COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Georgia College Men's Basketball team (11-4, 4-2 PBC) controlled play in the first half, but the No. 18 Columbus State University Cougars (11-2, 5-1 PBC) chipped away in the second to take the game 83-82.

Darren Daniel made a lay-in with 17.7 seconds left in the game to put the Cougars up one. After a timeout, the Bobcats had three cracks at the game-winner, hotly contested layups, but came up empty as time expired.

"What a great game," said head coach Mark Gainous. "They're a good team and you have to finish the deal to beat them. We had a chance, but missed too many threes down the stretch. If we keep playing hard like we did tonight, we'll be an NCAA Tournament team."

The Bobcats led for nearly 33 minutes of the 40-minute game. Senior guard Terrell Harris (Indiantown, Florida) made a bid for triple-double status with 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. It was the fifth double-double of Harris' Bobcat career and the first this season.

Freshman Chaz Berry (Fayetteville) had four threes on the way to 17 points, one off his career best. Senior Ryan Blumenthal (Acworth) added 14 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was Dwight Anderson (Minneapolis, Minnesota) at 10 points.

The Bobcats were dominant in the first half, owning a 42-33 advantage. Harris had 12 points and seven boards by the break. The Bobcats were hot in the first half, hitting nine threes and 42 percent from the field overall, but went equally cold in the second at just 34 percent shooting.  

Georgia College got a three from Berry with 25 ticks left in the game to take the 82-81 lead, setting the stage for Daniel's heroics.

The Bobcats are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m., traveling to Clayton State University (8-5, 3-3 PBC). The Lakers most recently won 76-74 today at the University of North Georgia.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on social media for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.