LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 9 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team defeated No. 1 Minnesota State (MSU) 57-49 in the final game of the 2024 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Sunday night. 

The win serves as UNG's highest ranked win in program history and just the second victory over a top-10 team. The Mavericks entered the opening weekend as the highest ranked team in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) preseason poll after going 35-2 en route to a 2024 National Championship title last season. Sunday's victory was the Nighthawks' first ever win against the defending National Champion in program history.

"Anytime you're playing a team of Minnesota State's caliber, you're pretty hyped and you're pretty focused and prepared," said head coach Dan Evans after the game. "It is exciting to play this level of games and to play a team like that this early in the year."

Junior guard AJ White led the charge for the Nighthawks on Sunday, scoring 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting while adding five rebounds. In the two games in Lakeland, Fla. this weekend, White totaled 39 points, eight rebounds and four assists while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from downtown. His performances earned him a spot on the 2024 SCB Hall of Fame Classic Team. 

Joining White on the all-tournament team was junior guard Cayden Charles who racked up 38 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals while knocking down 56.5 percent of his shots against St. Thomas Aquinas and MSU. Charles followed up his 28-point, 11-rebound double-double on Saturday with 10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal on Sunday.

The Nighthawks out-rebounded MSU 43-34 in Sunday's game. Last season, the Mavericks were one of the best rebounding teams in the country, ranking No. 19 in rebounds per game and No. 7 in defensive rebounds per game. 

After 23 turnovers led to 22 Spartan points on Saturday, UNG drastically cut down the miscues on Sunday. With just 12 turnovers, the Nighthawks only conceded eight points to the Mavericks. Meanwhile, they forced 14 turnovers against MSU leading to 15 points of their own. 

On defense, UNG limited the Mavericks to just 34 percent shooting from the floor which is the lowest mark in a game for MSU since Dec. 17, 2022. With just 49 points in total, the Nighthawks held the Mavericks below 50 points for just the fourth time in the last 12 seasons. 

UNG started the game with an 8-0 run. It wasn't until the 12:51 mark that MSU would record its first points of the come. 

Points would be hard to come by for both teams in the defensive slug fest. While UNG maintained a slim 23-20 edge at halftime, both teams were limited to sub 35 percent shooting from the floor in the opening stanza.

"I was really proud of the way we defended. I thought we rebounded well, particularly in the second half," said Evans. "Sometimes it's okay to play in the mud and I think we've done a good job of that here over the last few years. I'm really proud of our team being able to do that on back-to-back nights." 

MSU led for just 1:27 in the first half. After a layup from freshman forward Zack Hawkinson snatched the lead back for UNG with 5:47 to go until halftime, the Nighthawks grabbed a lead they would not concede. 

In the second half, an early 9-0 run gave UNG a 40-27 lead with 11:54 remaining as senior guard Sutton Smith capped off the run with a three-pointer. 

With six minutes left in the contest, the Mavericks provided a brief scare as a David Harmon triple cut the Nighthawk lead to just two points at 44-42. Then White took over the game.

He would score on a pull up jumper the next possession. On defense, UNG earned a stop as Hawkinson pulled down one of his career-high 13 rebounds on the night. 

On the ensuing offensive possession, White stumbled as he tried to maneuver around his defender. The poised guard gathered himself and immediately rose for a shot from three-point range. He drilled it to charge the lead back up to seven points. White grabbed a defensive rebound on the next possession before coming down the other end of the floor and scoring again on yet another jumper. 

With a nine-point Nighthawk lead, both teams were held scoreless until the final 1:27 in the game. Eventually the Mavericks began intentionally fouling, sending White to the free throw line where he knocked down a pair of foul shots. White would head to the line three more times and knock down another four free throws, ending the game by scoring all of UNG's last 13 points.

White's run coupled with the impressive team-wide performances in rebounding, turnovers and defense led to the eight point victory over the defending National Champions. 

With the 2-0 start, UNG has now started undefeated through the first two games in five of the six seasons under Evans. 

The Nighthawks are now off to Gaffney, S.C. for the Southeast Region Crossover. The crossover event between the Peach Belt Conference, South Atlantic Conference and Conference Carolinas begins for UNG on Friday, Nov. 8 with a 5:30 p.m. matchup on the road against Limestone. Less than 24 hours later, the Nighthawks will take on Young Harris to complete the event.