MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | Brendan Rigsbee scored 24 points to lead five Georgia College & State University players in double figures as the Bobcats rallied from a 11-point deficit to defeat Georgia Southwestern State University 97-87 in double overtime in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Saturday (Jan. 27) afternoon at the Centennial Center.

The Bobcats won their second consecutive game and improved to 9-9 overall and to 2-6 in the league, while the Hurricanes slipped to 12-6 and 4-4. GCSU returns home Wednesday (Jan. 31) for a 7:30 p.m. PBC game against Augusta University.

Georgia Southwestern State University took a 41-30 halftime lead as Christian Koonce scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the opening 20 minutes. The Bobcats got themselves back into the game as they started the second half on a 15-2 run to take a 45-43 lead on an Aidan Kudlas free throw with 15:40 remaining in regulation. Neither team led by as many as seven points the rest of the way. Richard Crawford III hit a free throw with 10 seconds to tie the game at 70 and force the first overtime.

The Bobcats led the entire first overtime, but Georgia Southwestern's JaKwon Moore's three-pointer from the top of the key with 2.2 seconds tied the contest at 81 and sent the game into a second extra period.

Oscar Lynch's three-pointer 54 seconds into the second overtime gave the Bobcats an 84-81 lead and they never trailed the rest of the way. GCSU reeled off six unanswered points to open up a 90-83 lead on a Brady Spence layup with 93 seconds to go. Georgia College extended its lead to as many as 12 points (97-85) after Rigsbee, who was 10-of-14 from the charity stripe, hit two free throws with 27 seconds left.

Rigsbee led the Bobcats with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Lynch, who connected on four three-points added 14 points. Austin Sloan added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Spence recorded a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with five assists and three blocked shots. Kudlas rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points and three assists.
 

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for three consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won four consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of 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 or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics. Read Full Article