AMERICUS - The Georgia Southwestern men's basketball team struggled from long range Monday evening in the Storm Dome, making just one of 17 attempts from beyond the arc, but a scrappy defensive effort kept the Hurricanes within striking distance of Columbus State before running out of time in a 60-54 loss.

GSW fell to 6-13 overall this season, 4-8 in the Peach Belt Conference, while Columbus State won its third game in four tries and improved to 14-5, 7-5 in the PBC.

The Hurricanes, victims of a three-game losing streak, have fallen behind out of the gate in each of the losses to a combined score of 38-7. GSW trailed 19-3 against Clayton State last Wednesday, 8-2 at Georgia College on Saturday and 11-2 against Columbus State Monday.

GSW showed plenty of fight against Columbus State, however, answering with a 7-0 run to pull within a point with 15:48 left in the first half. The Hurricanes tied the game, 15-15, after Rakeem Hicks converted a 3-point play with 11:26 on the clock.

GSW took its first lead of the night, 22-21, at the 8:26 mark following a Tyrone Wooten layup. The Hurricanes led by as many as five points, 26-21, before going ice cold on the offensive end of the floor. GSW was held scoreless the final 7:18 of the opening period and trailed, 29-26, at the break. 

The Hurricanes worked to tie the game, 38-38, with 14:23 remaining, but a 10-0 run by Columbus State proved to be too much to overcome. GSW pulled within five points in the closing 20 seconds, but the Cougars sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory.      

Columbus State finished with a significant rebounding edge, 49-33, and despite having a lower overall shooting percentage, the Cougars sank seven more from 3-point range (8-1).

Wooten was the lone Hurricane to score in double figures. He finished with 15 points and made it a double-double by adding a game-high 12 rebounds.

Columbus State was led by Darius Joell with 15 points. Ryan Burnett added 11 and Marcus Dixon grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds.

GSW plays the second game of its three-game Homecoming Week homestand on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Young Harris College.