Carrollton, GA - Senior guard
Taylor Cochran hit three free throws in the final 20 seconds of Monday's exhibition basketball game against Savannah State, putting the contest out of reach as the Wolves took down the Division I foe 71-65 on the road at Tiger Arena.
It marks the second-straight exhbition year where the Wolves made noise on a Division I floor. West Georgia took Alabama to overtime in exhibition last season before taking down Savannah State out of the MEAC tonight.
Sophomore Deonta Stocks and senior
Alex Abreu proved to be a dynamic duo in the backcourt for the Wolves on the evening, and complimented by the interior play of big man Jovany Austtin, the Wolves were in business. Stocks led all scorers with with 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while Abreu had 16 points, including nine by hitting 3-of-4 from three-point range. Austin had 11 points and nine rebounds, while Cochran led the rebounding effort with 10 boards.
The only time the Wolves trailed in the entire 40 minutes against the Tigers was after the first possession of the game, as Savannah State came out of the gate firing and picked up an alley-oop from Terel Hall to Saadiq Muhammed to take an early 2-0 lead. Cochran, then Abreu followed by Stocks each scored from the field on three straight possessions to give the Wolves a 6-2 lead and force the last lead change of the night.
The Wolves led by as many as 12 in the first half, taking a 28-16 lead on a layup from Stocks with 5:53 left in the half. The Lithonia native struck again with 24 seconds left until halftime, picking up a steal and taking it in for a layup, drawing the foul and completing the old-fashioned three-point play to give the Wolves a 36-27 advantage heading into the locker rooms at the break.
In the second half, the Tigers turned up the defensive pressure in an effort to defend their home floor, but every time Savannah State would get close, Stocks, Abreu or Austin would hit a big shot and keep SSU at arms' length.
In the final four minutes of the game, the Tigers pulled to within a three-pointer from the Wolves, but West Georgia hit free-throws down the stretch to ice the game. For the game, the Wolves shot 17-of-25 from the free-throw line, a 68 percent night at the charity stripe. Stocks led the way at the line, hitting 7-of-8, but Austin was 5-for-7 and Cochran 3-for-4 to aid in the cause.
West Georgia will open the 2014-15 season this weekend at home in the Wentz Financial GSC-SIAC Challenge, taking on Claflin on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. followed by a 6:00 p.m. battle with in-state rival Morehouse on Saturday evening.
