Carrollton, GA - It was a tale of two halves in The Coliseum on Friday night, as the UWG men's basketball team opened the season by erasing a double-digit second-half deficit in handin the Claflin Panthers a 78-73 loss on Day One of the GSC/SIAC Challenge presented by Wentz Financial. Earlier in the day, Lee snuck by Morehouse with a buzzer-beater from Corey Billingsly in the opening game of the Challenge.

Rebounding was the story of the first half, as the Wolves outshot Claflin 51 percent to 50 percent in the period, but the Panthers dominated the boards by a tally of 24-9. Claflin had 14 second-chance points in the period compared to seven for the Wolves and the Panther bench delivered with starters in foul trouble, outscoring the Wolves' bench 29-7 in the half. But it was close until late in the first half, as an Emory Bernard tip-in with four minutes left pulled the Wolves within two at 31-29.

Over the final four minutes of the first half, the Panthers outscored UWG 15-6 en route to a 46-35 advantage heading into the locker rooms at the break. Even the final play was a culmination of the entire half, as Patrell Rogers missed a three-pointer with five seconds left, but Kendall Jackson followed with a tip-in at the buzzer to give Claflin an 11-point lead.

In the second half, the Wolves completely turned the rebounding advantage around, outrebounding the Panthers 27-14 in the period. And the biggest rebounder of the second half happened to be the UWG point guard, senior Alex Abreu, who had 10 points and six rebounds, including a pair of free-throws late that put the game away.

West Georgia chipped away at the Panthers lead until the 11:20 mark, when Deonta Stocks hit a layup that put the Wolves up 59-57, the first lead of the game for UWG since early in the game. But Claflin continued to hit shots and pushed back into the lead, staying there until the final minute of the contest.

With 45 seconds left Abreu missed a three-pointer, but a tip-in from Taylor Cochran put the Wolves up 74-73, the final lead change of the game. Abreu then sealed the win with four free-throws in the last 30 seconds of the game.

Stocks led all scorers on the night with 20 points, followed by 17 from Abreu and 11 from Jovany Austin. Abreu also had six rebounds and six assists, while Bernard led the Wolves with eight points and seven rebounds in the middle.

West Georgia will close out the 2014 GSC/SIAC Challenge presented by Wentz Financial tomorrow at 6 p.m. against Morehouse. Claflin and Lee will meet at 4 p.m. in the early contest.