CARROLLTON, Ga. – The UWG men's basketball team ended 2022 on a high note, as the Wolves defeated the Shorter Hawks, 85-63, on Saturday night.

West Georgia shot 48.5% from the field and held Shorter to 34.8% from the field, while winning the turnover battle by 12, leading to their 22-point victory.

"It was a good overall effort from the guys tonight", said head coach Dave Moore. "We had five guys in double figures and that's always a goal ours you know to have balance. So, it was a good overall balanced effort and I thought we did what we were trying to do."

UWG got off to a fast start to begin the game, opening up a 12-4 lead on Shorter after a bucket from Kolten Griffin. The Hawks responded to their early adversity by going on a 9-2 run to cut West Georgia's lead to one. At this point, both offenses had found their rhythm and were scoring on nearly every possession, leading to a 23-19 lead for the Wolves with 9:12 left in the first half. Moments later, West Georgia opened up their largest lead of the game, taking a 10-point lead after a bucket from Michael Zabetakis before Shorter countered with an 8-0 run to get right back in the game. The UWG defense tightened up to end the half and sparked a 10-2 run, which was capped off by a layup at the buzzer from Camron Donatlan, to give the Wolves a 41-31 lead at the break.

West Georgia shot 50% from the field in the first half, while holding Shorter to 37.1%. Zawdie Jackson led UWG in scoring with 10 points, with Cole Fisher right behind him with eight.

Zabetakis got things started for the Wolves in the second half as a three-point play from the guard sparked a 12-4 run for West Georgia to extend UWG's lead to 18, six minutes into the half. A mini run from Shorter cut the West Georgia lead to 12 until a layup from Amari Davis and a three from Dontalan got the lead right back up to 17. Up 58-41 with 12:04 remaining, the Wolves continued to keep their distance from the Hawks as West Georgia never let their lead drop under 10 for the entirety of the half as UWG cruised to an 85-63 win in the Coliseum.

The Wolves had five players score in double figures led by Zabetakis' team-high 16 points. Along with his 16 points, Zabetakis also recorded five steals, six rebounds, and four assists, while Jackson and Donatlan scored 15 a piece.

West Georgia will be back in action on Monday at 7:30 p.m. when they travel to Cleveland, Tennessee for a GSC matchup with the Lee Flames.

"All of these games are important and we are trying to stack them", coach Moore continued. "This week is very important with us having four games in eight days and it's going to be a battle every night." We've got our second game coming up on Monday against a really good opponent in Lee who's right at the top of league with us, so we've got to be ready."