Carrollton, GA - For just the third time in 12 games thus far this season, the West Georgia Wolves dropped a game, as the Wolves and Shorter Hawks put on an offensive clinic Monday night at the Winthrop-King Centre in Rome, GA. The Hawks used a 58-point second-half to hand West Georgia a 109-92 loss in Gulf South Conference play.
How It Happened: The game started as a back-and-forth affair for the bulk of the first half, as the Wolves and Hawks had eight different lead changes in the first 14 minutes of the contest. Deonta Stocks seems to like playing in the Winthrop-King Centre, as he had 11 of West Georgia's first 20 points of the game. Shorter took the first significant lead of the game, opening up a seven-point advantage at 20-13 with 14:41 left in the first half.
But West Georgia came roaring back with Stocks leading the way, outscoring the Hawks 11-2 in just over two minutes to retake the lead at 24-22 with 12:26 left in the half. The two teams then exchanged leads for the next three minutes before Shorter started working the ball inside with center Trevor Alderman, who had 17 points for the Hawks in the first 17 minutes of the contest. The next run came and Shorter built a nine-point lead this time, opening up a 40-31 advantage with just under five minutes to play in the period. West Georgia again wouldn't stay down for long, going on a 10-0 run quickly to retake the advantage 41-40 with just under three minutes left in the half.
A game of runs continued, as Shorter was up next with a 10-3 run in the final three minutes of the period, giving the Hawks a 51-44 lead heading into the locker room at the break. With 95 points scored between the two teams in the first half, only two of the combatants scored in double-figures, with Stocks putting up 12 and Alderman with 19 points at the break.
In the second half, the Hawks turned up the intensity on both sides of the floor, outscoring the Wolves by a 37-25 mark in the first 13 minutes of the second half and led by as many as 21 points in that span. But coming out of the under-8:00 timeout, the Wolves went on a 10-0 run and forced a Shorter timeout with just under seven minutes left in the game with Shorter leading 88-77. West Georgia had a valiant effort in the final three minutes, cutting the lead to as little as nine, but the Hawks' offense and rebounding was too strong, as they pulled away late.
Five Wolves scored in double-figures, led by Stocks with 26 and
Marcus Dortch with a career-high 20.
Alex Abreu was the third in double-figures with 12 points, followed by
Emory Bernard and Jovany Austin with 11 apiece.
They Said It: "They were a sharper and crisper team from the jump, but Alderman killed us. We allowed to many direct passes to him in the first half and it led to too many easy buckets for them." -
Head Coach Michael Cooney
What it Means: The loss puts West Georgia at 9-3 on the year and 4-3 in Gulf South Conference play, but it means that UWG is above .500 after a very challenging early GSC schedule this season, as six of the first seven conference games have been on the road. The Wolves return home for five of the next six in a tie for third place in the GSC standings.
Odds and Ends: This is Deonta Stocks' 38th game in a UWG uniform and he has scored in double-figures in every game ...UWG has allowed 100 ore more points just three times in the Cooney era ... the last time before tonight was on February 14, 2009 against Montevallo 103-98 ... every 100-point game for an opponent in the Cooney era has been against a GSC opponent.
Up Next: West Georgia returns home for the first time since December 14 and for just the second time in the past eight games, and the Wolves' return home brings one of the most anticipated games of the year for Wolves' fans. UWG hosts Valdosta State on Saturday afternoon, with the women's game starting at 2 p.m. followed by the men's game at approximately 4 p.m.
