DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia men's basketball fell just short of upsetting No. 6 Lincoln Memorial in their home opener at Lynn Cottrell Arena in the UNG Convocation Center.
Frank Champion (24) and
Greg Billups, Jr. (20) led North Georgia in scoring, but Chase Rankin (21) of LMU was able to will the Railsplitters to victory.
Champion scored a season-high 24 points adding ten rebounds for his third double-double in four games. Billups, Jr. scored a career-high in points with one block and one steal on the defensive side.
AJ White (13) and
Giancarlo Bastianoni (10) scored double-digit points off the bench for the second consecutive game.
Head Coach Dan Evans Comments
"Our team competed well and stayed the course despite some difficulties in the middle of the second half. Our ability to get some stops, rebound and attack in transition allowed us to get back into the game. It is a great experience for us to play that caliber of team, but clearly, we have details to clean up. We did some really positive things - outrebounded them by 4, shot 55+% from the field, and limited our turnovers. These are all things we must sustain going forward. The toughness, resilience and togetherness of our group was evident and we would expect that from this group. We are connected and will certainly be better off as a result of this experience."
Key Moments
- North Georgia scored the first seven before LMU ended the run and evened the score at the 12:26 mark.
- LMU and UNG traded buckets for the rest of the half and went into the halftime break with the Railsplitters holding a two point lead.
- A Lincoln Memorial run to start the second half stretched the lead out to 13 with 9:02 left in the game.
- North Georgia pulled together, storming all the way back to take the lead with 4:45 left on the clock.
- Rankin scored 11 of the last 13 points for LMU.
Next Up
North Georgia hosts Fort Valley State on Tuesday (Nov. 22) as part of Ross Morkem Memorial Night. This will be the second meeting between the two programs with UNG defeating the Wildcats last season 64-51 on the road.
