ANDERSON, S.C. – The No. 5 seed University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team saw its season come to an end Saturday night, falling 80-67 to fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
Lenoir-Rhyne opened the game with a 5-0 run before AJ White put the Nighthawks on the board with an early basket. White continued to facilitate the offense in the opening minutes, finding Colin Turner for a layup that trimmed the Bears' advantage to 8-4.
Chase Champion later attacked the lane for a layup against Lenoir-Rhyne's interior defense, and AJ Baskerville knocked down a three-pointer to bring North Georgia within 14-9. White helped keep the Nighthawks within striking distance midway through the half, drawing a foul on a three-point attempt and converting all three free throws to cut the deficit to four with 12:44 remaining.
Moments later, Champion delivered a block on the defensive end that led to a transition basket from White, pulling North Georgia within two at 18-16 with 9:38 left before halftime.
The Nighthawks stayed close throughout the remainder of the first half but entered the break trailing 35-28. White led North Georgia in the opening 20 minutes with 13 points and three rebounds, while Turner added six points and Champion chipped in four. As a team, the Nighthawks shot 40 percent from the field and went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line in the first half.
Turner got North Georgia going early in the second half with a quick basket, and Champion followed with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 42-33. Champion also forced a turnover that led to a transition basket from White, trimming Lenoir-Rhyne's lead to seven with 16:29 remaining.
Jameel Rideout and JoJo Peterson provided a spark midway through the half, helping the Nighthawks close the gap to 47-41 with 12:56 left to play. After Lenoir-Rhyne pushed the lead back to double digits, Turner scored four straight points to keep North Georgia within six before White knocked down two free throws to make it a four-point game at 55-51 with 9:13 remaining.
Rideout later provided another highlight for the Nighthawks with a four-point play, connecting from beyond the arc while drawing a foul with 5:23 to play. He added another three-pointer moments later to cut into the Bears' lead with just over four minutes remaining.
The Bears, however, maintained control down the stretch and kept their double-digit lead in the closing minutes. Turner hit a corner three with 37 seconds left to trim the deficit to 10, but North Georgia was unable to get any closer.
Lenoir-Rhyne was led by Conrad Luczynski and Blessin Kimble, who each scored 15 points.
White and Turner led the Nighthawks offensively with 37 combined points in their final game in a North Georgia uniform. Champion joins White and Turner as the winningest trio over a four-year stretch in program history.
