MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga.- Georgia College & State University Men's Basketball (6-13, 2-8 PBC) took a close, 69-64 loss to Columbus State University (11-9, 4-6 PBC), Saturday.

The Cougars took the early lead and kept it for a majority of the first half. With about a minute and a half to go in the first half, Brandon Thomas (McDonough) nailed a three-point bucket to give the Bobcats the 30-27 lead. CSU countered by making a pair of free throws then Richard Crawford III (Evans) made a layup to solidify the three-point lead for the Bobcats going into halftime at 32-29.

The Bobcats struck first in the second half on a jumper from Brendan Rigsbee (Suwannee). The offense went quiet for a time as GCSU found themselves in their largest hole of the game trailing 50-36. Through the second half the Bobcats continued to chip away at the Cougar lead bringing the game within five points. Ultimately the Bobcats took a tough 69-64 loss. 

Rigsbee continues to have the hot hand for the Bobcats as he iced 17 points as the squads leading scorer. He went 7-for-13 from field-goal range including an impressive 66.7% from three-point range. Thomas was the second leading scorer for the Georgia College offense with 11 points to his name. He went 4-for-7 from field-goal range and 3-for-5 behind the arc. Crawford was the third leading scorer for the Bobcat offense with nine points. 

The big post Austin Sloan (Warner Robins) made his presence known under the baskets as the Bobcats' leading rebounder. Sloan had eight rebounds with five coming under the Cougar basket. Rigsbee rounded out his impressive night as the team's second leading rebounder with six. He had a perfect split between the two baskets picking up three under each.

The Bobcats are back in action Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m., traveling to Flagler College. Live stats and broadcast links will be available at GCBobcats.com. 

Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three-straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason 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 @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.