'Canes swept at Columbus State

'Canes swept at Columbus State

Women's Recap

Columbus State Uses Late Run to Defeat Georgia Southwestern 60-47 

On a night when offensive output was at a premium, Columbus State used a late scoring run to pull away from Georgia Southwestern and pull out a 60-47 win in Peach Belt Conference women's action at the Lumpkin Center. CSU moves to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in league play, while the Hurricanes are now 5-5, 0-3.
 
CSU trailed 45-43 with 8:28 to play after Arile Hadley's free throw. Chauntel Ferdinand got an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession and hit the follow-up to tie the score. That basket sent the Lady Cougars on a 17-2 run to close the game. Georgia Southwestern got a basket from Terra Branch with 5:30 to play and would not score again as nothing would fall on the offensive end.
 
Columbus State led 33-27 at the half after holding the visitors to just 28 percent shooting from the floor. CSU also struggled offensively, hitting just 12 of 31 shots for 39 percent. The Lady Cougars were just 3-9 from the free-throw line in the period and struggled again with turnovers, committing 15 in the opening 20 minutes.
 
CSU led for the first eight minutes of the second half before Brittany Reynolds gave the Lady 'Canes a 42-41 lead with 12:05 to play. The lead changed hands twice over the next three minutes before CSU tied it at 45 and went on the decisive run to close the game.
 
Phebe Smith was solid again for CSU, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double in 12 games. Ferdinand scored 10 points in the second half to finish with 13 in the game. The Lady Cougars managed to hold their turnovers to just eight in the final frame, finishing with 23 overall. CSU held a 47-39 advantage on the boards and shot 39 percent overall. The team was just 13-28 at the free-throw line.
 
Brandi Burris led GSW with 10 points, while Nadirah Gardner added nine points. Jamilah Sharp led the Lady Hurricanes in rebounding with nine, followed by eight from Whitley Wiltz. The visitors shot just 29 percent in the contest.
 
The Lady Hurricanes hit the floor again on Wednesday, traveling to Armstrong Atlantic State.

Men's Recap

Cougars Halt Skid with 74-67 PBC Win over Georgia Southwestern

Columbus State shot a balmy 61 percent from the floor in the second half and held off a late charge for Georgia Southwestern to post a 74-67 Peach Belt Conference win on Monday at the Lumpkin Center. The win halts a five-game losing skid for CSU, now 3-5 overall and 1-1 in PBC play. The Hurricanes fall to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.
 
GSW led for the majority of the first half, but never by more than seven points as both squads struggled with turnovers while trying to find an offensive rhythm. The Hurricanes committed 12 giveaways in the half, while CSU turned it over 13 times. Neither team could find the basket from long range, with GSW hitting just one of eight from three-point range and CSU just 1-9.
 
Evan Mobley gave the Hurricanes their biggest lead of the half at the 15:05 mark to make it 13-6. CSU fought back and took the lead at 19-18 with 9:30 left on a Javarus Stewart trey. THe 'Canes then scored six unanwered points to go up 24-19 and went on to take a 30-29 lead into the locker room as neither team could manage a bucked over the last 2:58 of play.
 
CSU came out of the break and out-scored the visitors 20-2 over the first six minutes of the second half to take a commanding 49-32 advantage. Chris Telesford's jumper closed the run which saw the Cougars allow only a Chris Rawls dunk in the first minute of play during the surge.
 
The Cougars missed four free-throws over the next seven minutes and hit just four field goals as GSW cut the big lead down to just six points. A Marcus Scott three-point play made it 57-51 with 7:11 left. CSU got the margin back to 10 at 63-53 at the 5:02 mark on a Chris Telesford layup off a Stewart steal, but the Hurricanes cut the lead to just four on an Anthony Sargent triple with 2:30 to play. Stewart then hit two free-throws to stretch the lead back to six, but Sargent nailed another jumper to make it 69-65 with 1:09 left. CSU scored the next four points on a Rye Zinder jumper and two Telesford free-throws, and had a chance to add two more, but Stewart missed a pair at the line. The Hurricanes could get no closer than six points the rest of the way and Zinder iced the win with a free-thow with seven seconds left to provide the final margin.
 
CSU was 19-31 from the floor in the second half and finished the game at 49 percent overall. The Cougars hit just 1-11 from three-point range and went just 11-22 at the free-throw line. Keonte Keith's eight boards led a rebounding effort that saw CSU hold a 38-37 advantage on the glass. Stewart led four players in double digits with 15 points. Telesford and Nick Gagnon each scored 12 points and Carlos Wright added 10. CSU committed 24 turnovers and forced 27 in the win.
 
Rawls and Sargent led the Hurricanes with 16 points apiece. Rawls completed a double-double with 15 rebounds. Mobley added 14 points and Marcus Scott 11. GSW shot just under 40 percent for the game, but improved to 4-9 from long range in the second half. The 'Canes hit 16 of 19 free-throw attempts.
 
Both squads return to the floor on Wednesday as Georgia Southwestern travels to Armstrong Atlantic State and Columbus State hosts undefeated Clayton State. Both games are slated for 7:30 PM starts in Savannah and Columbus, respectively.