COLUMBUS - The Columbus State University men's basketball team was on the wrong end of a shootout falling 104-96 to Young Harris on Saturday. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center. 

The Cougars (11-6, 6-3 PBC) were down by as many as 12, 88-76, midway through the second half before roaring back. An 8-2 CSU run brought the Cougars within five, 94-89, with over five minutes to go before Young Harris was able to inch back out in front 99-91. Looking for more home magic, a Landrius Horton bucket and a Hunter Preston three cut the margin to four at 100-96 with under a minute to play. 

Young Harris was able to ice the game from the free throw line from there going 4-for-4 to grab the 104-96 win.

"Young Harris came to play today and hats off to them," commented head coach Robert Moore. "We had some amazing individual performances, but we still came up short."

"We need to continue working on improving our play on the defensive end of the court. The 96 points that we had tonight should have been plenty to win."

Preston went for over 20-points again going a perfect 11-for-11 from the field en route to a career-high 28 points. The junior had nine rebounds to go along with three blocks. Givens poured in 21 while setting a career-best in assists with 15. 

Anthony Moore (13) and L. Horton (11) were also in double-figures in scoring.

Columbus State shot 48.0 percent (36-for-75) overall and 34.2 percent (13-for-38) from three. The Cougars almost went perfect from the free throw line going 11-for-12.

Young Harris (5-13, 3-7) shot an even 50 percent overall (36-for-72) and from beyond the arc (13-for-26). 

Columbus State will look to bounce back on Wednesday, Jan. 29 against Georgia Southwestern. Tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m. in Americus, Ga.
 

Play-by-Play

First Half

It was a shootout from the opening tip as the two sides combined for 16 points over the first three-and-a-half minutes. Young Harris went ahead 11-7 before a 9-4 Cougar run gave Columbus State its first lead since the opening bucket. Anthony Moore capped off the spurt with back-to-back buckets with 13:08 to go in the opening half before the Mountain Lions responded. A quick 10-2 run allowed YHC to grab a 25-18 lead. Karl Ivey gave Columbus State a spark off the bench with a 3-pointer at the 8:43 mark helping the Cougars to inch back into the game. Following a Devan Porter-Wilson layup, another Ivey three cut the deficit to one, 27-26, before Porter-Wilson put the Cougars in front following a Hunter Preston block. Bryant Givens capped off a 13-4 run with a three bringing CSU's lead to 31-29 with less than seven to go in the first. Both the Cougars and Mountain Lions remained hot from beyond the arc exchanging blows. YHC regained the momentum thanks to an 11-3 run putting the visitors up 42-37. However, the Cougars were able to tie the game with 1:42 showing on the clock following a Moore jumper. In the closing seconds, YHC was ahead 54-50 before a thrilling final sequence closed the half. Givens hit a jumper before swiping a steal around halfcourt with the clock racing down. The guard was able to take a few dribbles before floating in the air to launch a buzzer-beating three to give Columbus State a 55-54 lead.

Second Half

It was tied at 60 before Young Harris started to crawl away. A quick 11-2 run, with nine points coming from downtown, gave the Mountain Lions a 71-62 lead before the under 16 media timeout. A Preston dunk on a fastbreak cut the margin to five, 76-71, before a 10-2 stretch by YHC put the Cougars down 13, 86-73 with 10:55 to go. After trading buckets, an 8-2 CSU run brought the Cougars within five, 94-89, with over five minutes to play before Young Harris was able to inch back out in front 99-91. Looking for more home magic, a L. Horton bucket and a Preston three cut the margin to four at 100-96 with under a minute to go, but Young Harris was able to ice the game from the free throw line from there. Over the final minute, the Mountain Lions went 4-for-4 at the line to grab the 104-96 win.

 

Inside the Numbers

• Columbus State's three-game winning streak was snapped. It's the third time this season that CSU missed out on the opportunity at four consecutive victories. • Bryant Given's 15 assists are tied for the second-most by any NCAA Division II player this season. The performance is tied for the fourth-most in CSU history.  • The last time a CSU player had 15 or more assists was on Feb. 21, 2004 when Deshawn Bowman dished out 17 against Lander.  • Hunter Preston went a perfect 11-for-11 from the field on Saturday for his second straight game with 25 or more points. Preston is just one of five players at the Division II level to go 10-for-10 or better from the field in a game this season. • Over the past six games, Preston is shooting 71.4 percent (40-for-56). • It's the second time this season that Columbus State allowed 100 or more points. • The 38 attempted 3-pointers are a season-high for Columbus State. • YHC had 27 points off of turnovers compared to 12 for CSU. • Brian Harper posted the second triple-double performance in Young Harris history on Saturday. The guard had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.