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By: Josh Fuller

FORT VALLEY, Ga. – Marcus Dixon grabbed an offensive rebound with less than a minute to go and finished off the second-chance opportunity to clinch an 87-82 victory for the Columbus State University men's basketball team over Fort Valley State University Wednesday night. The game took place inside the HPE Complex in Fort Valley, Ga.
 
The Cougars (4-0) held a double-digit lead as late as 3:55 left in the game before Fort Valley State put together a furious rally. A 9-0 run over the final minutes cut CSU's lead down to just 83-82 with 1:11 left on the clock. Following a timeout, JaCori Payne missed a three-point attempt, but Dixon was there to clean up the board and extend the Cougar lead back to 85-82.
 
After a Columbus State defensive stand, Payne capped off the game's scoring with a nice running shot in the lane over a couple defenders to give the Cougars the 87-82 victory.
 
"This was an excellent win for the guys," stated CSU head coach Robert Moore. "We were ahead for most of the game and we knew that Fort Valley was going to put together a run at one point or another. I was proud of how we found a way to battle through the late adversity to get this tough road victory."
 
Payne led the Columbus State offensive attack going 8-for-18 from the floor, including 4-for-10 from three, for a game-high 20 points. Darius Joell scored 17 on an efficient 7-for-12 shooting performance, while Jamal McKee scored 11 off the bench. Dixon had a season-high 14 rebounds to go along with seven points and four assists.
 
The first half was tight with neither team holding a lead larger than four until the final minutes. With the score tied at 41, the Cougars closed the final 2:49 on a 9-2 run to grab a 50-43 halftime advantage. The run was started by a thunderous slam by McKee, while Payne extended the lead to five on a three-pointer. Joell had the final bucket of the half.
 
The run extended over into the second half as CSU scored the first four points of the half to go up 54-43. Columbus State would control the pace of the game going up by as many as 14 points three times throughout the game including the final time at the 9:57 mark following a McKee layup.
 
Fort Valley State (1-4) hung around until making its unsuccessful comeback attempt. The Wildcats shot 52.5 percent (32-for-61) from the field, but were just 5-for-20 from three. FVSU also was shaky from the free throw line shooting 52 percent (13-for-25).
 
The Cougars shot 45.8 percent (33-for-72) and a season-best 38.5 percent (10-for-26) from three. CSU was 11-for-15 from the free throw line and won the rebounding margin 44-35.
 
Columbus State will return to action this weekend taking on West Georgia on Saturday in Carrollton, Ga. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.