ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. | Shaquan Cantrell and Corey Green combined for 29 points and 16 rebounds as the University of North Georgia men's basketball team opened Peach Belt Conference play with an 85-78 victory over Flagler on Thursday evening. Ten different North Georgia players scored a field goal as the Nighthawks improve to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in PBC play.  

Cantrell led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds while Green added 14 points and nine boards.  Sean Brennan and T.J. Williams rounded out the double figure scorers for North Georgia with 11 and 10 respectively.

Michael Varrichione came off the bench to add nine points and nine rebounds.

Flagler (5-3, 0-1 PBC) was paced by a game-high 19 points from Dennis Diaz while Jerrell Oxendine added 17.

North Georgia led by as many as 22 points, 44-22, with 3:48 left in the first half, but Flagler used a 12-0 run to close the gap to 10 (44-34) at the break.

After the host Saints fought back to trail by just five early in the second half, North Georgia used an 11-1 run to push the lead back to double figures for the duration of the second frame.   

A quick 8-0 spurt by the Saints with less than two minutes remaining in the game cut an 11-point Nighthawk lead down to a single possession, but a layup by Green and a pair of free throws from Brennan sealed the victory.

With the win, the Nighthawks (7-1, 1-0 PBC) match the program's best-ever eight-game start in the NCAA era.  North Georgia completes the two-game conference road swing with a 3:30 p.m. tip-off at Armstrong State on Saturday, Dec. 20.