DAHLONEGA – The No. 24 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team suffered just its second home loss of the season with an 83-72 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) matchup against the Augusta Jaguars at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center.
The Nighthawks and Jaguars traded buckets to open the ballgame. With 13:36 remaining in the first half, a three-pointer by Evan Joyner gave Augusta an 18-15 lead that they would never relinquish. Augusta extended its first-half lead to as many as 13 points, but senior guard AJ White used the final 1:46 to go on a personal 6-0 run to cut the deficit to seven heading into halftime.
The Nighthawks carried that momentum to close out the first half into the second. A layup from sophomore forward AJ Baskerville and a three-pointer from White in the opening minute of the second half made it a one-score game. Timely shooting from beyond the arc and key defensive stops from the Jaguars pushed their lead back to 13 to keep the Nighthawks out of range.
With 50 seconds remaining, senior center Colin Turner knocked down his first three-pointer of the season right in front of the Nighthawk bench to bring UNG within single digits. Augusta followed that up by knocking down four free throws to secure a Jaguars win.
White paced the Nighthawks with 24 points on the night while shooting 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Wednesday served as White's ninth game of the season with 20 or more points and his second with 10 or more made free throws.
Baskerville followed White in the scoring column with 15 points, and Turner posted his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
With the loss, UNG moved to 11-5 overall and 5-5 in PBC play.
Augusta (9-11, 4-6 PBC) was led by Elías Pálsson and Joyner, who combined for 50 of the Jaguars' 83 points in the win.
The Nighthawks will have a week to regroup and reset before returning to game action on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at Columbus State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center in Columbus, Ga.
