Thursday, February 16, 2006

COUGARS FEND OFF CHARGING NORTH GEORGIA 113-107

Columbus, GA - The Cougars came out with a frenzied 113-107 win over North Georgia at the Lumpkin Center Wednesday night.

Columbus State built a big first-half lead and then held on for dear life as North Georgia stormed back in the second half. The Cougars move to 19-7 overall and 13-4 in the PBC with the win, while North Georgia falls to 14-9, 10-7.

The Cougars appeared in complete control of the contest after a Justin Wilson three-pointer put CSU up 72-52 with 14:33 remaining. The Saints, however, began to chip away at the lead and finally cut it to single digits on Mark Causey's three-pointer with 9:07 left, making it 79-71 in favor of CSU. The Saints would then out-score CSU 11-5 over the next four minutes and cut the margin all the way to two points. A pair of Mark Trust free-throws with 5:23 left made it 84-82. The Saints hung around but could not manage a tying or go-ahead attempt before CSU mounted what was the decisive run of the game.

Leading 87-84 with 4:28 left, CSU rattled off seven unanswered points to take a 94-84 lead. Ransom Antoine started the run with a pair of free-throws, and, after a missed three by Matt Causey, got a long three-pointer from Ron Robinson to make it 92-84. Antoine then brought the crowd to its feet as he split defenders for a two-handed jam to give CSU a 94-84 lead with 3:22 to play. CSU would get the margin to as many as 12 but the Saints would not go away.

Charles Mitchell and Matt Causey combined for four three-point bombs over the last 1:30 of the game to keep the Saints within striking distance. Causey's final trey with eight seconds left pulled the Saints to within four at 111-107. Robinson's two free-throws with five seconds left sealed the win for CSU. Corris Portis went 13-14 in the second half - including 9-10 in the last three minutes of the game.

Nathan Patterson was the story of the night for CSU. The senior - whose best game of the year came in Dahlonega on January 11 when he posted 21 points and 16 boards - had a double-double before halftime en route to 27 points and 17 rebounds. Patterson went a phenomenal 11-11 from the floor, including three treys, and also added an assist and a steal. He helped CSU lead by as many as 19 points in the first half and take a 17-point lead, 55-38, at the break.

Antoine had another solid night for the Cougars, scoring 25 points to go with five rebounds. The senior - and junior college teammate of Patterson - went 8-9 at the free-throw line and 8-17 from the floor. Portis went just 2-8 from the floor, but 14-15 at the line to finish with 18 points, while Quay Holloway tallied 15 off the bench. Ron Robinson added 12 points to go with six assists and Justin Wilson chipped in 11 points in 15 minutes

Matt Causey heated up in the second half to lead all scorers with 33 points on 12-26 shooting. Mark Trust had another big night, as well, scoring 28 points to go with 14 rebounds. Mark Causey added 18 points, while Anthony Rowe added 13 to go with 10 rebounds. The Saints shot 49 percent in the second half and hit five of its eight total three-pointers in the last 1:30 of play.

CSU travels to Francis Marion on Saturday for a 4 PM start in another key PBC matchup, while the Saints travel to PBC-leading GC & SU for a 7:30 PM contest.

Box Score

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