DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Taking a page from the women's game that preceded it, the University of North Georgia men's basketball team used an incredibly quick rally in the second half to erase an 18-point deficit and go on to defeat Georgia Southwestern, 88-83, Wednesday evening at Memorial Hall. The Nighthawks improve to 13-11 on the season with a 9-6 mark in the Peach Belt Conference.
 
The Nighthawks were on fire in the first five minutes of the ballgame posting a quick 12-2 lead, but GSW would own the rest of the half taking a nine-point advantage into the intermission. The Hurricanes came out in full force in the first four minutes of the second half building their lead to 18, but North Georgia would go on a 20-2 run over the next four minutes to erase the deficite. UNG took the lead for good with a Tyler Dominy layup at 6:44 mark and maintained a comfortable lead making good on free throws down the stretch.
 
NOTES
- Ephraim Tshimanga led all scorers with 24 points in the contest, a new career-high beating his previous best of 15 points in a game. Tshimanga played 39 minutes in the contest.
 
- Ross Morkem picked up the first double-double of his collegiate career with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
- Tonight's win was the first in Dahlonega over Georgia Southwestern since 2013 and just the second in the last nine meetings against the Hurricanes.
 
STAT OF THE DAY
25 – Out of the combined 171 points scored in the game only 25 came off the bench as both teams relied heavily on their starters for offensive production.
 
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will head to Milledgeville on Monday, Feb. 13 to take on Georgia College in a game that was postponed from its originally scheduled date in early January. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.