UTC Mocs logoThe win gives the Mocs a 17-3 record and a 5-1 mark in Southern Conference play, helping them maintain their half-game lead over East Tennessee State in the conference standings. The Bucs defeated Mercer 65-63 in overtime on Thursday.
UTC is scheduled to play Virginia Military Institute at 1 p.m. Saturday in Lexington, Va., weather permitting.
The Mocs shot 52 percent from the field in the second half and turned eight UNCG turnovers into 15 points. They shot 51 percent from the field for the game and made 11 of their 22 3-point attempts.
"I just felt like our energy level to start the game wasn't very good," UTC coach Matt McCall said on the postgame radio broadcast. "We were missing some assignments, and they were getting down the lane and making 3s. We needed to do a much better job defensively, and that starts with energy and effort. We finally started to guard, got out on the break and got the game going up and down.
"Winning on the road is not easy, but we found a way to win. We were resilient down the stretch, and it was a great win for us and we can move forward."
Eric Robertson scored a career-high 22 points, making seven of his 11 3-point shots. Justin Tuoyo had 18 points to go along with a pair of blocks, while Greg Pryor scored 10 points and dished out four assists.
Chuck Ester and Tre' McLean each had nine points but had team highs of six rebounds and five assists apiece as the Mocs dished out 19 helpers as a team.
UNCG (6-13, 2-4) shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and led 35-29 at the break, pushing its lead to 44-34 after back-to-back dunks by R.J. White and Diante Baldwin with 17:15 to play and prompting a McCall timeout.
UTC responded by holding the Spartans to one field goal over the next 9:24, going on a 19-2 run to build a five-point lead. The home team would cut the lead to two on a couple of occasions, but the Mocs slowly pulled away, using back-to-back 3s by Robertson before the final buzzer for the 13-point final.
"We just had to focus on their star players," Tuoyo said. "They have some guys that can get it going, so we had to stop that in the second half and box out when the shot goes up."
The Spartans, whose inside combination of White and Kayel Locke weighs over 500 pounds, outrebounded the Mocs 30-25.
"We knew it would be a battle on the glass, but we had to keep fighting regardless," Tuoyo said.
Freshman guard Francis Alonso scored 19 points to lead the Spartans. After scoring 12 in the first 20 minutes, he was held to seven points on 1-of-7 shooting from 3-point range in the second. Locke had 13 points and six rebounds, while White - the Spartans' leading scorer and rebounder - was held to eight points and seven rebounds.