DAHLONEGA -- The No. 6 University of North Georgia men's basketball team rallied from a 19-point deficit to force overtime, but came up on the short end of a 68-67 Peach Belt Conference loss to Columbus State on Saturday at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center.
 
The Nighthawks (19-3, 10-2 Peach Belt) had four players score in double figures, led by AJ White, who had 15 points and six rebounds. Frank Champion added 12 points and Hunter Shedenhelm came off the bench to chip in with a season high 11 points.
 
North Georgia struggled out of the gate, falling behind 40-30 heading into halftime after trailing by as many as 19 (34-15) with 8:00 remaining in the half.
 
Columbus State kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 55-43 advantage before North Georgia went on a 12-0 run, finished off by a Greg Billups, Jr. three, to even the score at 55 all with 5:23 to go in the contest. Neither team was able to finish the game in regulation and the contest headed to overtime tied at 59-59. North Georgia capitalized on eight Columbus State turnovers in the period, collecting nine points off those turnovers.
 
Columbus State then snagged a 67-62 advantage with 56 seconds left in overtime before North Georgia responded by going on a 5-0 run, finished off by Shedenhelm's layup, to even the score at 67 all with 13 seconds to go in the period. The Nighthawks could not turn their rally into a victory, as the Cougars made one of two free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining to hand UNG its first loss since a Jan. 17 loss at Lander.
 
Columbus State (11-10, 5-7 Peach Belt) was paced by Marquis Davison's 16 points and six rebounds.

The Nighthawks return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 14 when Lander comes to town with game time set for 7:30 p.m.