FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The UWG men's basketball team 2022-23 season came to an end on Sunday as the Wolves fell to the Nova Southeastern Sharks in the South Region Semifinals.
UWG shot 42.6 from the field and 31.8 % from three, while Nova's elite shot making was on full display as the Sharks shot 48.5% from the field and 48.1% from three on 27 attempts.
"Really proud of the season we had," said head coach
Dave Moore. "First 21-win season in a while, it's the second time that we have been in the South Region Semifinals in the last three seasons, and the run we made in the Gulf South Tournament. All of that is really positive stuff."
West Georgia was right there with Nova to begin the game as the Wolves fell behind 9-2 right before
Jalen Sasser and
Kolten Griffin carried an 11-1 UWG run that gave West Georgia a 13-10 lead with 13:37 left in the half. Right after a Sasser layup put the Wolves up three, Nova Southeastern's high powered offense caught fire as the Sharks went on a 14-0 run in three minutes of game time to take a 24-13 lead. Nova's Will Yoakum made sure the momentum stayed on the side of the Sharks as the guard scored 21 points and buried three three-pointers in the half to propel Nova to a 49-35 lead at halftime.
West Georgia held the Sharks to 39% from the field in the first half but the Wolves struggled to contain Nova from three as they shot 44% from three which catapulted them to their 14-point halftime lead.
It was much of the same in the second half as Nova Southeastern had everything clicking. Sasser kept UWG afloat for the time being, scoring consistent baskets. In the first half, it was Yoakum who gave the Wolves problems and in the second half, it was Dallas Graziani who scored 17 second half points on four three-pointers as the Sharks went on to win, 105-74.
Sasser led the way for UWG with 22 points and six rebounds on 10-11 shooting, while
Camron Donatlan and
Michael Zabetakis finished with 14 and 12 points.
West Georgia's 2022-23 campaign comes to an end as the Wolves finish the season 21-10 overall.
"There's nothing to be down and sad about," coach Moore continued. "We need to be proud of our effort and the team that we became this season. We went through some ups and downs and some adversity especially late in the season and how we responded to that, I'm really proud of the guys. It wasn't a great season but it was a good season and a nice step forward for the program."
