COLUMBUS, Ga. — The University of North Georgia men's basketball team came up on the short end of a hard-fought Peach Belt Conference Western Division matchup Wednesday evening at the Lumpkin Center, falling to Columbus State, 81-75. The Nighthawks are now 11-10 on the season and sport a 7-5 record in league play.
 
UNG came out of the gate strong posting an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the ballgame, but right around the five-minute mark of the opening period, the Cougars went on a scoring burst going on an 11-0 run in less than three minutes to provide some separation heading into the half.
 
The Nighthawks once again opened the half strong coming out of halftime narrowing the CSU lead to just two but the Cougars would pull away again with a strong mid-half run. North Georgia pulled within four points twice in the final minute of play but Columbus State would prove to be clutch at the free throw line holding off the possibility of a late comeback.
 
NOTES
- Four Nighthawks scored in double figures on the night, led by Denzell Hosch with 18 points. Tyler Dominy, who picked up his second double-double of the season tonight, led the team in rebounds with 10 while adding 11 points.
 
- While the game was within two possessions for the majority of play, the lead only changed hands three times throughout the game.

- For CSU, JaCori Payne led all scorers with 19 points, while Darius Joell and Marcus Dixon had 13. Dixon had a monster night on the boards grabbing a season-best 18 rebounds. It was his seventh double-double of the year.
 
- Tonight's game marks the fifth consecutive win for Columbus State in the all-time series. The two teams will meet up again on Saturday, Feb. 18.
 
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will return to Dahlonega this weekend for Homecoming and Hall of Fame Day on Saturday against Georgia College. The men's game is set for a special 4 p.m. start.