DAHLONEGA - A big second half gave Lander all the momentum they needed to hold on to defeat the University of North Georgia men's basketball team, 110-106, Wednesday night in Memorial Hall.

North Georgia came out firing in the first half, hitting their first six three pointers of the night. The Nighthawks shot nearly 72 percent from the field in the first half to jump out to a 14-point lead at the break.

The Bearcats responded, however, scoring 65 points in the second half to pull off the come-from-behind win. Lander outscored their season's average by nearly 30 points.

Three Nighthawks finished with 20 or more points, led by Shaquan Cantrell's 28 points. Ebo Smith and Ephraim Tshimanga each contributed 20 points.

NOTES
- This was the first time that North Georgia has scored over 100 points and lost since January 17, 2009, in a 107-100 loss to then-Augusta State.

- North Georgia shot 65.6 percent from the field, the second highest shooting performance of the season.

- Lander's Rahu Purdie paced the Bearcats with a game high 30 points. He hit 17-of-18 free throws in the game, making more free throws than the Nighthawks took as a team (15).

NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will look to bounce back in a road game at Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, January 27. Tip off in the Storm Dome is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.