COLUMBUS – Despite 41 points from Cam Baker, the 18^th-ranked Columbus State University men's basketball team fell 109-104 to Georgia Southwestern Thursday. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.

Georgia Southwestern had four players in double figures in points led by Adam Thoseby's 34. Brandon Price had 22 while Damien Leonard and Jure Gunjina each had 20.

The Hurricanes shot the lights out posting a 63.9 percent (39-for-61) night from the floor while knocking down 17 three-pointers. From downtown, GSW shot 58.6 percent.

"This was a tough loss for us," stated CSU head coach Robert Moore. "Give Georgia Southwestern all the credit in the world. They shot the ball great all night and never allowed us to build a big lead."

"We still have to close out better on the defensive side of the ball. It was a tough night, but we can't allow a team to shoot over 60 percent."

It was a shootout from the start as the two sides raced out to 10 points with less than three minutes off the clock.

Baker broke the tie with a three-point play after being fouled on a fastbreak jumper, but the Hurricanes didn't go away tying the game right back at 15-all with a Gunjina three at the 14:25 mark.

The Cougars would then answer back with back-to-back three balls by Baker and JaCori Payne, respectively to take a 21-15 lead.

GSW (6-6, 2-3 PBC) went right back at it and began an 8-2 run to tie the game at 23 midway through the first half. The Hurricanes pounded the ball inside, scoring six of their eight points during the run from inside the paint.

Following a Baker jumper, Price nailed a three to give GSW a 26-25 lead, it's first advantage since the 17:13 mark.

Columbus State (10-2, 4-1) played its best stretch of the half following Price's three ball. The Cougars ran off 14 straight points to take a game-high 13-point lead (39-26) with less than six minutes to play until the break. Darren Daniel started the spurt with a three before Payne scored four and Brentine Taylor added three.

CSU would hold an 11-point lead until Georgia Southwestern strung together a run of its own. Back-to-back threes by Thoseby followed by one from Gunjina quickly made it a 44-42 with 1:42 to play. Terrance Johnson capped off the 11-0 run with a tip-in to tie the game at 44-all.

Baker scored the final five CSU points before the half as the Cougars took a 49-44 lead to the break.

In the second half, GSW quickly tied the game at 53-53 thanks to another long ball, this time from Leonard.

Over the next two minutes, the lead would change hands four times with the Cougars taking a 60-59 lead thanks to a Payne three-pointer.

The Payne triple started an 11-0 run that saw CSU take a 68-59 lead with 12:49 showing on the clock.

Columbus State would continue to score, but Georgia Southwestern kept hitting three-pointers to crawl back into the game. Leonard was on fire from downtown scoring nine straight for the Hurricanes to pull them within five (78-73) with under 10 to play.

In an 81-77 game, the Hurricanes continued to let it fly from downtown with Price nailing a three-pointer to make it just a one-point game with 7:03 on the clock.

The two sides would continue to exchange baskets and with under four minutes to play the Cougars held a slim three-point lead (91-88).

On the next possession, Price took a layup attempt into the paint and made it while being fouled. The guard calmly hit the free throw to tie the game at 91.

With the game tied at 93, Leonard once again was at it from beyond the arc, hitting a three-ball to give the Hurricanes a 96-93 lead. However, Baker came right back down the court and hit a trifecta to knot the game at 96.

It was Price again who took it to the paint and drew a foul to complete a three-point play to give GSW a 101-98 lead.

The Cougars would then play the foul game, but it didn't help as the Hurricanes went a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe to ice the victory.

Baker finished the night 16-for-23 from the floor, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line, en route to his 41 points. It was the first 40-point performance from a Cougar since Yandel Brown scored 43 against Tuskegee in the 2004-05 season.

Payne scored a career-high 23 points thanks to a 8-for-10 shooting performance with Brent Jackson and Daniel scoring 14 and 10, respectively. Jackson had five assists.

DeMarcus McVay had nine points with a game-high 11 rebounds.

As a team, CSU shot a season-high 59.1 percent (39-for-66) from the field including a 38.1 percent (8-for-21) mark from three. At the line, the Cougars shot 75 percent (18-for-24).

Columbus State will host long time rival Georgia College on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 3:30 p.m. inside the Lumpkin Center.