CARROLLTON, Ga. - The University of West Georgia Men's Basketball team extended their win streak to seven on Wednesday night after defeating the Christian Brothers Buccaneers, 81-71, in The Coliseum.
The case for the GSC Player of the Year Award continued to grow for Zawdie Jackson on Wednesday as the point guard finished with a season-high 31 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals, leading #9 UWG (16-2, 12-2 GSC) to their season sweep over Christian Brothers (9-8, 7-7 GSC).
"We knew that Christian Brothers was going to come in here and play really hard," said head coach Dave Moore. "They're the best offensive rebounding team in the league and they proved it tonight. They beat us by nine on the glass but Zawdie wouldn't let us lose in that second half and ultimately his shot making in that half really saved the day."
West Georgia got off to a bit of a rough start to begin as they missed seven of their first eight shots, leading to a 10-3 CBU lead, four and a half minutes into the game. A layup from Camron Donatlan and a three-point play from Kolten Griffin sparked the Wolves offense, beginning an 11-6 UWG run over the next three minutes to tie the game at 16. After trailing for majority of the first half, Cole Fisher's third three of the period gave West Georgia their first lead at 28-27. The Wolves got their lead up to as much as six points, before taking a 40-36 lead into the break.
West Georgia shot 38.9% from the field and 44.4% from three in the first half while Christian Brothers shot 41.4% from the floor and 33.3% from three.
A pair of free throws from Griffin and a Donatlan three extended UWG's lead to seven quickly out of the gate before Christian Brothers fired right back with a three from their leading scorer Anias Futrell and a bucket from Christian Thompson, making it a four point game once again. Moments later, Donatlan buried another three which ignited a 10-2 West Georgia run, giving them a 57-45 lead. For the remainder of the contest, the Bucs were able to stay in the game thanks to shot making from Futrell and Jailen Anderson but UWG's star studded duo of Jackson and Donatlan were just too good as the two combined for 18 points in the last 14 minutes, leading the Wolves to an 81-71 win.
Along with Jackson's performance, Donatlan finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Fisher added 12 points on four made three-pointers.
"We're happy with the win even though we didn't play our best basketball, but Christian Brothers had a lot to do with that," coach Moore continued. They deserve a lot of credit."
West Georgia will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Jackson, Tennessee for a 5:00 p.m. matchup against the Union Bulldogs.
