COLUMBUS - Columbus State men's basketball traveled to Milledgeville, Ga. to take on Georgia College in the first Peach Belt Conference meeting of the 2024-25 season.
 
Jarrett Adderton carried the Cougars (7-1, 1-0 PBC) to a victory over the Bobcats (3-5, 0-1 PBC), securing a narrow 61-60 win in the Centennial Center on Saturday night.
 
First Half

The combo play of Jehloni James and Rakeim Gary gave the Cougars a 10-6 lead in the first five and half minutes of action. Georgia College responded with a 14-7 run over the next six or so minutes to lead 20-17. Adderton led CSU with five of the seven points in that stretch of play.
 
For the rest of the half, both teams battled in a tightly contested ballgame trading shots and keeping the game within no more than a two-possession lead either way. Georgia College edged out Columbus State in the final few minutes with a 10-8 advantage, closing the half out with a 28-27 lead.
 
Adderton led the way for CSU with 13 points followed by James and Gary with five each. The Cougars closed the half shooting for 33.3% from the field, 25% from three, and 75% from the foul line.
 
Second Half
 
Columbus State came out of the halftime intermission with buckets from Adderton and Kordell Brown to capture a 31-28 lead with 18:27 to play. The rest of the second half would go on to be a tightly contested game with lots of back-and-forth action.
 
In the half, the game was tied 11 times with 14 lead changes occurring. GCSU held the largest lead time in the half, controlling the score for nearly 11 minutes while CSU held control for just three and half minutes.
 
Adderton remained the lifeline for Columbus State in the second half, scoring 17 points which included eight points in the final six minutes and the game-winning bucket with 14 seconds on the clock.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Columbus State finished shooting for 34% (18-of-53) from the field, 28% (7-of-25) from three, and 81.8% (18-of-22) from the foul line.
• Adderton led the game with a season-high 30 points, making 10 of CSU's 18 buckets.
•  Adderton added six rebounds, a block, an assist, and a steal.
• James followed with nine points and team-leading seven rebounds.
• Defensively, Roman Son and Jordan Mitchell both gathered two steals each.
• CSU tallied five steals on 14 GCSU turnovers, scoring 12 points off turnovers.

Next Up

• Columbus State returns to the Frank G. Lumpkin, Jr. Center on Dec. 17 with a non-conference matchup against NAIA opponent Reinhardt (Ga.) at 7 p.m. ET.