CARROLLTON, Ga. – The University of West Georgia Men's Basketball team moved to 5-0 on Saturday after a 76-55 win over the Auburn Montgomery Warhawks.

West Georgia (5-0, 1-0 GSC) has been dominant on the defensive side of the ball all season long and put together another masterclass on that end as the Wolves held Auburn Montgomery (2-2, 0-1 GSC) to 33% shooting and 9% from three in route to their fifth consecutive double-digit win. 

"Really proud of the guys and I told them that in the locker room," said head coach Dave Moore. "That was a really good performance against a good team. Mike (Griffin) helped us finish on the glass, Cole Fisher pitched in with five defensive rebounds, and Cam (Donatlan) had six defensive rebounds and that's what we needed to do against these guys, limit them to one shot per possession, and I felt like we did that most of the night."

Both teams got out to a sluggish start offensively as West Georgia held a 5-4 lead, five minutes in. With the offense still struggling to find their rhythm, Coach Moore turned to Michael Griffin and Marlon Smith off the bench and the duo gave UWG the spark they needed. Smith entered and immediately buried a three while Griffin scored two tough layups with one being a three-point play, giving the Wolves a 32-17 lead late in the half. With Griffin and Smith providing sparks off the bench, Camron Donatlan dominated the half, scoring 14 points on 6-7 shooting which propelled West Georgia to a 36-24 lead at the half. 

UWG shot 50% from the field in the first period, while holding AUM to 34.5% from the field and 12.5% from three.

While Donatlan dominated the first half, Zawdie Jackson was unguardable in the second as the back-to-back GSC Player of the Week winner scored 19 of his game-high 24 points in the period. A three from Jackson got things started for the Wolves, a minute in, before Auburn Montgomery outscored West Georgia 11-8 over the next five minutes to cut UWG's lead to 44-38. The Wolves responded with a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 53-38 before we reached the under 12:00 minute media timeout. From there on out, UWG kept their foot on the gas, extending their lead to as much as 23 to put the game away, cruising to a 76-55 win.

Along with Jackson's game-high 24 points, Donatlan finished with 18 points and eight rebounds on 8-13 shooting, while Griffin recorded a game-high 10 rebounds, nine points, and three steals off the bench.

I'm just really proud of the guys," coach Moore continued. "Great way to get the league started."

West Georgia will be back on Thursday when they travel to Memphis, Tennessee for an 8:00 p.m. GSC matchup against the Christian Brothers Buccaneers.