MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | Zyair Greene, James Nichols III, Dallas Clayton and Khalil Green combined for 60 points as Georgia College & State University defeated Southern Wesleyan University 91-80 in an offensive-heavy non-conference men's basketball game Wednesday (Dec. 4) night inside the Centennial Center.
The Bobcats won their second in a row, improved to a 3-4 record, as the Warriors fell to 2-5. The 91 points equals the season high for the Bobcats, which also scored 91 last month against Converse University in a win. GCSU continues its homestand with its first Peach Belt Conference game against Columbus State University Saturday (Dec. 7) at 3:30 p.m.
Georgia College started slowly against Southern Wesleyan in the first half, taking their first lead almost six minutes into the game; however, the Bobcats broke the game open with 13 unanswered points and took a 21-10 lead on a Clayton layup off a Green assist with 12:52 remaining. GCSU extended its lead on a 12-2 run to 21 points (39-18) after an Aidan Kudlas layup with 4:15 to go. A Tony Carpio dunk with eight seconds before halftime to give the Bobcats a 25-point lead (51-26) at the break.
Georgia College took its largest lead at 28 points (80-52) with 9:12 left in the game after an old-fashioned three-point play from Clayton. Southern Wesleyan, which was 32-of-47 from the charity stripe, crept back in the contest, but couldn't get any closer than 11 points (91-80) the rest of the game.
Greene scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the opening 20 minutes for the Bobcats, who went 10-of-20 from three-point range in the first half, as he shot 8-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from distance. Nichols finished with 14 points and five rebounds, while Clayton tied his career high with 13 points and added six rebounds. Green collected 10 points and dished out five assists. Ian Davis and Mason Etter each added eight rebounds, while Carpio tallied six more as the Bobcats outrebounded the Warriors 56-32 on the glass and outscored Southern Wesleyan 36-4 in the paint.
About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for four consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won five 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
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