DAHLONEGA – A heavyweight battle came down to the final seconds in the No. 19 University of North Georgia men's basketball team's 72-71 Peach Belt Conference loss to No. 20 Augusta in Lynn Cottrell Arena in the UNG Convocation Center.
Frank Champion finished with a 17-point and 11 rebound double-double to lead the Nighthawks in both categories.
Hunter Shedenhelm had one of his best games as a Nighthawk, scoring a season-high 16 points making five of his six shots and grabbing four rebounds. Freshman duo
AJ White (13) and
Cayden Charles (10) finished third and fourth in scoring, giving the North Georgia lineup a boost off the bench.
Greg Billups, Jr. finished second on the team in rebounds with seven, adding four assists.
The Nighthawks move to 20-5 overall and 13-4 in Peach Belt Conference play.
Key Moments
- A back-and-forth first half ended with North Georgia holding a slight two-point lead at halftime. The first half featured 13 lead changes, with Augusta (22-5, 13-4 PBC)holding the largest lead of the half (4) with 15:57 remaining in the half.
- Another nine lead changes in the second half, with each team grabbing their largest lead of the game (5) in the half.
- A made free throw by Tyshaun Crawford (AU) with 0.5 seconds left in the game gave the Jaguars their one-point victory.
Next Up
North Georgia will look to wrap up their regular season with a road matchup versus USC Aiken (20-7, 13-4 PBC) on Saturday (Feb. 25) at 3:30 p.m. The Nighthawks will look to grab a share of the Peach Belt Conference regular-season title with a win versus USC Aiken. USCA is coming off a 73-64 victory over Columbus State.
