CARROLLTON, Ga. - The holiday return for the West Georgia Wolves was spoiled at The Coliseum on Friday evening, as the 25th-ranked Union Bulldogs handed the Wolves an 86-70 loss on the final day of 2021. 

Junior Michael Zabetakis had one of his best games of the year in this one, hitting for 22 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to lead the Wolves. UWG fought back from a big first-half deficit, but shots wouldn't fall down the stretch as the Bulldogs regained and extended their lead in the waning minutes of the contest. 

Union hit 7-of-14 from the three-point line in the first half, a line that helped the Bulldogs build a 19-9 lead in the first nine minutes of the half. The lead grew to as much as 16 points in the opening period before the Wolves started to mount a comeback. West Georgia pulled to within seven at 32-25, but Union responded to push the lead back out to 11 at 42-31 heading to the break. Kadeim Jones hit the final bucket of the half, a free-throw to complete an 11-point half for the Wolves for one of his 17 points in the game. 

In the second half, with Zabetakis taking the lead, the Wolves clawed their way back into contention. The junior had seven points in the first 12 minutes, and after a pair of shots from sophomore Quinton McElroy, the Wolves sat with four at 60-56. A free-throw from Union pushed the lead back to five, but a three-pointer from Seth Brown-Carter cut the lead to two at 61-59. Union's Boe Nguidjol then responded with 10 of the next 14 total points, as the Bulldogs pushed the lead back out to 73-63 with 4:41 remaining. 

West Georgia will now hit the road, taking on Christian Brothers on Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. Christian Brothers has announced that the university will not allow fans in the stands for Sunday's contest.