Thursday, February 17, 2005

HAWKS UPEND #25 SAINTS, 80-79

Rome, Ga. - The Shorter Hawks might not make the Southern States Athletic Conference postseason tournament, but that doesn't mean they're going down without a fight.

Displaying a performance full of heart and character, the Hawks held off a furious final-minute rally by No. 25 North Georgia to post an 80-79 victory over the Saints in a wild affair Thursday night at the Winthrop-King Centre.

Shorter (8-16, 5-14) led 77-68 with 1:36 to go, but Mark and Matt Causey combined to hit four 3-pointers in a span of 43 seconds to pull the Saints (19-8, 13-5) to within 80-79 with 46 seconds still remaining.

Shorter missed a shot with 20 seconds to go, but Mark Causey missed a 3-pointer of his own and North Georgia grabbed the rebound with 3.6 seconds to go.

After a timeout, the Saints inbounded the ball, but a double foul was called with 1.7 seconds to go, giving the ball back to North Georgia.

The Saints inbounded the ball again under Shorter's basket and got a pass to Mark Trust, but he lost control of the ball and the Hawks emerged with the win.

North Georgia led 40-33 at halftime behind 14 points from former Georgetown Hoya Matt Causey, but the Hawks made a 12-3 run to open the second half and take a 45-43 lead.

Shorter pushed its lead to as much as 10 points, at 69-59 with 7 minutes remaining, before the Saints made their final charge.

Jeff Dancy led Shorter with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Matt Sauers had 16 points and seven rebounds, Larry Savage had 12 points, Casey Baxter finished with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals and Hatcher had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Matt Causey had 20 points to pace North Georgia. Mark Causey, who started his collegiate career at Duke, added 17.

Story by Joseph Myers, Rome-News Tribune

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