AMERICUS, Ga. - In a double overtime thriller, the Columbus State University men's basketball team outlasted Georgia Southwestern 106-103 Wednesday night. 

After Jalen Thomas kept the Cougars alive with two threes in the first overtime period, including a stepback trey to tie the game at 95 with 24 seconds on the clock, it was Bryant Givens who took over the game for CSU in the final five minutes. With the game tied at 97, Givens drove to the hoop and converted a layup while drawing the foul. Givens finished off the three-point play to put CSU ahead 100-97 with 2:39 remaining. 

Givens added two more to make it a 103-99 with 76 seconds left in the game, but the Canes wouldn't go away. GSW would keep the margin to a single possession over the final minute, including pulling within one after a layup with 22 seconds remaining. However, a pair of free throws from Landrius Horton pushed CSU's lead back to three at 106-103 while Georgia Southwestern's final shot at the buzzer didn't find the bucket allowing the Cougars to escape with the road victory.

"This was huge to walk out of this building tonight with the victory," stated head coach Robert Moore. "This could have been a bad loss after being up 10 late, but give credit to the guys for sticking with each other to pull out this much needed game."

Givens scored a career high 37 points, including six in the second overtime, after a 15-for-22 shooing performance. The junior grabbed 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year while only falling two assists shy of a triple-double. Thomas also had a great shooting night going 5-for-10 from the field hitting five three-pointers for 21 points. Stanley Taylor (16), L. Horton (11) and Chris Horton (11) each scored in double figures.

As a team, Columbus State was 15-for-25 from beyond the arc, including five apiece from Thomas and Givens. The 60 percent shooting mark was a season best from three.

CSU managed to take a lead into halftime, thanks to two different 8-0 runs. After finding themselves in an early hole, threes from Givens and Thomas gave the Cougars their first lead of the night at 13-10. A few minutes later, another 8-0 spurt, again fueled from long range shooting, put the Cougars on top 21-16 halfway through the half.

The Cougars continued to shoot well ending the first 20 minutes of action with a 40-33 lead after posting a 54 percentage shooting performance.

Columbus State looked to be cruising to a victory in the second half going up by double figures on a couple of occasions before Georgia Southwestern stormed back late. With CSU leading 78-68 with just under three to play, the Canes went on a 14-4 run to tie the game at 82-all to force overtime. 

The game almost slipped away from CSU in the first overtime period, but the Cougars found clutch shots. A three from Thomas tied the game at 87 early in the period before C. Horton put the Cougars up by three with another trey with just 2:07 remaining. After GSW went back ahead, Thomas sent the game to the second overtime period after his tough stepback three-pointer.

Columbus State will return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 16 hosting Lander at 3:30 p.m. inside the Lumpkin Center. CSU defeated the Bearcats 88-78 earlier in the season.