DAHLONEGA – The No. 11 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team outscored Converse 41-19 in the second half on its way to an 84-59 on Ross Morkem Memorial Night at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center Wednesday night.

Multiple Nighthawks had career nights leading to UNG's sixth win of the season. The Nighthawks are now 6-1 on the year after picking up their fourth double-digit victory so far this year.

Redshirt freshman forward Zack Hawkinson had a huge night on and off the floor. Before the game started, Hawkinson was awarded this year's Ross Morkem Memorial Scholarship which honors Ross Morkem, a former UNG men's basketball student athlete who exemplified leadership, teamwork and selflessness. 

Just minutes after accepting the scholarship, Hawkinson scored the first points of the game for UNG. He would finish the night with a career-high 21 points to lead the way for the Nighthawks. Hawkinson added 11 rebounds to post the first double-double of his career. In 29 minutes he went 9-for-13 from the floor while adding two assists, a block and zero turnovers. 

Hawkinson was supported in double-figure scoring by four other players, including first-year Nighthawk Stephen Akwiwu. The sophomore transferred to Dahlonega from Division III Hartford last season. In just his third game of action, Akwiwu provided a season-high 11 points and six rebounds off the bench for UNG. He went 7-for-8 from the free throw line while adding a steal and an assist.

Both teams entered Wednesday night looking to rebound from losses in their last game. Converse kept things close in the first 20 minutes thanks to a number of tough shots from Myson Lowe and Kyle Monk. 

In the second half, UNG utilized a 17-5 run that was capped off by an and-one bucket from freshman center Jack Shutters to pull away from the Valkyries. Shutters had a great game off the bench as well for head coach Dan Evans as he tallied eight points, six rebounds, a block and went 4-for-8 from the charity stripe in just 12 minutes of action.

The second half also saw key returners like juniors AJ White and Cayden Charles and senior Hunter Shedenhelm catch fire. 

Shedenhelm canned a pair of threes during UNG's run, finishing the night with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Wednesday marked Shedenhelm's 10th game with three or more three-pointers since he joined the Nighthawks back in 2022.

Charles posted his fifth double-digit scoring effort of the year with 10 points but highlighted the day four steals and a block at the defensive end of the floor. 

White caught fire down the stretch as he extended UNG's lead in the closing minutes with a number of difficult shots. He closed the night with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists. He went 6-for-15 from the floor as well as 3-for-5 from downtown. 

The Nighthawks entered the game with a plan to utilize a decided size advantage to their benefit. They executed that plan well, out rebounding Converse 46 to 26 while scoring 36 of the team's 84 points (42.9 percent) in the paint. 

On defense, UNG held Converse to 34.4 percent shooting from the floor. The Valkyries top four scorers entered the game averaging a combined 48.5 points. Those four players were held to just 11 total points on 4-for-19 shooting Wednesday night. 

Now the Nighthawks will continue non-conference play in their next game, this time on the road at Francis Marion. UNG will head to Florence, S.C. to take on the Patriots on Friday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m.