by Matt Cooke
Men's Basketball
It's been nearly a month since the West Georgia men's basketball team had a chance to show their skills in front of a home audience, and the Wolves took full advantage of their return home Saturday afternoon, upending rival Valdosta State by a 93-89 score in Gulf South Conference action.
How it Happened: West Georgia led from wire-to-wire, opening up with a 5-0 lead in the first three minutes of the contest, but by the time a fourth minute had gone by, VSU was right back in the mix with four-straight points. That would be as close as the Blazers would come in the entire game, as a bucket from Deontre Brown sparked a 13-5 run from the Wolves put UWG up 17-9 with 11:41 left in the first half.
Brown was one of four Wolves in double-figures on the evening, scoring 11 in the game, which included an impressive drive down the lane followed by dunk which closed out a span of two minutes where the junior scored seven-straight points for the Wolves in the first half, putting UWG up 37-28 with 2:20 left in the first half. The Wolves continued pushing over the final two minutes, and with 30 seconds left in the period, UWG took a 43-30 lead on a pair of Boehn free-throws, but a last-second layup from VSU cut that to 43-32 heading tot he break at the half.
In the second half, the fans at The Coliseum were treated to a close matchup for the entire period, with each team hitting big shot after big shot. The Wolves led by nine or less for the final 15 minutes of the game, but VSU only made the game a one-shot deficit once in the entire second half. Alex Abreu was a dagger down the stretch, hitting 7-of-8 free-throws in the final minute of the game to seal the Wolves' victory.
The Wolves moved to 10-3 on the year and 5-3 in Gulf South Conference play with a resounding defeat of the Blazers, as UWG never trailed in the contest. Deonta Stocks and Jovany Austin each scored 20 points in the game and Austin picked up his third double-double of the year with 10 boards in leading the Wolves to victory. It was the second time this season that UWG has produced two 20-point scorers in a single game. Abreu was the fourth double-figure scorer on the day, hitting for 17 points in the contest.
What it Means: If the season ended today, the Wolves would be the fifth seed at the Gulf South Conference tournament, as there are now four teams in the GSC with at least six conference victories thus far. The Wolves still have four of the next five games at home, including two next week against teams that are a combined 11-18 on the year and 4-13 in GSC play.
Odds and Ends: West Georgia has produced three double-doubles this season, all by junior Jovany Austin ... this is the first double-double of the year against Gulf South Conference competition ... the Wolves had 17 assists against the Blazers, with senior Thomas Higginbotham leading the way with seven assists ... that is the second-most assist total this season from an individual, as Alex Abreu had eight assists against Montevallo earlier this year.
Up Next: West Georgia has three-straight home games, including the VSU game tonight. The Wolves will play host to West Florida on Monday evening at The Coliseum at approximately 7:30 p.m. UWG will play North Alabama at the same time on Thursday evening to end the homestand.
Women's Basketball
In the first game at the Coliseum since mid December the University of West Georgia women's basketball team snapped a five game losing streak on Saturday afternoon in The Coliseum with a 64-62 win over in-state rival Valdosta State.
The win improved the Wolves to 8-6 overall and 3-5 in Gulf South Conference play, while VSU fell to 8-7 overall.
Valdosta State opened up the game with a pair of baskets, taking a 4-0 lead before West Georgia responded with a 14-0 run to build a 10-point lead. The Blazers would not be shaken by the UWG run, as they chipped away, eventually regaining the lead and taking a 31-26 lead into the locker room.
The second half was another close, hard fought 20 minutes of basketball as the teams traded leads four times in the period. The Wolves had a nine point lead with 3:42 left in the game, but VSU came roaring back with an 8-2 run.
West Georgia had a two point lead as VSU brought the ball down with 21 seconds left, but a Taylor Beverly steal, and two free throws later, the Wolves took the lead for the last time.
Seandre Lee led the UWG offense with 18 points followed by 16 points from fellow senior Taylor Beverly. Junior Katrina Littlepage also reached double-figures in scoring with 13.
The Wolves are back in action at The Coliseum this Monday night, January 12, at 5:30 p.m. when West Florida visits Carrollton for more exciting GSC basketball action.
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