Carrollton, GA - It wasn't pretty, but it hardly has ever been when the West Georgia men's basketball team takes on West Florida in the UWF Field House. The Wolves shot just 20 percent from three-point range and scored nine points under their season average, but UWG came away with a 10-point victory over the Argos Thursday night, 79-69 in Gulf South Conference action.
What it Means: The Wolves will stay one game ahead of Shorter for the fourth and final spot in the race to host on Super Tuesday ... West Georgia moves to 18-7 on the year and 13-7 in GSC play, and if the score in Jackson, TN holds, the Wolves will have a one-game lead on both Shorter and Union for third place in the standings ... the win also keeps UWG on a roll in terms of region rankings, as West Georgia came into the night ranked 3rd in the region ... the top-5 teams after the three conference champions receive a bid to the NCAA South Regional tournament.
How It Happened: The Wolves started off cold after the opening tip, going scoreless for the first three minutes of the first half. But just before the first media timeout of the half, Deonta Stocks heated up, scoring five quick points to pull the West Georgia to within three at the 16:00 mark at 8-5. For the next 13 minutes, the two teams played nearly to a draw, but the UWG depth and pace caught up to West Florida in the waning minutes of the first half.
In that final three minutes, the Wolves pulled out to as much as a six point lead, and with 1:00 left in the half, West Georgia hit a layup to take a 38-32 lead. But West Florida, playing with a short bench, scored two quick baskets in 30 seconds, and UWG had the ball with half a minute left in the period and the ball.
Zach Taulien put up a three-pointer at the buzzer that went just off the right of the rim and the Wolves took a two-point lead into the half.
In the second half, the momentum from that close of the first half carried over for the Argos, as West Florida hung close with the Wolves for the first 16 minutes of the period. The Wolves led by as many as eight in that span, but could not pull away as UWF continued to make just enough shots to keep close. In the final five minutes of the period. UWG head coach
Michael Cooney started to give the ball to Jovany Austin in the post, as he scored 10 points in that span.
In the final minutes of the game, the Wolves pulled away, and the final score was the only time UWG led by as many as 10 points in the contest. Stocks led all scorers with 28, followed by
Deontre Brown with 15. Jovany Austin was the third UWG player in double-figures, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Odds and Ends: Deonta Stocks hit a three-pointer in the final two minutes of the game for his 26th point of the night and his 1,000th point of his two-year career ... Austin's double-double was the fourth of the season for the junior ... Stocks becomes the first player to 1,000 points since Gavin Field did it during the 2011-12 season ... He now has 548 points on the season, which is good for 16th all-time at UWG ... If Stocks can get his average (23 pts) against Valdosta State on Saturday, he will move into 13th place.
Next Up: West Georgia heads across the panhandle to south Georgia, taking on the Valdosta State Blazers on Saturday evening. The Wolves will then return home for next Thursday's regular season finale against West Alabama.
