HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – After picking up their first win of the year exactly one week ago, the UWG men's basketball team made it two in a row with a nail-biting 73-71 win over the Montevallo Falcons on Saturday.
A second half scoring surge from
Kadeim Jones carried UWG offensively before a
Keshawn Heard game-winner propelled the Wolves over the Falcons to improve West Georgia's record to 2-1 on the season.
UWG got off to a little bit of a slow start to begin the game as Montevallo took a 14-7 lead into the first media timeout. The Wolves started to find their offensive flow as a three from
Seth Brown-Carter cut the deficit to two mid-way through the first half.
Michael Zabetakis gave West Georgia their first lead of the game with a beautiful turnaround jump shot with 2:05 remaining in the half, and UWG wouldn't let go of that lead as they took a 32-29 lead into the half.
The Wolves shot 41.2 % from the field in the first half, but the biggest reason West Georgia led at the break was the turnover battle as they forced eleven Montevallo turnovers to just four for UWG.
The second half was all about Jones as he scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half. Jones continuously put pressure on the Montevallo defense by attacking the basket and in result went to the free throw line six times in the half.
A layup for Jones capped off an 11-0 run that gave West Georgia their largest lead of the game at 55-43 with 8:56 remaining. The two teams would then trade buckets until the score read 70-64 in favor of the Wolves with 46 seconds left in the game which forced the Falcons to turn to a full court press. UWG struggled with the press and left the door open for Montevallo as a three from the Falcons tied the game at 71. With 10 seconds left on the clock,
Michael Zabetakis raced down the floor and found
Keshawn Heard in the post where he sunk a hook shot that beat the buzzer to secure the win for the Wolves.
Kadeim Jones led the Wolves offensively with a team-high 22 points along with a team-high eight rebounds.
Michael Zabetakis added 14 points on 5-7 shooting while also snagging five rebounds.
West Georgia's next action is the 2021 home opener, which is set for Tuesday, November 20 against Clayton State. Tip-off for that game is set for 7:30 p.m.
