CARROLLTON, Ga. - The UWG men's basketball team put up triple digits in the final non-conference tune-up on Saturday at The Coliseum, defeating Brewton-Parker 107-61 to close out the 2024 calendar year.
West Georgia (2-11) had six players in double-figures and shot their highest single-game field goal percentage of the season, 62.3 percent, in a lopsided victory over NAIA opponent Brewton Parker (6-9).
"I thought we did well offensively, we did what we planned to do," said head coach Dave Moore. "But even though we had a decent lead at halftime, the defensive execution wasn't there. We were giving up way too many easy baskets, but in that second half we fixed some things and held them to 25 points, so I was really happy overall."
It was the first time a UWG team has scored 110-plus since the 2019-20 season and the most since scoring 122 points in a triple overtime game against UAH in 2017-18.
Shelton Williams-Dryden led the Wolves with 22 points and tied Tom Turner's single-game school record of highest single-game field goal percentage with at least 10 attempts, finishing 11-for-12 for a 92 percent clip.
"He's ultra-efficient and he's developing offensively," Moore said. "He's not just a below the foul line guy anymore. The sky's the limit, he's got a great work ethic, and he's one of my favorite guys. He loves to work at it, he loves the game, loves his teammates, and he's as humble as they come so I'm just really proud of him."
The Milwaukee native made 11 straight attempts before missing his final attempt from the field.
Tauris Watson had 16 for the Wolves while Kolten Griffin had 13, Kryic Davis and Rickey Ballard had 12, and Malcolm Noel added 11.
The game stayed relatively close in the early parts until UWG used a quick 7-0 run to pull away at 25-16 and force a Brewton-Parker timeout at the 10:09 mark. The Barons fought back to get it within four before UWG went into the halftime locker room with a 14-point lead.
In the second half, it was all West Georgia as the defense held BPC to 32 percent from the field, and turned the defense into offense, outscoring the Barons 57-25 in the final half.
West Georgia continued to pour it on in the second half, getting their largest lead at 48 points in the final minute of the game.
Moore was pleased with the second half and got to see the must-win urgency he talked about earlier in the week.
"I thought we had the urgency coming out of half time, we didn't have it times in the first half, but in the second half we did what we were supposed to do in a game like this, and credit to the kids at Brewton-Parker, they played hard and battled. But overall it was a good effort, and we'll continue to improve heading into ASUN play."
Williams-Dryden was a rebound away from a double-double, tying Kyric Davis with a game-high nine rebounds.
As a team, UWG churned out 29 assists, and had six players with at least three. Tauris Watson led the team with six and Kolten Griffin had five.
West Georgia now readies themselves for ASUN play which doesn't start until January 2 when Florida Gulf Coast visits The Coliseum.
"We're excited about the opportunity to play in the Atlantic Sun, it's a really good league," Moore concluded. "The cities we're going to go to, the teams we're going to play, we're excited about it. The first time through the league will be a learning experience for me, the staff, the team. But we're excited about it, but like I've said, hopefully we'll continue to get better and play our best basketball in February. We're trying to get to the Atlantic Sun Tournament and have an opportunity to compete for a championship."
The Wolves host FGCU in a 7 p.m. game on January 2 to open ASUN play.
