The GSW men's basketball team built a 12-point lead midway
through the second half against No. 23-ranked Georgia College, but
could not hold on as Josh Hurst knocked down two free throws with
five seconds remaining to give the Bobcats a 61-60 win at the Storm
Dome on Wednesday evening.
The Hurricanes fell behind early, as GCSU led 15-6 with 7:30 to
play in a low-scoring first half. Three-point baskets by Evan
Mobley and Marcus Scott served as bookends to an 11-2 GSW run that
tied the game at 17.
The teams went back-and-forth over the final 4:43 of the half
and GCSU held a one-point lead at the break, 26-25.
A pair of Scott three-pointers served as bookends of a 14-2 GSW
run to start the second period. Ric Roderick gave the Hurricanes
their biggest lead of the game, 46-34, at the 10:48 mark when he
dialed up from beyond the arc.
GSW would hit one field goal over the next 8 minutes and 46
seconds - going 1 for 9 from the floor during that span - to give
the Bobcats an opportunity to creep back into the game.
Clinging to a one-point lead with one minute to play, GSW
committed turnovers on consecutive possessions. The first a
questionable travelling call, followed by a GCSU steal.
The visitors were unable to convert after the GSW travelling
call; and after the steal and a timeout, the Bobcats lost the ball
in the lane with five ticks on the clock. In the midst of the
ensuing melee, GSW was whistled for a foul as both teams scrambled
on the floor for the loose ball.
Josh Hurst proceeded to drain two free throws for GCSU.
Mobley's NBA-range three-point attempt over a trio of Bobcat
defenders as time expired hit the back of the rim before falling to
the court.
GSW finished the game shooting 38.6 percent from the floor (17
of 44) and 80.0 percent (20 of 25) from the charity stripe. Georgia
College connected on 42.2 percent (19 of 45) of their shots and
79.2 percent of their free throw attempts (19 of 24).
Southwestern held a 15-7 advantage in second chance points,
while GCSU finished ahead 16-7 on points off turnovers.
Scott led the Hurricanes with 23 points on 7 of 13 shooting,
including 4 of 6 from three-point range. Mobley added 17 points and
Chris Rawls chipped in 13 while pulling down nine rebounds.
Hurst scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Georgia
College (19-4, 12-2 PBC). Jake Rios finished with 13 points.
GSW (6-18, 2-12) wraps up the home portion of their 2009-10
schedule on Saturday against North Georgia at 4:30 p.m.