COLUMBUS – The No. 20 Columbus State (17-3, 8-2 PBC) welcomed the Nighthawks of North Georgia (13-9, 5-5 PBC) to the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center for a Saturday afternoon meeting. The Cougars got away with a 72-69 win after trailing UNG in the first half.
First Half
CSU won the ball from the tip-off for Jehloni James to score. North Georgia got on the board not long after with a layup and tied the points. After a series of missed shots and rebounds, UNG scored three points followed by Jarrett Adderton scoring two for the score to be 4-5 UNG leading. The Nighthawks managed to score four more points. Roman Son got his first points of the game with a layup at the 15:50 mark. Both teams entered double digit points when Adderton made a jump shot to set the score at 10-16.
With 11 minutes left, North Georgia had an 11-point lead over the Cougars were able to convert more three points thus far. Masiah Jones subs in for the Cougars and makes an instant impact with a three-pointer assisted by Joshua Guilford. Scoring for both teams went back and forth in the ninth minute with Adderton scoring from three twice and UNG scoring from the charity line twice to make the score 21-23. Guilford tied the game at 25 with 8:18 left in the half.
The Cougars had the lead against the Nighthawks for six minutes until UNG made a three pointer to tie the game yet again. With 1:11 on the clock, North Georgia made another three-pointer to take the lead by one. CSU tried to take back the lead with 30 seconds left but failed to do so after missing a jump shot and a layup. Columbus State makes it out of the half down by one with UNG leading 35-36.
Second Half
The Cougars had the ball at the start of the half, and Wisdom Uboh got the Cougars back on top with a layup. After a three pointer for UNG, Adderton got that ball and advanced down the court for a good jump shot. With UNG looking to score, the Nighthawks pass the ball right to Adderton. As they charged down the court, the only way to stop the Cougars was to foul them, which lead to Roman Son making both of his free throws. North Georgia continued to have the lead with 46-48 with six minutes into the second half. The Cougars were in UNG territory when they almost turned over the ball but quickly got it back and passed to Mitchell for a three pointer.
With less than 10 minutes left in the game and the score tied, Uboh was fouled to make two free throws and got ahead CSU 55-53. Scoring was slow for both teams, until Mesiah Jones scored from three to get CSU up by three with six to play. CSU was only up by two with 3:35 left in the game and the Nighthawks were still fighting to get it back on top. After CSU was able to convert, UNG had the ball flying down until the ball got away and Adderton was there to steal. He passed it up to Son and he was up to layup and move the score to 67-63. Wboh found space for a three-pointer successfully, and so did UNG as they scored immediately after.
One minute remained on the clock with CSU ahead 70-68. James fouled out which gave the Nighthawks a chance to catch up. UNG only made one free throw, so CSU still had the lead with 28 seconds left. With 12 seconds left and trying to score, North Georgia's worst nightmare came true as they turned over the ball and fouled Uboh, who did not make his free throw. Luckily, CSU was able to survive and end the day happily with a 72-69 win over the Nighthawks of North Georgia.
In The Numbers
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Son was the leader in points against the Nighthawks with 17 points making 75.0% (6-of-8) from the field, 50.0% (1-of-2) in three pointers, 66.7% (4-of-6) in free throws, and three steals.
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