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By: Josh Fuller

CARROLLTON, Ga. – JaCori Payne cut through the lane and laid in the go-ahead bucket with three seconds on the clock, while Marcus Dixon blocked a potential game-winning shot from West Georgia to secure an 86-84 Columbus State victory Saturday. The game took place inside The Coliseum in Carrollton.
 
"This was just an unbelievable game to be a part of and to watch our guys pull out another tough victory was awesome to see," said CSU head coach Robert Moore. "We battled through so much to get this win against a very talented West Georgia team.
 
"It was like a heavyweight match with both teams going on long runs, but our guys found a way to settle in and played great team basketball down the stretch."
 
Columbus State (5-0) held a 59-47 lead with 14:34 remaining in the game before the Wolves put together a quick 11-0 run to crawl within one. West Georgia eventually took the lead around the midway point of the half to set up a back-and-forth affair over the next few minutes.
 
After four lead changes, West Georgia (3-3) finally took control of the game and built up a 77-73 lead with just 4:38 remaining. However, Payne quickly hit back-to-back threes in the same spot on the floor to put the Cougars ahead 79-77 with just over four minutes to go.
 
The Wolves didn't go away staying within four for the rest of the game. A Payne free throw made it 84-81 in the final minute, but a three-point play from Stephaun Branch tied the game at 84 with just 25 seconds to go.
 
Moore went to Payne on the final play as the junior started his run to the bucket with five seconds to go to lay the game-winning shot in.
 
Payne had 19 points after going 4-for-6 from three. The guard shot 7-for-17 overall and had five rebounds and two assists. Arben Camaj had his best game of the season going 7-for-12 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from long range to score a career-high 19 points. The senior had six rebounds and three blocks.
 
Darius Joell (11), Dixon (10) and John Lambert (10) all scored in double figures. Dixon barely missed out on another double-double as he grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Joell had a team-high five assists.
 
In the first half, Columbus State quickly raced out to an 18-6 lead with less than six minutes off the clock. Three Cougars had at least three points in the run led by Camaj's five.
 
The Cougars never trailed in the half and held a comfortable lead for the majority. Six quick points from the Wolves cut the CSU lead to 32-30 with just over six to play in the half. Columbus State built the lead back out to nine, but West Georgia hung around to trail by just three (45-42) at the half.

West Georgia finally took its first lead of the game at the 18:34 mark in the second half on a three-pointer to pull ahead 47-46. However, CSU quickly responded with a 13-0 run to regain a 59-47 edge. Joell, Payne and Camaj fueled the run scoring all 13 points.
 
UWG then started its rally setting up the late game action.
 
As a team, Columbus State shot 48.6 percent (34-for-70) from the floor and 43.5 percent (10-for-23) from three. UWG shot 44.8 percent (30-for-67), but was just 4-for-18 from downtown. The Wolves attempted 26 free throws compared to CSU's 12.
 
Columbus State will have some time to rest before taking on Fort Valley State on Monday, December 12 inside the Lumpkin Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.