Sergio Guerra, Sports Editor/Photographer  

UNCG Men’s Basketball recorded their first win of the season with an impressive 73 – 64 win over Florida Gulf Coast in front of an electric crowd at the First Horizon Coliseum. The anticipation for this game was well built due to the Storm the Streets event that previewed it. Over 2,000 people were in attendance for the game. 

It was UNCG who would start the game strong: in the first period, we were able to score 44 points to FGCU’s 30. This healthy lead proved to be key, as the Spartans were not able to win the second period by the same margin. Fortunately, UNCG’s lead was wide enough in the first half that it allowed them to have a second period score of only 29 to FGCU’s 34. 

One of the takeaways of UNCG’s win on the night was the points they gained from fast breaks. UNCG was able to accumulate 13 points compared to FGCU’s 2. It also seems that UNCG has a strong bench to support the starting players. We had 30 bench points. That was more than double FGCU’s bench points which sat at 14. Both teams had similar points through turnovers, with UNCG at 9 and FGCU at 8.  

Four players recorded double digit points: Donovan Atwell (17), Kenyon Giles (17), Jalen Breath (11), and Ronald Polite III (10). Jason Breath also led the match in terms of rebounds with 9 defensive rebounds as well as an offensive rebound.  

UNCG will play their next home game in the Fleming Gym on Nov. 16 at 1pm, when they will face North Carolina Wesleyan.