MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | C.J. Jones and Khalil Green combined for 45 points as Georgia College & State University closed out 2025 with an 84-79 non-conference men's basketball victory over Young Harris College Wednesday (Dec. 31) evening inside the Centennial Center.

The Bobcats improved to 9-3, while the Mountain Lions fell to 7-5. GCSU returns to the Peach Belt Conference slate Saturday (Jan. 3) when they travel to Americus, Georgia, for a 7:45 p.m. contest against Georgia Southwestern State University.

Jones finished with 24 points - 19 coming in the first half - as he went 6-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Green, who hit 9-of-11 free throws, added 21 more. Tony Carpio and James Nichols III also finished in double figures with 10 points apiece. Julian Walker led GCSU with seven rebounds, while Carpio posted six more.

GCSU used a 9-0 run to break open up a tight first half to take a 13-point lead (32-19) on back-to-back Jones three-points and Green's long-distance shot with 7:33 left in the first half. The Bobcats took their largest lead (46-28) on a three-pointer this time from Luke Krawczyk with 2:17 left before the half.  The Bobcats, which led 46-34 at the intermission, nailed 10-of-15 three-pointers (66.7 percent) in the opening 20 minutes.

Young Harris fought back and got as close as three points (68-65) on a Carl Cleveland tip-in with 5:03 remaining, Cleveland led the Mountain Lions with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The Bobcats thwarted the Mountain Lion rally with two Carpio free throws and a Nichols three-pointer 57 seconds later to push their lead back to eight points (75-65). The closest YHC would get would be four points two different times, but GCSU made 7-of-8 free throws in the final 55 seconds to seal the win. The Bobcats went 26-of-29 (89.7 percent) from the charity stripe against the Mountain Lions.



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 GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.  Read Full Article