COLUMBUS - The Columbus State University men's basketball team will look to get back to its winning ways on Wednesday as they travel to Americus, Ga. to square off against Georgia Southwestern. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the Storm Dome.
The Cougars (11-7, 6-4 PBC) couldn't slow down a hot shooting Young Harris team on Saturday falling 104-96 at home. YHC made 13 3-pointers while shooting an even 50-percent from beyond the arc. CSU also made 13 from downtown but committed 17 turnovers.
Hunter Preston continued his great play by going a perfect 11-for-11 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line to score a career-high 28 points. The junior also led the team with nine rebounds.
Bryant Givens was impressive as well with 21 points and a career-high 15 assists. He became the first Cougar since Feb. 21, 2004 to dish out 15 or more assists in a game.
"The reason why we lost the game on Saturday wasn't because we couldn't score," commented head coach
Robert Moore. "You can't commit nearly 20 turnovers and allow another team to score 100 in your building and expect to win."
"This league is shaping up to be very balanced and Georgia Southwestern has shown they have the talent to beat anyone after defeating Lander earlier this season."
| CSU |
Stats |
GSW |
| 11-7, 6-4 |
Record |
8-8, 3-7 |
| 79.7 |
PPG |
77.3 |
| 76.6 |
Opp. PPG |
77.3 |
| 45.9% |
FG% |
45.7% |
| 46.4% |
Opp. FG% |
44.6% |
| 35.7 |
Rebs/Game |
37.1 |
| 34.8% |
3PT FG% |
30.6% |
| 35.8% |
Opp. 3PT FG% |
32.9% |
| 66.2% |
FT% |
65.4% |
| 14.7 |
Assists/Game |
13.5 |
| 9.1 |
Steals/Game |
7.3 |
| 2.2 |
Blocks/Game |
3.3 |
Game 19
Opponent: Georgia Southwestern University
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Site: Storm Dome (2,400), Americus, Ga.
Live Audio Stream: Cougar Sports TV - Scott Miller, play-by-play.
Live Video Stream: GSWAthletics - Youtube
All-time Series: CSU leads 23-20
Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2019, in Americus, Ga. (CSU 106-103)
Georgia Southwestern (8-8, 3-7 PBC) is coming off back-to-back losses following Saturday's 88-72 setback to UNC Pembroke in Americus. Jamari Dean and Abdual Dial combined for more than half of GSW's points with 21 apiece.
Dean is one of the best big men in the PBC as he leads the league in rebounding (9.4 rebs/game) and ranks sixth in scoring (17.4 PPG). Junior Soloman Thomas (16.3 PPG) can shoot it from deep averaging over two 3-pointers per game and ranks inside the top-20 in made threes in the PBC this season.
The Hurricanes limit their opponents to shoot just 32.9 percent from beyond the arc, the best mark in the Peach Belt. GSW also gets to the line frequently averaging 24.9 free throws a night.
Cougar Notes
• With a win on Wednesday, Columbus State would close one of its busiest months of the year with a 7-2 record.
• At the Division II level, the Cougars rank 17th in steals per game (9.1). Individually, Bryant Givens is 21st in assists per game (6.0).
• At the conference level, the Cougars lead the PBC in steals per game (9.1) and rank second in offensive rebounds per game (13.2) and fewest turnovers per game (12.7).
• The Cougars are in search of back-to-back road wins for the first time this season.
• CSU had a season-high 25 assists against Young Harris. It was the most assists in a single game by the Cougars since Jan. 2, 2016 when they collected 28 against Francis Marion.
• Hunter Preston was named PBC Player of the Week on Monday. The junior averaged 24 points and eight rebounds over three games last week. He became one of just five players this season at the NCAA Division II level to go 10-for-10 or better from the field in a game. For the week, Preston shot 67.5 percent (27-for-40).
• It is the first time since the 1994-95 season that Columbus State has earned four PBC Player of the Week awards in the same season. Landrius Horton has three weekly honors to his name already this year.
• Bryant Givens is one of six players at the NCAA Division II level in 2019-20 to have dished out 15 or more assists in a game this season.
Series History
• Columbus State and Georgia Southwestern first met in the 1970's before the series took a long hiatus. Once GSW joined the Peach Belt for the 2006-07 season, the two schools have met twice annually.
• The Cougars lead the all-time series 23-20, including a 14-12 mark since 2006-07.
• Last year, CSU swept the season series for the first time since 2016-17. In the last meeting on Feb. 13, 2019, Givens scored a career-high 37 points to pace the Cougars to a 106-103 road victory.
