ALBANY, Ga. -- The Georgia Southwestern State University men's basketball team connected on 19 of 23 free throws in the second half, including 14 in a row, to hold off Albany State University, 61-57, in the season opener for both schools Saturday afternoon inside the Arena at West Campus.

How It Happened: Both sides were sluggish over the opening 20 minutes. The teams combined to shoot 4 of 20 from beyond the arc and 6 of 16 from the charity stripe. There were 20 turnovers, the largest lead was four points and Albany State closed out the half on a 6-0 run to go up 20-18 at the break.

The lead changed hands twice early in the second half before Dontevius Tatum sank a pair of free throws to put GSW ahead for good, 35-33, with 12:23 remaining. The Hurricanes proceeded to score the next five points to stretch the lead to their largest of the afternoon, 40-33, with 11:12 to go, but Albany State refused to go away. ASU was within a point and had possession of the ball with 36 seconds left, but the Hurricanes forced a turnover. Kahlon Whitley proceeded to calmly sink a pair of clutch free throws that forced the Golden Rams to throw up a 3-point heave in the closing seconds, which was off the mark, and GSW held on for the victory.    

Albany State finished with a slightly better shooting percentage than GSW. The Golden Rams connected on 20 of 53 attempts (37.7 percent), while GSW made 16 of 50 shots (32.0 percent). The Golden Rams held a slight edge on the glass, 44-40, and dished out three more assists, 11-8. The Hurricanes defense forced 24 turnovers.    

Who Stood Out: Newcomer Noah Louis scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half for the Hurricanes while turning in a double-double with 11 rebounds. Devon Higgs and newcomers Tatum and Jarrett Adderton added 10 points apiece.

Joshua Jerome scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the second half to lead ASU. Jordan Simpson finished with a double-double behind his 10 points and game-high 13 rebounds.    

Up Next: The Hurricanes and Golden Rams will complete their home-and-home series on Monday in the Storm Dome at 7:30 p.m.