Saturday, December 30, 2006

SAINTS FALL IN SECOND GAME OF HOLIDAY CLASSIC
St. Augustine's goes on run midway through second half to sink Saints

Columbus, GA - North Georgia College & State University was unable to overcome a 16-0 run by St. Augustine's in the second half, falling 81-78 in the second game of the Columbus State Holiday Classic.

Following a pair of Xavier Trice free-throws at the 15:18 mark of the second half gave the Saints a big 58-37 advantage - their biggest lead of the game. North Georgia led the game since the 16:58 mark of the first half up to that point and appeared in complete control of the game. But St. Augustine's would not go quietly.

Nicholas King drained a three-pointer and sent the Falcons off on a 16-0 run that swung momentum their way. Antonio Fitzgerald capped the run with a layup to cut the Saint lead to 58-53 with 11:08 left. The Falcons then out-scored North Georgia 15-9 over the next seven minutes and finally took the lead on a Barry Jones trey with 3:34 left. After three more lead changes in the next minute and a half, Fitzgerald again hit a layup to put the Falcons ahead for good with exactly one minute to play. North Georgia had one final opportunity to get a tying shot after a Fitzgerald miss at the free-throw line. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald picked off the outlet pass to seal the win.

St. Augustine's (6-4) shot 58.3 percent in the second half in making the big comeback, including hitting six of nine from long range. King led the Falcons with 22 points on 8-14 shooting, while Fitzgerald added 18 points - eight of which came at the free-throw line. Jones added
17 points on 5-7 three-point shooting, while Robert Shuler posted a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 12 boards.

Dustin David went 6-10 from three-point range to pace North Georgia with 24 points. Trice added 19 points, while Jay Anderson tallied 12, Lee Burrell 11, and Anthony Rowe 10. The Saints shot 58 percent in the first half and finished the game at 49.1 percent - 55 percent from three-point range.

North Georgia (4-7) opens Peach Belt Conference play on Thursday at UNC Pembroke.

-NGCSU-

Box Score

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