'Canes Improve To 5-0 Behind Hot Second-Half Shooting

'Canes Improve To 5-0 Behind Hot Second-Half Shooting

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Georgia Southwestern men's basketball team improved to 5-0 this season after completing a season sweep of the University of West Florida with a 94-81 win on Wednesday evening.

GSW and UWF met six days ago in Americus and combined for 114 points in the Hurricanes 59-55 victory. Things were a little different offensively in the sequel.

Southwestern led 42-39 after the opening 20 minutes Wednesday night behind 16 points from Jamon Hawkins who hit 5 of 7 shots including all three of his attempts from beyond the arc. Hawkins proceeded to come out of the halftime break and score the first four points by either side in the second stanza to give the Hurricanes a little breathing room and quickly increase his tally for the night to 20 points.

The Hurricanes shot a blistering 65.6 percent from the floor (21 of 32) over the final 20 minutes to expand their three-point halftime lead to as many as 15 points down the stretch and squash any thoughts UWF had about making a comeback.

The Argonauts (0-3) did manage to trim a 13-point GSW advantage down to three with 10:18 to play, but the Hurricanes answered with a 17-7 run that included a trio of converted three-point plays.

Hawkins finished with a game-high 22 points behind 7 of 10 shooting and added five rebounds and five assists. The Hurricanes had six players score in double figures including all five starters. Alan Arnett added 17 points while matching Hawkins with 7 of 10 shooting. Derrick Dawkins and Johathan Brooks chipped in 14 apiece and Brooks pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Darius Redding scored 13 points coming off the bench and Daryl Davis had a 12-point night.

The Hurricanes connected on 56.7 percent of their shots in the game, compared to 43.3 percent for the Argonauts. GSW forced three more turnovers (15-12) and outscored UWF 18-6 on fast break opportunities.

Nate Johnson led the Argonauts with a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double. Tyler Funk added 14 points off the bench.

Southwestern has one more road game in November and that comes on Saturday when the Hurricanes travel to Clark Atlanta for a 6:30 p.m. contest.