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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Columbus State University men's basketball team stopped a three-game skid with a hard-fought 66-60 win at Augusta on Saturday. The Peach Belt Conference contest was played in Augusta, Ga.
The victory was the first for the Cougars at Augusta since January of 2004, snapping an eight-game losing streak.
It was a balanced scoring effort that got the job done for the Cougars on Saturday, as seven different Cougars scored at least six points.
Rudy Winters led the way with 12, while
Marcus Dixon,
Darius Joell and
JaCori Payne added nine each.
"I thought the guys showed a lot better intensity and effort today," head coach
Robert Moore said. "We have not been good defensively over the last three games and I thought we did a much better job today."
Columbus State (3-6, 3-3 PBC) looked like it might have an easy victory on its hands early in the second half. The Cougars led 35-32 at the break, but opened the second with a 17-6 run and led 52-38 with 12:35 remaining.
Augusta (7-5, 4-2) would storm back however. The Jaguars scored 14 unanswered points over the next six minutes to tie the game at 52 apiece and it was a batter the rest of the day.
With the game tied at 60 and under two minutes on the clock, Joell made one of the biggest plays of the night, driving down the right side and under the basket before finding a wide open
Cam Paulding for the go-ahead layup.
Augusta had a chance to tie the game on the other end, but the Jaguars missed a pair of free throws. On the ensuing possession, Winters grabbed a critical offensive rebound and knocked down two at the foul line to help put the game away.
CSU shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) on Saturday, knocking down 8-of-22 3-point attempts. The Cougars were 12-for-15 from the free throw line, including 4-for-4 in the final minute.
Columbus State will be away from home again on Wednesday with a road tilt at Georgia Southwestern. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Americus.
