DAHLONEGA – A career night from
Giancarlo Bastianoni and clutch late free throws from
Frank Champion put the Saints away in a 86-85 Peach Belt Conference overtime victory for the University of North Georgia men's basketball team over visiting Flagler in Lynn Cottrell Arena in the UNG Convocation Center. Bastianoni scored a career-high 29 points while shooting 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and 11-for-19 overall.
Frank Champion followed with 18 points while leading the defensive effort with five steals.
The trio of Bastianoni, Champion and
AJ White (15) combined for 62 of the 86 points scored by North Georgia. White also finished second on the team in rebounds with five and added three assists to his name.
Case Roach rounded out the double-digit scoring for UNG, finishing with 10 points.
Hunter Shedenhelm finished with eight points in his 32 minutes of action. The North Georgia bench scored 50 points in the game, led by Bastianoni and followed by White.
Head Coach Dan Evans:
We had a bunch of hard-nosed performances from our program tonight. Giancarlo (Bastianoni) made a bunch of plays offensively for us. AJ (White) had some great stretches offensively and ran the team well down the stretch. Frank (Champion) made two big FTs. Several people had big rebounds. In PBC play, everyone has to contribute. Our first-half performance was much closer to how we wanted to play in terms of pace. The second half was too open, loose and free for us to be at our best. Credit to Flagler, they made shots at critical times. Winning a game like this is a tremendous learning experience. We made many mistakes as coaches and players, but in the end, we made just enough plays to come out on top.
Key Moments
- A 12-2 run for North Georgia at the 9:32 mark put the Nighthawks ahead 30-21 with 4:58 remaining in the half.
- UNG shot 50% from the field and scored 10 points off turnovers in the first half to head into the break with a 39-29 lead over Flagler.
- Flagler hit three straight three-pointers to open up the second half to cut the deficit to three points with 18:02 to go in the second half. The first five baskets for the Saints in the second half were from beyond the three-point line.
- North Georgia answered a barrage of three-point baskets from Flagler and continued to hold the lead until the 5:08 mark. 13 of 16 made baskets for the Saints were from beyond the arc.
- Both sides traded baskets for the final five minutes of the half. AJ White sunk two free throws with six seconds left to take a 76-73 lead. Jaylon Lemons (FLG) made a three-pointer at the buzzer, his sixth of the second half to send the game into overtime.
- Flagler forced a turnover with 48 seconds left in the game to pull within one point. Another forced turnover for Flagler and a layup by Chase Fiddler (FLG) gave the Saints the lead with 13 seconds remaining.
- Champion drove to the lane with seven seconds left and drew a shooting foul down one point. The junior forward sank two free throws to take a one-point lead. The Nighthawks would hold defensively to hang on for the victory.
Next Up
North Georgia will host Georgia College (4-4) on Monday, December 12th, for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at home. It will be the 74th meeting between the two programs, with North Georgia holding a 47-37 advantage over the Bobcats. North Georgia won in their last matchup 88-73. The 15-point victory was just one of two games decided by double digits since 2019.
