DAHLONEGA, Ga. | Khalil Green and
C.J. Jones combined to score 30 points for Georgia College & State University, but it wasn't enough as the University of North Georgia defeated the Bobcats 77-60 Wednesday (March 4) evening in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center.
The Nighthawks, who are seeded No. 3, improved to 21-6 and will advance to the semifinals Saturday (March 7) in Greenwood, South Carolina. The Bobcats, who were the tournament's sixth seed, ended their season at 16-13, a seven-win improvement over last season.
A.J. White scored 22 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Nighthawks led 35-25 at the half. White went 6-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range and hit all six free throws in the first half. GCSU struggled from the floor as they only connected on 19.4 percent of its shots (6-of-31) from the floor.
UNG used a 10-0 run to take a 12-2 lead on a White three-pointer with 15:26 left in the half. The Nighthawks extended their lead to 15 points (30-15) on a driving layup with 4:54, but the Bobcats trimmed the deficit to nine (30-21) on a
Mason Etter three-pointer with 1:45 to go.
The Nighthawks opened up a 16-point lead (43-27) 1:57 into the second half on a Zack Hawkinson layup, but the Bobcats put together a 13-5 run to cut the lead in half (48-40) on a Jones driving layup with 13:11 to play. Jones, scored 13 of his 14 points in the second half, accounted for nine points during the run.
White's stepback jumper pushed the lead back to 13 points (53-40), but a three-pointer from
Cam James got the Bobcats back to within eight (53-45) with 10:22 remaining. It would be the closest that GCSU would get the remainder of the contest.
GCSU, which shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field in the second half, was led by Green's 16 points. Etter tallied nine points, while James and
Julian Walker accounted for seven each.
Tony Carpio led the Bobcats, who were outrebounded 45-32, with seven rebounds, while
Oscar Lynch had six and Etter grabbed five. Jones distributed four assists, while
Aidan Kudlas had three.
White led the Nighthawks with 28 points.
About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for five consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won six 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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