Like Columbus State Athletics on Facebook!
By:
Josh Fuller
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – In a nearly must-win situation, the Columbus State University men's basketball team defeated North Georgia in a tight 88-82 game Saturday. The Peach Belt Conference game took place in Memorial Hall in Dahlonega, Ga.
After leading for nearly the whole first half, Columbus State needed a run midway through the second half to pull off the win.
"This was one of the best wins of the year for us," stated head coach
Robert Moore. "Obviously, it's an important win because the time of the year, but the guys showed their hearts today and managed to grab a win in a tough place to play."
Columbus State (17-8, 10-8 PBC) was cruising early in the second half as
JaCori Payne hit a 3 to push the lead out to 48-40 with 17:29 on the clock. Things became much tighter in a hurry though, as the Nighthawks nailed 3s on back-to-back possession to make it a 48-46 game less than a minute later.
The Cougars managed to hold onto the lead until a quick 11-0 run by North Georgia changed the game. CSU was up 55-50 until UNG hit four of the next five shots to move ahead 61-55 with just 12:56 left in the game.
Needing an answer, Columbus State got just that.
Darius Joell ended the scoring drought for the Cougars with a 3 of his own to start a dominant 16-6 Cougar stretch. After UNG went up 62-58,
Michael Graham scored back-to-back buckets for the Cougars to tie the game at the 11:05 mark.
North Georgia (15-12, 11-7) would score the next five points before the Cougars went on a 9-0 run to grab a 71-67 lead with 6:45 remaining. Four different CSU players scored in the run, including a 3 from
John Lambert. The Cougar defense forced four UNG turnovers in the run.
The Nighthawks made things interesting cutting the lead to one twice the rest of the way, including the final time at the 5:10 mark. CSU closed the game out strong going up by seven in the final minutes on a Joell layup before hitting free throws to ice the game.
Payne had a career night as he went for a career-high 34 points. The junior was 12-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-8 from 3. Payne added three assists and four steals as well. Four other Cougar players scored in double figures, including Joell and
Arben Camaj with 13 each.
CSU shot over 50 percent in the game going 32-for-61 (52.5 percent) from the field. From long range, the Cougars shot 45.5 percent (10-for-22).
UNG shot 39.1 percent (27-for-69) overall, but just 28.1 percent (9-for-32) from 3.
After North Georgia scored the first bucket of the game, Columbus State went on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes jumping in front 13-4.
CSU was up 17-8 with 13:37 on the clock before UNG made it a game. The Nighthawks went on an 11-0 run to take a 19-17 lead under the midway mark. CSU immediately took the lead right back as Camaj hit a 3 to help CSU rebuild its lead.
Before the break, North Georgia got within one (36-35) before Payne hit a 3 to give CSU a 39-35 halftime advantage.
Columbus State will close out the regular season on Wednesday taking on Georgia Southwestern. Tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Lumpkin Center.
