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COLUMBUS - A balanced offensive attack fueled the Columbus State University men's basketball team to a 86-76 Peach Belt Conference victory over North Georgia Wednesday night. The game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.
All five CSU starters scored in double figures led by
Landrius Horton's 19-point effort. In fact, the Cougar starters combined for 80 of CSU's 86 points for the game.
Jalen Thomas (18),
Xavier Williams (17),
Bryant Givens (15) and
Stanley Taylor (11) were the other Cougars with 10 points or more. Horton finished the night with his fourth straight double-double after pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. Horton continues to lead the PBC in rebounds averaging 9.8 boards per game.
"We played with a rhythm tonight, which was fun to watch," stated head coach
Robert Moore. "We focused on defense this week in practice and it was good to see the guys come in here tonight and bring some energy out to the defensive side of the court. Things are coming together, but we have to carry that on the road against a very talented Augusta squad on Saturday."
Both sides came out shooting early in the game with the score changing hands three times before North Georgia took control early. With CSU leading 10-9, the Nighthawks went on a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the night at 19-12 with just under 11 minutes to go in the first half.
It didn't take long for the Cougars to battle back though going on an impressive run of their own. Trailing 27-22, Columbus State outscored UNG 13-2 over the next five minutes to jump in front 34-29.
Landrius Horton scored five points in the spurt, including capping off a three-point play after completing the coast-to-coast fastbreak layup while being fouled. The Nighthawks were able to regain composure only trailing CSU 36-35 at halftime.
Columbus State was in the lead for the majority of the early portions of the second half until six straight points from UNG tied the score at 54-all with 12:09 left on the clock. Thomas broke the ninth tie of the game after a pair of free throws pushed CSU back in front at 60-58 at the midway point through the half.
North Georgia then threatened to run away with things in the next few minutes. A three-pointer and a layup gave the Nighthawks a 63-60 advantage while CSU missed a layup on its next possession. With the chance to make it a five-point game with a wide open dunk, the slam attempt bounced off the rim jump starting a fastbreak by Horton that resulted in points.
In fact, the miss dunk started an 11-2 run that saw the Cougars take a late 72-65 lead. Thomas helped put the finishing touch on the run with a three-pointer following an assist from Williams.
North Georgia would pull within three of the lead at the 5:27 mark, but Columbus State slammed the doors shut on the comeback attempt with a 13-1 run to take the largest lead of the night at 84-70.
Columbus State shot 45.6 percent (31-for-68) from the floor while going 5-for-20 (25.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Cougars shot 73.1 percent (19-for-26) from the free throw line. CSU tied a season low mark in turnovers with six while forcing 15 from UNG.
The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 9 traveling to face off against Augusta. The Jaguars defeated the Cougars 65-52 in Columbus back on Jan. 12. Tipoff will be at 3:30 p.m.
