Box Score ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of West Georgia Men's Basketball team opened up their 2023-24 season with an 85-73 win over the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Friday.
UWG's (1-0) defense played a large role in the Wolves 12-point victory as West Georgia held Embry-Riddle (0-1) to 39.3% shooting in route to their first win of the season.
"Really good team effort," said head coach
Dave Moore. "Embry-Riddle's a good team. They had eight guys that played in the NCAA Tournament last year. I thought defensively that we were really tough, hard-nosed, and stuck to the game plan. To hold those guys to 39% from the field is what we were hoping to do and it worked out tonight and it won us the game."
Nearly every team deals with season opener rust but that wasn't the case for UWG as the Wolves' offense found their rhythm early, leading to a 16-13 lead at the first media timeout. With the offense flowing, West Georgia clamped down on the defensive side of the ball, holding Embry-Riddle to just 13 points over a 10-minute span, which led to a 36-26 advantage with four minutes left to play in the half. From there on out, the Eagles found their footing and used a 9-4 run to cut the Wolves' lead to five, going into halftime.
West Georgia shot 45.7% from the field in the first half while holding Embry-Riddle to 36.7%.
Camron Donatlan led the way with a team-high nine points while
Zawdie Jackson put together a stat line of seven points, four rebounds, and three assists at the half.
Behind Threes from
Kolten Griffin and
Cole Fisher, the Wolves's offense scored 25 points in 11 minutes to take a 65-56 lead in the second period. Griffin and Fisher combined for five made threes in the second, carrying UWG to a 66.7% three-point percentage in the half and put West Georgia up 15 with just over three minutes to play. Holding a comfortable 15-point lead, the Wolves cruised to an 85-73 win to open up their 2023-23 campaign the right way.
Donatlan finished with a game-high 19 points while Jackson recorded 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Griffin scored 15 points on three made threes, while Fisher accumulated 14 points on four made threes.
West Georgia will close out the South Region Crossover on Saturday after a 4:00 p.m. contest against Palm Beach Atlantic.
