>>>boxscore
MONTEVALLO, Ala. - A second-half surge powered
by great defense and a point explosion from Graham Martin
(Marietta, Ga.) gave Georgia College & State
University men's basketball (13-2, 6-0 PBC) a 61-52 win tonight at
No. 18 University of Montevallo (15-2, 5-2 PBC).
Georgia College now starts the Peach Belt Conference (PBC)
season at 6-0 for the first time since 1999-2000 the Elite Eight
Bobcat team, arguably the best in program history. That year,
Georgia College started 8-0 and finished 13-3, taking the PBC
regular-season title.
The seventh win in a row for Georgia College, tonight's victory
was the second over a nationally-ranked opponent after beating No.
19 Tusculum College in December.
Martin had 23 of his season-best 25 points as part of the
second-half surge, as the Bobcats found themselves down seven
(34-27) at the half. GCSU held the Falcons to just 25 percent
shooting in the second half, on 5-of-20 from the floor, including
0-for-6 from long range to take the game back.
"I'm extremely proud of this team right now," said head coach
Terry
Sellers. "They have the road warrior mentality, they
believe in each other, and they believe they can win just about
anywhere."
Senior guard Jake Rios (Bozeman,
Mt.) was the only other double-digit scorer with 10,
despite hitting just one three-pointer. Martin hit nearly half of
his shots from the floor at 7-of-15, but made a big 9-of-10 free
throw attempts.
Junior forward Josh Hurst (Athens,
Ga.) cleaned the glass to the tune of 10 crucial rebounds,
adding seven points. Frontcourt mate Ryan Aquino (Roswell,
Ga.) added seven points and seven caroms, while point
guard Ty
Rowland (Lilburn, Ga.) generalled the offense with
five assists.
The Bobcats had a couple of leads in the first five minutes of
the contest, but Montevallo took over seemingly for good with 14:18
left in the first. The next time Georgia College had the advantage
came in the second half with 5:41 left on a jumper by Martin. The
'Cats wouldn't relinquish the lead after that point.
Freddy Little paced the Falcons with 14 points, Mark Plaza
adding 11 to go with seven boards and five assists. Cecil Coleman
narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
With the 25 points tonight, Martin surpassed Stan Lynn
(1988-09) into 13th in all-time scoring at
Georgia College. Martin has 1,109 points, just three behind No. 12
Larry Anderson (1971-75). Martin's three steals
tonight give him 111 in his four seasons, passing Tony
Edmonson (1993-97) into ninth all-time, and eight behind a
tie for seventh.
Tonight's contest was a bit of a homecoming for Sellers, who
spent five years as an assistant coach at Montevallo.
The Bobcats are back in action Monday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
traveling to Flagler College. Catch the action on Country 102.3FM
WKZR in Milledgeville or on the web at www.Country102FM.com .
The GCSU Department of Athletics, winners of the 2008-09 PBC
Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the
NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Georgia College
prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete,
evidenced by the Bobcats' multiple appearances in post-season
competition as well as Twitter.com
username GCSUSID for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit documented
academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at
www.GCSUBobcats.com to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and
Colonials to the GCSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
