CARROLLTON, Ga. - The UWG men's basketball team collected their eighth conference victory of the season on Wednesday after a 67-58 win over the Mississippi College Choctaws.

Once again, defense reigned true for the Wolves as West Georgia (8-4, 8-3 GSC) held Mississippi College (8-7, 5-7 GSC) to 37% from the field and 25% from three in route to their nine-point victory. 

"I thought we played very well defensively again and I'm really encouraged by that", said head coach Dave Moore. "Offensively, we turned the ball over too many times and our shot making has to be better, but I can't talk enough about the defense and how we executed the game plan defensively."

The Wolves (8-4, 8-3 GSC) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead thanks to five quick points from Michael Zabetakis and free throws from Zawdie Jackson. Mississippi College almost immediately squashed the deficit, coming to within just a point three minutes into the contest. 

The Wolves led by as many as nine halfway through the period, but the Choctaws finished the half on a 12-9 run, cutting UWG's halftime lead to 28-24. 
Zabetakis led the Wolves in scoring with nine with Jackson following close behind with eight. Galen Smith and James Franklin led the Choctaws offense with seven points each. 

Mississippi College came out of halftime with all of the momentum early, sparking a 10-2 run in the first six minutes to take their first lead of the game 34-33 with 14 minutes remaining in the game. 

The game remained close through the four minute mark, as both teams were tied at that point 53-53. From that point, the Wolves went on a 14-5 run to close out the game, led by Jalen Sasser who scored six of the 14 points. 

Zabetakis finished as the Wolves leading scorer with 19 points, while also making history in the process. The Cumming, GA native became just the fourth player in UWG history to reach the 1,300 career point mark, joining Tom Turner, Tim Criswell, and Marquill Smith. 

Jackson finished with 16 points and Camron Donatlan added 12 points in his first start in a West Georgia uniform. 

After being held scoreless in the first half, the third leading scorer in the GSC this season, Tradavis Thompson finished with 14 points, leading the way for the Choctaws. 

The Wolves now turn their attention to Delta State, as they travel to Cleveland, Mississippi to take on the Statesmen on Saturday. Tip off is set for 5:00 p.m.

"This was a big win for us at home", coach Moore continued. "We needed this win and now we have a couple days to get ready for Delta State and we'll be excited for that come Saturday."