MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – A balanced attack helped Georgia College Men's Basketball (21-6, 13-5 PBC) pick up an 84-82 overtime victory over Columbus State University (19-9, 10-8 PBC) Saturday for Homecoming and Senior Day in the Centennial Center.

In a tight contest featuring 26 ties and 42 lead changes, the Bobcats tied the score at 82-82 on a free-throw with 1:28 remaining in overtime. GC's defense caused two misses by the Cougars, with Luke Chism (Dawsonville) pulling in the rebound.

The Bobcats ran the clock down, and senior Jordan Thomas (Conyers) drew a foul with eight seconds left. After knocking down both free-throws, the Cougars had an off-balance three miss the mark as time expired, the Bobcats picking up the win.

Jordan Thomas finished with 19 points and six assists, leading the five double-digit scorers. Junior Wesley Simpson (DeLand, Fla./Union Grove HS [Ga.]) added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Graduate student Chapin Rierson (Calhoun) had 14 points, including 4-for-5 from long range. Sophomore Brandon Thomas (McDonough) had 11 points, and Chism finished with 10 and nine rebounds.

With two minutes left, the Bobcats led by three. CSU cut it to two on a free-throw, but then Simpson responded with two free tosses of his own to push it back out. Nelson Haskin muscled in a layup for the Cougars, cutting the GC advantage to 74-72 with 90 seconds left in regulation.

After the teams traded misses, Langston Gaither hit a runner to tie the game with 12 seconds left, setting up for the overtime period.

Jordan Thomas now has 307 career assists, passing Aaron Robinson (2014) for sixth in school history. Simpson's five assists now give him 286 in his career, passing both Desmond Mitchell-LaFlam (2019) and Darrell Flowers (1992) for eighth place in school history.

With a 12-4 record in Peach Belt Conference (PBC) play, the Bobcats own the No. 3-seed in the upcoming PBC Tournament. Georgia College will host No. 6-seed Lander University for a quarterfinal matchup Tuesday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Centennial Center. Tickets are only available for online purchase through the Peach Belt site. Visit GCBobcats.com for the link when it becomes available.  

As a proud recipient of the 2021 PBC Sportsmanship Institution of the Year, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GC Athletics is now two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the league's sportsmanship honor. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.