comments

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Spartan75

January 3, 2012 - 11:15 am EST

The Spartans might be 0-5 under Coach Miller, but they have played with a new intensity, played opponents much closer, and have played the likes of ECU, Duke, Virginia Commonwealth, Richmond and Miami in these five contests since Wes took over from Mike Dement. I truly believe that Coach Miller and his staff have the Spartan program heading in the right direction. Last night's game was decided on free throws. Miami had 20 more free throw attempts than UNCG and outscored the Spartans from the charity stripe by 16 points. In a game where each team had an equal number of chances to score from the line, the outcome might have been different.

My hope is that UNCG will be able to land a couple of taller, talented players during the spring signing period. Right now, that appears to be the Spartan's achilles. They have a difficult time matching up with teams from the ACC and other power conferences where there is an abundance of talented players who are not vertically challenged.

My hope is that Kim Record will give Coach Miler the opportunity to continue to develop the men's program at UNCG after this season. If these first five games are an indication of his enthusiasm and desire to turn around the program, then better times are ahead for the Spartans.

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