Cougars Complete Second Half Comeback Against West Georgia
By CSU Sports Information
COLUMBUS - Behind a strong second half performance, the Columbus State University men's basketball team defeated West Georgia 86-81 Monday evening. The non-conference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.
The Cougars trailed by as many as 18 points late in the first half before a furious comeback effort. CSU outscored the Wolves by 12 in the final 20 minutes to complete the win.
"We really played two different games tonight," commented head coach Robert Moore. "Early on, we had no energy and didn't bring any effort on the defensive side of the ball. But, give our guys credit for responding the way they did. It could have been easy for them to roll over, but they showed their toughness over the second half to grab a win against a quality opponent."
Landrius Horton and Bryant Givens both finished with 20-point outings. Horton recorded his second double-double of the year with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Givens had 20 to go along with five assists. Stanley Taylor finished the night with 10 points while Anthony Moore grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds.
As a team, Columbus State shot 45.5 percent (35-for-77) from the floor but was just 4-of-20 from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Cougars went 12-for-21 to post a 57.1 percent clip.
Columbus State will look for its third straight win on Saturday as Albany State visits the Lumpkin Center. Tipoff is set for noon.
Play-by-Play
First Half
West Georgia dominated all facets of the game from the tip in the first half. Before the midpoint mark, the Wolves held an 18-8 lead and quickly pushed it even higher. Over the next three-plus minutes, UWG went on an 11-2 run to take its largest lead of the night at 30-12 with less than eight minutes until halftime. But Columbus State finally woke up in a big way down the stretch. After West Georgia scored a second-chance bucket, the Cougars started a 16-3 spurt to cut the margin down to 35-30 with 1:43 on the clock. Defense was key as CSU forced four turnovers while Robert Davis Jr. and Chris Horton nailed 3-pointers to help cut into the lead.
Second Half
Coming out of the break down 41-34, the Cougars went to work. West Georgia was able to hold off the attack until the 14:11 mark when CSU reeled off eight straight points to take its first lead of the game at 53-51. Three different players scored in the run including a Landrius Horton layup at the 12:03 mark that gave Columbus State the lead. West Georgia would go back in front after an and-one on the next possession, but Landrius Horton would again give the lead right back to the Cougars after another successful layup. The Wolves would tie the game a few times down the stretch, but the Cougars had an answer for each rally. West Georgia again tied the game at 76 with 2:39 remaining before a clutch sequence of plays by Givens jumped started the Cougars. A layup and a 3-pointer by the senior gave Columbus State an 81-76 advantage. West Georgia was able to cut the lead down to three but a pair of free throws by Davis Jr. iced the game in the closing seconds for the Cougars.
Inside the Numbers
• Columbus State is now 4-2 on the season after winning consecutive games for the first time this year. West Georgia falls to 2-6.
• It's the second time this year that two Cougars have scored 20 or more points in the same game. Bryant Givens and Anthony Moore achieved the feat against Mount Olive during the opening weekend of the season.
• It was the second double-double for Landrius Horton this season. The senior now has 14 in his CSU career.
• CSU owned the post in the game outscoring West Georgia 56-30 in the paint.
• The Cougars committed a season-low seven turnovers.
• Columbus State has grabbed at least 10 steals in all six games this season.
• The Cougars won the battle on the glass outrebounding the Wolves 41-37.