COOKEVILLE, TN - For the first time since joining DI, UWG men's basketball secured a second straight victory, beating Tennessee Tech 61-59 tonight (Nov. 17) on the road.

Even with UWG (3-2) leading by 14 in the second half, no lead was safe tonight with both teams going on multiple lengthy scoring runs throughout the 40 minutes of play. Behind forward Shelton Williams-Dryden's second consecutive double-double and a new scoring high for guard Chas Lewless, the Wolves were able to hold off the hungry Golden Eagles (2-3) to grab its first road win of the season while limiting the hosts to the fewest points UWG has allowed in the DI era.

Williams-Dryden finished the night with 19 points, a season-high 13 rebounds and two steals while shooting 29 percent (5-17) from the field and 90 percent (9-10) from the charity stripe. Lewless set a new personal best of 19 points while shooting 36 percent (5-14) from the field, 40 percent (4-10) from three and 83 percent (5-6) from the free throw line. The hosts were led by guard Danny Pounds with 17 points.

"We played with a lot of grit and toughness, I thought. We didn't play particularly well offensively. We did shoot the ball reasonably well. But it was a grind it out game on the road," said head coach Dave Moore. "Especially in the second half, we only shoot 29%, but we make our foul shots and we battled defensively. That's the big key to the game. They go two for 20 from threes when they're a pretty good three-point shooting team, and they shoot a bunch of threes. So that was kind of the number that sticks out that is the difference in the game."

Carrying the momentum from his latest career-high performance, Lewless kicked off the UWG scoring with a turnaround jumper and a three to lock the game at 5-5 early with the Golden Eagles.

Following the hot start, TTU began to create distance on the scoreboard after the Wolves went on a three-minute scoring drought. The shooting woes, combined with the Golden Eagles outrebounding the Wolves 7-3, gave the hosts a 12-5 advantage with under fifteen minutes to go in the half. 

Answering with a 7-0 run featuring five points by Williams-Dryden, the Wolves knotted the game up at 12 apiece by the time the next media timeout was called.

Capped off with back-to-back threes by Josh Smith, UWG pushed its run to 19-2 to take a 24-14 lead over the hosts with eight minutes remaining in the period. 

With the momentum continuing to swing back and forth, TTU went on a 9-0 run within a three-minute span, erasing the Wolves' lead to 24-23.

UWG closed out the half holding a 33-27 advantage. Williams-Dryden's 11 points pushed the Pace for the Wolves.

Opening the second half on an 11-3 run fueled by Kolten Griffin's first baskets of the night and Lewless's third three, West Georgia's lead ballooned to 44-30, its biggest of the game to that point. 

Before TTU could stage another comeback, Smith and Lewless both knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to put the Wolves back up 14 with under 12 minutes.  

With the Pack going cold for four minutes, TTU went on a 11-0 run to cut the Wolves' lead to 54-51 with four minutes left.

Despite the Wolves' offense continuing to stall, UWG was able to hold on to win after the Golden Eagles missed a three before Lewless knocked down three free throws to put the Pack out of reach.

UWG won 61-59.

The Wolves return to home to host USC Upstate this Friday (Nov. 21) at 7 p.m. in the first-ever head-to-head with the Spartans. 

NOTABLE NUMBERS 
-With his double-double, Williams-Dryden recorded his 11th consecutive double-digit scoring performance, bringing his UWG total to 31. 
-Tonight's career-high for Lewless marks the fifth straight game that he set a personal best. So far it has been 11, 12, 13 and 16 before tonight's 19. 
-Coming off a career-high 27 point performance, Smith totaled 15 points to mark his third double-digit scoring night of the season.

When talking about the three scoring leaders, Moore stated, "He (Williams-Dryden) rebounded like a man, especially in that second half. He wasn't as efficient from the field as he normally is, 5 for 17. But he got some big buckets for us, some tough buckets under the foul line that we really needed. And then 13 big boards, doing it offensively, doing it defensively. He was really good tonight. Chas (Lewless) was really good tonight. Josh (Smith) really helped us off the bench, scoring. And as you could see, every point mattered."

-Forward JaVar Daniel finished with a season-high nine rebounds. 
-Senior guard Malcolm Noel made his first appearance of the year, finishing his season debut with a steal and a rebound. 
-The Wolves shot 33 percent (9-31) from the field, 47 percent from three (7-15) and a season-high 88 percent (14-16) from the free throw line. TTU shot 41 percent  (20-49) from the field, 10 percent  (1-11) from three and 92 percent (11-12) from the line. .-UWG outrebounded its opponent for the second straight game, recording 38 to the hosts' 36.