DAHLONEGA, Ga. - The Columbus State University men's basketball team couldn't get the shots to fall Wednesday night suffering an 80-65 defeat to North Georgia. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the UNG Convocation Center.

With 3:35 to play in the first half, the Cougars led UNG 26-24 before a 10-4 Nighthawk run sent the game into the break. To make matters worse, North Georgia scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a 44-29 advantage with 17:53 remaining in the game. 

The Cougars couldn't recover from there never cutting the margin to single-digits the rest of the way.

"We didn't play Cougar basketball tonight," said head coach Robert Moore. "Our team has to realize that you have to bring your best game every time out in this league."

"I told the guys coming out of halftime that we had to win the first four minutes and we just didn't get stops. North Georgia came to play and we didn't."

Behind a 20-point second half, Bryant Givens led Columbus State (8-6, 3-3 PBC) with 22 points. Anthony Moore was the only other Cougar in double-figures with 10 to go along with five rebounds.

The Cougars shot 40 percent (22-for-55) overall and were 9-for-24 from three. 

Columbus State will host Flagler on Saturday, Jan. 18 inside the Lumpkin Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. 
 

Play-by-Play

First Half

Both teams struggled to get anything going early on as the first field goal didn't come until the 16:45 mark when Jalen Thomas hit a 3-pointer to put the Cougars on top 3-1. From there, the two sides went back-and-forth for the majority of the half with the lead changing hands three times and the score being tied on four occasions. UNG held an 8-6 lead when Landrius Horton got into the scoring column with back-to-back jumpers to tie the game at 10. The Cougars didn't regain the lead until a few minutes later thanks to a Chris Horton three that put CSU ahead 17-16 with 8:46 to play. The Cougars would eventually go up to six, 22-16, after an Anthony Moore layup and a successful 3-point play from Thomas. However, things didn't go Columbus State's way for the remainder of the half. UNG went on a 14-4 run moving ahead 30-26 with 2:27 showing on the clock. Karl Ivey cut the deficit to one with a 3-pointer for the Cougars, but four points from Ephraim Tshimanga gave the Nighthawks a 34-29 halftime lead.

Second Half

North Georgia raced out of the locker room continuing its run. UNG scored the first 10 points of the half to complete a 14-0 run and to take a 46-31 advantage. Thanks to two threes from Stanley Taylor and a C. Horton layup the Cougars pulled within 10, 51-41, with 13:38 to play. North Georgia had an answer though. Another prolonged run, this time a 10-2 spurt, pushed the margin back out to 18 at 61-43. The Nighthawk lead wasn't in jeopardy the rest of the way as they won their third consecutive conference win.

 

Inside the Numbers

• Columbus State's three-game winning streak was snapped. It's the second time this season that CSU missed out on the opportunity four consecutive victories. • CSU lost the rebounding battle 39-25. The minus-14 rebounding margin is the lowest single-game performance this season.  • The 25 rebounds are also the fewest in a game for CSU since Feb. 9, 2019 when the Cougars also grabbed 25 against Augusta.  • The 20 points by Bryant Givens are the most by a Cougar in any half this season. The 22 points tied a season-high and it was the fifth time that the senior scored 20 or more points this season. • Entering tonight, Columbus State's defense forced 17.0 turnovers per game. On Wednesday, North Georgia turned the ball over 11 times.  • It's the first time since the 2017-18 season that North Georgia defeated Columbus State. The two sides haven't split the home-and-home series in a season since 2012-13. CSU will host UNG on Wednesday, Feb. 12.