CARROLLTON, Ga. - The University of West Georgia Men's Basketball team remained perfect at home on Saturday afternoon after defeating the Shorter Hawks, 77-68, in The Coliseum.

UWG (22-4, 18-4 GSC) dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle by 10 over Shorter (3-23, 1-21 GSC) to win their 15th straight home game dating back to last season and clinching at least a share of the GSC regular Season Championship with a chance to clinch sole possession with a win over Mississippi College on Wednesday.

"I thought we put together a solid performance in the first half," said head coach Dave Moore. "We held them to 36 percent from the field and had a 15-point lead at halftime and that was right where we wanted to be but the second half was disappointing. We turned the ball over, we gave up easy shots, and we couldn't keep the ball above the foul line."

West Georgia scored the first six points of the game courtesy of a three-point play from Amari Davis and a three from Cole Fisher. Shorter and their guard Brent Bowman quickly responded as Bowman went on a personal 6-0 run to tie the game at six at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Hawks took a 14-10 lead before a jumper from Tamaury Releford sparked a 16-4 UWG run, giving the Wolves a 26-18 lead with 7:42 left in the half. The two teams then traded baskets until West Georgia took control of the game with a 12-2 run, propelling them to their largest lead of the night at 42-27, heading into halftime.

West Georgia shot 48.4 percent from the field while holding Shorter to 36 percent in the period.

The Hawks came out of their locker room and immediately went on 9-2 run, cutting UWG's lead to 44-36 less than four minutes in. A three-point play and a dunk from Camron Donatlan halted Shorter's momentum and put the Wolves up 51-38 with 14:22 left to play. West Georgia could never create real separation until back-to-back threes and a layup from Marlon Smith capped off a personal 8-2 run, catapulting UWG to their largest lead of the game at 67-51 with 7:56 left to play. After Smith's run, Shorter chipped their way back into the game, but West Georgia was able to hold them off to win, 77-68.

Smith led the way with a career-high 25 points and eight rebounds, while Donatlan recorded 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals in his first game back from a hamstring injury.

"We finished the game plus 10 on the glass and had some guys come in and play hard such as Marlon Smith. Marlon was terrific and if Marlon doesn't do what Marlon did, we would've had a hard time winning that game."

UWG will be back in action on Wednesday when they welcome the Mississippi College Choctaws to The Coliseum for a 7:30 p.m. matchup.