DAHLONEGA – The No. 9 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team secured a 76-53 win over Toccoa Falls at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center Wednesday afternoon.

In front of every fifth grader in Lumpkin County for the celebration of LCSS 5th Grader's Day Out, the Nighthawks utilized double-digit scoring performances from four separate players to lock up the 23-point victory. The win moves UNG to 9-1 on the season and marks the team's third victory by 23 points or more on the year.

Junior guard Cayden Charles led the way with 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one block and two steals. Charles went 6-for-12 from the floor in his ninth double-digit scoring performance of the season.

Senior guard Hunter Shedenhelm provided a spark offensively that propelled UNG to the win as the Nighthawks pulled away in the second half. The sharpshooter racked up 15 points on a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. Since Shedenhelm transferred to UNG three years ago, he's had 11 different games in which he's made at least three triples. This season alone he has made four or more threes in three separate games. 

On the year, the Pickerington, Ohio native is 19-for-32 (59.4 percent). With a few more makes, Shedenhelm could reach the minimum qualifications for a national ranking (2.5 made threes per game). If he met the minimum right now, his current percentage would lead all NCAA Division II players nationally. 

Junior guard AJ White had another strong performance with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. His quartet of helpers were tied with freshman guard Ja'mari Arnold for the team high in the game. 

In the first start of his collegiate career, freshman big man Jack Shutters had a good game going 3-for-4 from the floor for eight points while adding three rebounds. Double-double machine Zack Hawkinson came very close to his fourth consecutive double-double Wednesday. With six points and a team-high eight rebounds, the freshman forward was two buckets and two boards shy of another big day.

Sophomore transfer forward Stephen Akwiwu provided the Nighthawks with some energy off the bench as he snatched a season-high seven rebounds in the win. 

With Shedenhelm's lights out shooting and the rest of the team feeling confident as the margin continued to grow, UNG put on its highest volume shooting performance of the season. The team went 11-for-28 (39.3 percent) from downtown, recording the most attempts and makes in a single game thus far this year. 

Now the Nighthawks will prepare for a stretch of three games away from home before the holiday break. UNG will head to San Antonio, Texas for a pair of games in the River City Classic next week. On Tuesday, Dec. 17 the Nighthawks will take on Rogers State at 2 p.m. Less than 24 hours later they'll face Central Missouri on Wednesday, Dec 18 at 12 p.m.

This will be UNG's fourth multi-team event of the season after previously competing in the 2024 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic and the Southeast Region Crossover. The Nighthawks are 4-0 in games played in a multi-team event this year.