Carolinian

Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: COURTESY OF CARLOS MORALES Kyle Hines joined the 2,000 point, 1,000 rebound and 300 block club in the Spartans' televised loss against Davidson.

This time, it was only a personal streak on the line during the closing minutes of a game, as Kyle Hines needed a late score with under two minutes left to extend the nation's longest double digit scoring streak to 76 as the Spartans pulled out a double digit win against Western Carolina, 74-62, in their final regular season road game.

Hines finished with 12 points, one of four Spartans to score in double figures against the Catamounts. Kevin Oleksiak led the way with 18 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Ben Stywall recorded the team's only double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Mikko Koivisto scored 14, hitting four of eight shots from beyond the arc while helping to spark a second half run that allowed the Spartans to pull away.

Dwayne Johnson did not have a monster statistical day-five points, four assists and two rebounds-but he broke 400 assists for his career in addition to 300 rebounds, making it a special day for the senior as he became only the fifth player in school history to break the mark.

Brandon Giles, the top scorer for the Catamounts, finished with only 10 points after foul trouble kept him on the bench for much of the second half. It was during that stretch that the Spartans took advantage and went on a run to extend the lead to double digits with six and a half minutes remaining in the game and hold off Western Carolina for the remainder of the game.

Stopping the top scorer was not exactly what happened Tuesday night in Davidson, N.C., when the Spartans traveled to face the Wildcats and got beat on ESPN2, 75-66. The final score may have been less indicative of the way in which Davidson dominated the game, but the Spartans gave it their all in front of a loud but not capacity crowd in John M. Belk Arena.

It was on the most public of stages that Kyle Hines also joined the elite 2,000 point, 1,000 rebound and 300 block club, but Hines too was upstaged by Stephen Curry, who torched the Spartans for the second straight game, this time for 30 points.

To paraphrase Coach Dement, there just was not anything happening that would have stopped him. Curry was white hot from the get-go and seemed to really step up his game every time the Spartans made a run to anything within single digits during the second half, making swift moves around screens and hitting every three in sight.

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