AMERICUS, Ga. - The Columbus State University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire in an 89-82 victory on the road Wednesday night over Georgia Southwestern. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Storm Dome in Americus, Ga.

Cam Paulding slammed home a dunk 17 seconds into the game and the Cougars never looked back building a 16-point lead before the close of the first half. Over the final 20 minutes, the lead wasn't ever in major jeopardy with the Hurricanes making one final push in the closing minutes to cut the margin to six, 84-78. However, Anthony Moore capped off his great performance with a layup at the 1:02 mark to help seal the victory. 

"I keep telling the guys that we are going to have to grind out wins every night in this league," said head coach Robert Moore. "Even though we were up for the whole game, Southwestern got back in it late, and that's what well-coached teams do. I was just happy the guys withstood the push and answered the call at the end."

"Ant [Moore] was the real deal tonight. If we can get him going like this, he can be a difference-maker."

Moore recorded his first double-double of the year with a 24-point, 11-rebound performance. The junior was 12-for-15 from the field and added four assists. Hunter Preston (15), Bryant Givens (14), Landrius Horton (11), and Karl Ivey (11) all scored in double-figures as well. Givens continued to fill the stat sheet with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

As a team, Columbus State (12-7, 7-4 PBC) shot 53.5 percent (38-for-71) overall and was 7-for-20 from beyond the arc. CSU struggled at the line going 6-for-15.

Looking to sweep the season series, Columbus State will travel to Augusta, Ga. on Saturday, Feb. 1 to take on Augusta University. The Cougars defeated the Jaguars 61-60 on Jan. 20 on a Preston buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. inside Christenberry Fieldhouse. 
 

Play-by-Play

First Half

Columbus State scored eight of the game's first 10 points to race out to an early lead. The Cougars were hammering the ball in the paint with the first four buckets coming inside the key. Georgia Southwestern warmed up though pulling within three, 11-8, behind Jamari Dean. Dean scored GSW's first eight points, but it wasn't enough, as the Cougars increased the lead to 17-8 with six quick points. It took until the 8:53 mark before the Cougars found their grove from the perimeter as Hunter Preston knocked down CSU's first 3-pointer of the night. The shot began a 10-2 Cougar run that saw the lead grow to 13 points, 31-18, with six minutes left until the break. Columbus State would eventually take a game-high 16-point lead, 42-26, after Stanley Taylor finished off a layup in transition.

Second Half

Columbus State exited the locker room in front 44-32 and held a double-digit lead for the first part of the second half. With the Cougars back ahead by 16 at 60-44, the Hurricanes started their rally. An 8-0 GSW run pulled them within eight, 60-52, with 12:22 remaining, but the Cougars regrouped with clutch 3-pointers from Bryant Givens and Karl Ivey that pushed the margin to 14, 72-58. The lead would hover around the 10-point mark until the final four minutes of play when GSW started its final push. The Hurricanes scored back-to-back buckets to make it a six-point game with under 90 seconds to play, and had the chance to pull within three, but a missed layup halted all momentum. On the following trip down the floor, Moore laid a bucket in to seal the road victory for the Cougars.

 

Inside the Numbers

• It's the first time this season that Columbus State has won consecutive road games.  • The 24 points are a new career-high for Anthony Moore. He also tied his best performance on the glass with 11 rebounds. • Hunter Preston continued his torrid shooting pace on Wednesday by going 6-for-8 from the field. In 11 conference games this season, the junior is shooting 68.4 percent (54-for-79) from the floor, 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from three, and 80 percent (28-for-35) from the free throw line. He is the only player in the PBC shooting above 65 percent in all three categories. • It was the eighth time this season Columbus State shot 50 percent or better. • The CSU defense turned 15 GSW turnovers into 25 points. The Cougars only committed nine turnovers after 17 on Saturday against Young Harris. • The Cougars won the rebounding margin 36-34. It's the third straight outing, and fourth in the past five games, that Columbus State has out-rebounded its opponent. CSU was out-rebounded seven times over the first 11 games this season.  • CSU has now won three straight against Georgia Southwestern. Overall, the Cougars lead the series 24-20.