YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. - The Georgia Southwestern men's basketball team had its two-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday evening by Young Harris College, 90-80, in the Recreation and Fitness Center.
GSW falls to 10-14 overall and 6-11 in the Peach Belt Conference, while Young Harris, who has alternated wins and losses over its last eight games, improves to 14-12, 12-5 in conference play.
In an atypical all-time series, this is the first time the home team has won in eight meetings.
Brandon Price hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the game to give the Hurricanes a 14-11 lead with 14:03 remaining in the first half.
Young Harris answered with a 10-0 run and never looked back.
The Mountain Lions led, 43-28, at halftime and that has not been a good omen for GSW this season. Following Wednesday's defeat, the Hurricanes slipped to 1-11 when trailing at the break.
GSW trimmed a 20-point second-half deficit to eight with 12:44 remaining before the Mountain Lions turned on the jets and quickly pushed their lead back to 22 for the final stretch run.
Southwestern finished with seven more 3-pointers (13-6) than YHC and they matched the league-leaders with 34 rebounds, but the Mountain Lions forced eight more turnovers and turned the 22 GSW miscues into 39 points.
The Hurricanes had four players score in double figures. Damien Leonard scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to lead GSW. He made 5 of 7 from beyond the arc and added five rebounds. Adam Thoseby, the reigning PBC Player of the Week, posted his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds to go with six assists. Jure Gunjina drained 4 of 7 from long range and finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Price scored 12 points.
C.J. Wilson led all scorers with 25 points and added six rebounds, four steals and seven assists for YHC. Ben Waterhouse and J.B. Charles chipped in 12 points apiece and Marques McKoy added 11.
The Hurricanes return home for their final two games of the season, starting with a homecoming clash against Georgia College on Saturday in the Storm Dome at 3:30 p.m.