COLUMBUS - Led by seniors Landrius Horton and Bryant Givens, the Columbus State University men's basketball team defeated Georgia Southwestern 80-73 in the regular-season finale Wednesday night. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.

On Senior Night, L. Horton scored 23 points while grabbing seven rebounds to pace the Cougars to victory. Given was right behind him with 19 points to go along with his eight assists. Hunter Preston posted a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.

"There were times where we were flat, but give the guys credit for turning it on when we needed it," said head coach Robert Moore. "It was a special night with all these seniors, and it was important for them to close out their careers here at home with a win."

"Saturday's game is important for many reasons. We need all the momentum we can have headed into the postseason, and every win you can put up is key."

The Cougars shot 43.9 percent (29-for-66) overall on Wednesday while hitting 5-of-17 (29.4%) from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, CSU was 17-for-21 (81%). 

Up Next

Columbus State will close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 29 against Young Harris. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. inside the YHC Basketball Arena in Young Harris, Ga. YHC defeated CSU 104-96 in Columbus on Jan. 25.

First Half

Georgia Southwestern got out to an early lead by scoring 10 of the game's first 14 points by the first media timeout. Things didn't get better from there for CSU as a Jamari Dean layup and a Kahlon Whitley 3-pointer gave the Hurricanes a 15-6 lead at the 12:28 mark. Givens tried to jumpstart the Cougar offense with a three to make it 19-14, but GSW quickly pushed the lead back to nine (23-14). Columbus State kept hanging around before eventually crawling itself back into the game. Jalen Thomas hit a jumper with 5:56 to go to start a stretch of six straight Cougar points to cut the lead to 27-25. With CSU still trailing by two with less than three to go in the half, Solomon Thomas got hot from beyond the arc for the Canes. The guard hit two 3-pointers to push the margin back to six (35-29) before L. Horton slammed home a dunk for the final points of the half.

Second Half

Columbus State didn't waste any time in taking the lead in the second half. Back-to-back buckets from Stanley Taylor and Cam Paulding tied things at 35 less than 95 seconds in the period before a L. Horton 3-pointer at the 17:37 mark gave the Cougars their first lead of the game at 40-38. GSW responded with a three of their own, but L. Horton came right back down the floor and completed a successful and-one to give CSU the lead for the remainder of the game. With the Cougars up 46-45, an 8-2 Cougar run pushed the advantage out to seven (54-47) with 9:09 to go. Needing a run to stay alive, the Hurricanes came alive. Down by seven with less than eight to go, GSW scored eight of the next nine points to tie the game at 57 following a Whitley 3-pointer. On the next possession, Preston fought for an offensive rebound and put it back in to halt the GSW momentum. Givens would then take over for the Cougars. Up by 61-59, Givens extended the lead to 70-64 after knocking down three straight 3-pointers. Georgia Southwestern wasn't able to recover from there. The Hurricanes would get as close as four with 2:12 remaining, but four straight points by L. Horton, including another monstrous jam capped off the Cougar victory.

Cougar Trends & Notes

• L. Horton and Givens both got hot in the second half. Horton scored 17 while Givens added 11 over the final 20 minutes. 
• Along with Anthony Moore's eight second-half points, the trio of Moore, Horton, and Givens was responsible for 36 of the 49 second-half points for the Cougars. 
• It was Hunter's first double-double in a Cougar uniform after he grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds. 
• Givens has dished out eight or more assists in eight games this season.
• CSU's bench outscored GSW's 28-7.
• The Cougars were just 1-for-6 on their 3-point attempts in the first half. In the second, CSU was just 1-for-8 before Givens' run in the closing minutes.
• Columbus State blocked a season-high eight blocks this season.
• Over the past six games, Horton is averaging 22.6 points per game while shooting 55.7 percent (49-for-88) from the floor. He is currently eighth in the PBC in scoring averaging 16.4points per game this season.