Friday, December 29, 2006

SAINTS FALL TO NC CENTRAL IN HOLIDAY CLASSIC
North Georgia falls playing short-handed, only nine players dressed

Columbus, GA - North Georgia College & State University battled all night, but was unable to overcome the depth of North Carolina Central, falling to the Eagles 66-58 at the Columbus State Holiday Classic here Friday night.

Down by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Saints went on 10-0 run that was jump started by a technical foul called on the Eagles. The run trimmed the lead to 52-47 with six minutes to play.

Bobby Ayala gave North Carolina Central a 54-47 lead with 5:47 to play in the contest, when he took everyone by surprise on a lay-up from an inbounds play.

North Georgia would not rest, however, as Lee Burrell was fouled on a drive to the basket with 4:32 remaining on the clock. The junior from Suwanee hit both free throws to trim the lead back to five points, 54-49.

North Georgia picked up the defensive pressure, forcing a turnover on North Carolina Central with 4:12 to play in the game. Following a timeout, the Saints broke the defensive pressure but were unable to convert on the ensuing offensive possession. However, the Saints found the nets on a fastbreak opportunity when Xavier Trice took a feed from Sam Crawford and laid the ball off the backboard to trim the lead to 54-51.

Ayala pushed the lead back to four, 55-51, with 2:34 to play as he hit one of two free throws. He would push the lead back to six with 1:49 to play with a lay-up.

With the lead at 59-52, and the game seemingly out of reach, the Saints showed their grit. They scraped and clawed for the final 32.1 seconds, with Anthony Rowe battling two Eagles to tip the ball in and cut the lead to 59-54 with just 27.2 seconds to play. A quick foul sent Drew Johnson to the line with 26.6 to play, and the senior hit both free throws to push the lead back to seven, 61-54. The senior would get a return trip, following a missed shot, and pushed the lead to eight with under 20 seconds to play. Crawford was able to slip between three defenders and hit a lay-up to trim the lead to 62-56 with just 10.8 seconds to play.

Plagued by an injury to senior shooting guard Buzz Wehunt and the departures of juniors Brad Cochran and Robert Shoupes, the North Georgia College & State University Saints were short-handed before they ever arrived at the Lumpkin Center.

However, head coach Chris Faulkner seemed to make all the right moves. Faulkner introduced a new starting line-up against the Eagles, with Burrell and junior Jay Anderson joining the usual trio of Trice, Dustin David and Jakirra Millsap on the floor for the tip. The smaller line-up paid dividends in the first minutes, as the Saints led 27-25 at the end of the first half. The Saints battled back from an 8-0 run by North Carolina Central midway through the first half.

North Georgia battled all night, despite only having nine players in uniform for the game and being undersized. The Saints found themselves down 14-9 with just under ten minutes to play in the first half; however, they outscored North Carolina Central 18-11 over the final 9:21 of the first half to take the lead into intermission.

David led North Georgia with 16 points and eight rebounds, including the team's first seven of the second half. Anderson chipped in with 13; all but two points in the first half.

Ayala led North Carolina Central (5-3) with 16 points, while Chris Mayshack finished with 15 points, 10 of those in the first half. Jason Hervey finished with 12 points for the Eagles.

North Georgia shot 30.5 (18-for-59) percent from the floor, while being held to just 13 (3-for-23) percent from behind the arc. The Saints shot 67.9 (19-for-28) percent from the free throw line.

Meanwhile, North Carolina Central shot 48.1 (25-for-52) percent from the floor, while shooting 35.7 (5-for-14) from behind the arc. They also shot just 45.8 (11-for-24) percent from the free throw line.

North Georgia (4-6) returns to action tomorrow against St. Augustine's at 5:30 pm in the final game of the Columbus State Holiday Classic for both teams.

 

- NGCSU-

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