DAHLONEGA, Ga. --- AJ White recorded 20 points and eight assists to lead ninth-ranked North Georgia to an 89-56 win over visiting Tusculum Tuesday night before a home-opening crowd of 1,623 at the UNG Convocation Center.
The Nighthawks (5-0) recorded 26 assists on its 37 made field goals as UNG blistered the nets going 37-of-56 form the floor for 66 percent. North Georgia accounted for 58 points in the paint and scored 26 points off of the Pioneers' 17 turnovers.
Tusculum's Akeem Odusipe posted 10 points off the bench, while J3 Swindell accounted for nine markers and a team-high six rebounds. The TU trio of Malachi Hale, Bryce Jackson and Jason Britton posted eight points apiece.
UNG's Cayden Charles posted 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Colin Turner went 8-of-10 from the floor for 16 points and Jack Shutters contributed 13 points off the bench for the Nighthawks.
North Georgia jumped out to a 10-2 lead and later scored 12 straight points to take a 30-11 advantage with 8:31 left in the first half. Tusculum would chip away at the deficit thanks to an 11-4 spurt including a three-pointer by Britton as TU trailed 34-22 with 3:26 on the clock. The lead swelled to 16 on two occasions down the stretch before Britton connected on his second triple of the half as the Pioneers trailed 41-28 heading to the locker room.
The Nighthawks came out of the locker room on fire and went on a 27-9 run over the first 7:15 of the period to take a 68-37 advantage with 12:45 on the scoreboard following back-to-back buckets by Turner to put the game out of reach.
Tusculum (0-3) finished the game shooting 36 percent from the field including 8-of-31 from three-point territory. UNG held a 33-31 edge on the boards while TU did manage 13 offensive rebounds and scored 13 second-chance points.
The Pioneers will be back in action Wednesday night when they travel to NCAA Division I ETSU for a 7 p.m. exhibition game at Freedom Hall in Johnson City. Tusculum will wrap up a five games in eight-day stretch when they play at Lander on Friday. Tusculum's schedule is currently ranked the toughest by a South Atlantic Conference member and listed 20th by NCAA Division II programs.
