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COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University men's basketball team won their fourth conference game of the season Wednesday defeating Georgia Southwestern 86-75 in the Lumpkin Center.
Junior Bryant Givens scored a team-high 18 points while dishing out a game-high 10 assists for his third double-double of the season. Senior Xavier Williams stuffed the stat sheet putting up 14 points, while adding five blocks and five rebounds. Three other Cougars finished in double figures on the evening.
"We executed our game plan perfectly tonight," said head coach Robert Moore. "When you can get going early, it helps ease the pressure and allows the guys to play more freely and creatively. Hopefully this is the start of a good run for us as we go out on one of our hardest road trips of the year."Â
Columbus State controlled the game from the beginning, allowing Georgia Southwestern in front only once. The Cougars hit the ground running by making four of their first five attempts to jump out in front 8-0 with only four minutes off the clock. The Hurricanes finally found a rhythm pulling within two at the 12:19 mark before Stanley Taylor scored eight straight points increasing CSU's lead to 21-13. Columbus State kept adding on to its lead and eventually stretched the advantage to 17 at the break after a 10-2 run to close the half. Â
In the second half, the margin would get as high as 24 after a pair of free throws from Givens made it a 50-26 game at the 16:45 mark. Georgia Southwestern did pull within single digits in the final minute, but the win was never in doubt as the Cougars lead by as many as 20 six different times in the second half.
Columbus State shot 56.4 percent (31-for-55) from the field to establish a new season high. CSU was also a perfect 17-for-17 from the free throw line. From long range, CSU put up their second-best percentage of the season going 7-for-16.Â
Columbus State heads to Pembroke, N.C. January 19 to take on UNC Pembroke. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
