DAHLONEGA – Another efficient offensive effort by the University of North Georgia men's basketball team led the way to a 77-73 Peach Belt Conference victory over Georgia College in Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center. Four Nighthawks recorded double-digit scoring, led by
Frank Champion (16) and
Sutton Smith (14).
Champion led the team in scoring and rebounds, grabbing six boards and adding three steals. Smith made six shots on seven attempts on his way to 14 points adding three steals on the defensive end, his career-high in both categories.
Giancarlo Bastianoni continued to shine off the bench for UNG, scoring 14 points and making six shots in nine attempts.
Hunter Shedenhelm scored a season-high 13 points in the game, finishing second on the team in rebounds with five, adding two steals and one block.
Greg Billups, Jr. rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Nighthawks with 10 points and
Case Roach finished with eight points and four rebounds.
The Nighthawks shot 50.9% from the field to propel North Georgia to 2-0 in league play and 7-1 overall, their best start since 2008.
Head Coach Dan Evans
"PBC play brings these exact types of games with so much familiarity and competitiveness around the league. We had a little experience with it Saturday, and we handled some things better as a result. We still have so much improvement left in terms of our attention to detail and awareness defensively, but our balanced attack offensively, five guys in double figures and a variety of contributors led the way. Finishing with only nine turnovers is big for us. We have said all year that it will be different people each night. Tonight was our entire team contributing in their role, and that's how we need to be every night."
Key Moments
- Smith began the night with four of the first six points in the game, followed by Roach hitting back-to-back three-pointers to take a 12-10 lead with 17:10 left in the first half.
- Bastianoni scored five straight at the 12:23 mark to stretch the lead to eight in the first half.
- The Nighthawks used a 10-1 run with 2:03 left in the first half to take an 18-point lead, their largest of the game. GCSU answered with a 9-1 run to close the gap to 10, Champion sank two free throws to close out the half and give North Georgia a 12-point lead heading into the halftime break.
- GCSU outscored UNG 13-4 to open up the second half and cut the deficit to five points with 13:33 left in the game. A made three by Richard Crawford (GCSU) at the 10:32 mark in the second half brought the deficit down to three points.
- North Georgia would get the lead back to nine with 3:06 left in the game. GCSU would use a 7-1 run to pull back within three points with 1:13 left in the game.
- An Austin Sloan (GCSU) three and a made layup by Reirson Chapin (GCSU) made it a one-point game with 20 seconds on the clock. Shedenhelm iced the game with two made free throws to make it a two-possession game with five seconds left.
Next Up
UNG will head on the road to face Tampa (2-5) and Eckerd (4-3) over the weekend at the Tampa Classic. Tampa defeated 13th-ranked Embry-Riddle in a 78-77 overtime victory on Saturday, Dec. 3. Eckerd recorded a home 89-84 overtime win over Saint Leo in their last contest.
The Nighthawks are set for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday (Dec. 17) against Tampa, and a 5:00 p.m. tip-off against Eckerd on Sunday (Dec. 18) to complete their road trip at the Tampa Classic.
