DAHLONEGA – In its home opener at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center the No. 9 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team dominated Tusculum in an 89-56 win over the Pioneers. The win makes the Nighthawks 5-0 to start the season for the first time since 1985. 

The 33-point victory goes down as the Nighthawks' largest win since Dec. 1, 2007. It ranks as the fifth-biggest win in the NCAA Division II era (2005) in program history.  The win was fueled by four double-digit scoring performances from UNG, headlined by 20-point night from junior guard AJ White. 

The Memphis, Tenn. native added a career-high eight assists while recording the 21st 20-point outing of his career. White went 8-for-12 from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. In just 22 minutes played, White was responsible for 36 (40.4%) of UNG's 89 points.

White assisted on a number of buckets from junior forward Cayden Charles who posted 17 points and 10 rebounds for the seventh double-double of his career. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Division II Conference Information Directors Association (D2CIDA) National Player of the Week is averaging 21.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 63% from the floor and 45.5 percent from three-point range through the first five games. 

Charles was joined by junior center Colin Turner who dropped 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting with four ferocious dunks. 

Freshman center Jack Shutters earned the first double-digit outing of his career with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting as he helped the Nighthawks maintain momentum and seal the win down the stretch. 

UNG scored the first bucket of the game on a layup from Turner. The Pioneers answered with a jumper to tie at 2-2 with 18:51 to go in the first half. The game would never be tied again. An 8-0 Nighthawk run over the next three minutes opened the door to a 28-9 scoring stretch before the under-eight-minute media timeout. 

With a 41-28 advantage after halftime, UNG put the nail in the coffin with another scoring outburst in the second half. In the first eight minutes of the second half, the Nighthawks sprinted up and down the floor, boasting a 27-9 run. 

In the first five games, UNG has scored 84 or more points four times. With a scoring average of 80.8 in that span, it marks the best scoring stretch through the first five games since the 2018-19 season. 

The Nighthawks will return to action Saturday, Nov. 16 as they welcome UVA Wise to the UNG Convocation Center for a 4 p.m. matchup.  The game will be the third of the day and follows a pair of women's games as part of the UNG Nighthawk Classic presented by Bryan Properties.