CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The University of North Georgia men's basketball team came up just short in Tuesday night's hard fought battle at Lee as the Nighthawks gave the Flames their closest call at home this season in the 95-90 defeat. UNG slips to 3-5 on the year with the loss.
The game was tightly contested throughout staying within two possessions for all but four minutes in the overtime thriller. The largest lead was had by Lee on three separate occasions, all in the first half from the 12:23 mark to 6:09. The Nighthawks used a 7-2 run over the last 2:07 to take a four point lead into halftime. UNG managed to hold a narrow lead for nearly the entire second half with the Flames tying the game six times.
Lee was able to retake the lead for the first time in the second half with just 44 seconds left on the clock with a Keevin Tyus tip-in to go up 76-74.
Denzell Hosch drew a foul on the other end and converted his pair of free throws to send the game into overtime.
The two squads once again went back-and-forth in the extra period until a UNG missed three-pointer followed by a trey on the other end gave the Flames a six point lead with just one minute left. Hosch drew a foul on a three-point attempt with just nine seconds and converted on all three shots to pull the game back within a single possession but Lee's Levi Wood made good on both his free throws on the other end to give the game its final score, 95-90.
NOTES
- UNG had five players in double figure scoring including
Shaquan Cantrell who led the effort with 20 points. Cantrell,
Tyler Dominy, and
Ross Morkem each had six rebounds on the night to lead the team.
- The Nighthawks shot 82.4% (14-of-17) from the charity stripe on the night that included a 12-for-13 performance in the second half and overtime. It was the second best game of the year at the line for UNG.
- The loss is the first for North Georgia in the all-time series against the Flames. The Nighthawks hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
31 – UNG scored 31 points off of the bench in the game, 10 points better than Lee.
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will return home for a three-game home stand at Memorial Hall starting with Saturday's 3:30 p.m., contest against Paine.
