HOMEWOOD, Ala. - The UWG men's basketball team ran into a hot-shooting North Dakota State Bison team on Wednesday, falling 73-61 in game two of the Samford Multi-Team Event.
West Georgia (0-8) struggled from the three-point line while North Dakota State (4-4) shot 40 percent from beyond the arc, making 15 three-pointers.
"They're a very good offensive team. They scored 100 points last night against a conference level NCAA Tournament team," said head coach Dave Moore. "We knew the three-point line was going to be a big key and they hit 15 and that's a lot but that's what they do, they hit 20 last night."
West Georgia played the Bison tough in the opening half, trailing by one at the break, before falling behind and having to play from behind in the second half. The Wolves finished the game 2-of-18 from three-point range including an 0-for-10 mark in the second half.
"We just didn't have enough firepower from three in the second half. We were there with two minutes to go, and had a chance to cut it to eight and missed two free throws. If we hit those, go down and get a stop and then make a shot, it's a two-possession game and you've got a chance," Moore added. "We don't have enough guys, especially in our starting lineup, that make shots. Kolten Griffin, Demetrus Johnson, Kryic Davis, and Brady Hardewig all go 0-for-3, and those are guys who we need to make shots."
NDSU came out hot from distance, connecting on five of their first eight attempts from distance to open up a 15-6 lead through the first six minutes of the game.
Shelton Williams-Dryden used an and-one play to get the deficit to six, followed by another three from NDSU. The Wolves then answered with a three-pointer and a dunk by Tauris Watson on back-to-back possessions cut the Bison lead to three at the 6:50 mark.
Watson stayed hot throughout the remainder of the half, finishing with 14 first half points. His jumper at the 3:44 mark gave the Wolves the 26-25 lead, putting the Wolves in front since the game's opening basket.
"Tauris really helped us stay in the game in the first half by coming in and making some shots," Moore added, "And you see what the shot-making can do. When he started making shots, we started getting some stops, and playing with some energy, and got back in the game."
The Bison then turned a two-point deficit into a one-point halftime lead with an and-one by Brennan Watkins with less than three seconds remaining and went into the locker room up 33-32.
North Dakota State outscored UWG 18-9 in the opening minutes of the second half, getting a double-digit lead at the 13:56 mark.
The NDSU lead would get up to as much as 15 over the second half, and West Georgia would get the deficit into single-digits one time, cutting it to eight on a layup by Demetrus Johnson II at the 3:42 mark of the contest.
Williams-Dryden would lead the Wolves in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting and had a team-high eight rebounds. Watson was held scoreless in the second half, finishing with the career-high 14.
The Wolves now look to rebound against Samford on Friday night in the final game of the week.
"Time to turn the page and get ready for a really good Samford. They play a lot of guys and have great energy," Moore said of Friday's opponent. "It'll be a completely different atmosphere here on Friday with their fans and they'll be into it."
Tip-time is set for 4 p.m. from the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama.
"They're a really good program, and they're the level we're trying to get our program to. We're a ways off right now, but it's one day at a time," Moore concluded. "We'll enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow, but we'll practice and come in here and play as well as we can."
