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Official Website of the UWG Wolves
mbb
83
Huntingdon Hunt 0-1,0-0 CCS
120
Winner West Ga. UWG 1-1,0-0 ASUN
Huntingdon Hunt
0-1,0-0 CCS
83
Final
120
West Ga. UWG
1-1,0-0 ASUN
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Huntingdon Hunt 34 49 83
West Ga. UWG 69 51 120

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Danny Talbert

Wolves Soar Past the Hawks to Secure First Win of the Season

CARROLLTON, Ga. - UWG men's basketball earned its first win of the season tonight (Nov. 7), cruising to a 120-83 victory over the Huntingdon College Hawks in the home opener. 

Led by guard Josh Smith's career-high 26 points combined with the Wolves (1-1) hitting a 72 percent from the field in first half, the Pack jumped out in front of HC early (0-1) and never looked back. West Georgia's 69 first half points and 120 total points mark the highest totals for UWG since elevating to DI. The last time West Georgia reached this figure was in the Wolves' 107-61 win over Brewton Parker last season (Dec. 21, 2024).

Smith's career night featured the guard going 8-12 (67 percent) from the field and 4-6 (67 percent) from three while recording five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block, all while not committing a turnover. The Hawks were led by guard Jeremy Autin with 15 points.

"It feels good to get a win at home. It's important that we play well at home," said head coach Dave Moore following the victory. "I thought offensively we played pretty well. We missed too many free throws in the first half, but all-and-all it was a much better performance."

Talking about Smith's night Moore stated, "Josh struggled to put the ball in the basketball in our exhibitions and the game at Nebraska. I was hoping to see him and a couple other guys break out of that tonight, and he did. That's why we brought him here. He is a guy that can score in volume, can guard multiple positions, he is really talented. 26 points, five assists and no turnovers, that's what I'm looking for out of him."

All of tonight's UWG career highs can be found at the bottom of the page.

The home opener kicked off with the Wolves jumping out to a 12-7 lead with guard Chas Lewless' back-to-back threes pushing the pace for the Pack.

By the time the game reached the 12-minute media break, West Georgia's advantage had ballooned to 25-10 with the Wolves hitting at a stellar 69 percent field goal rate.

With UWG still hovering around 70 percent shooting, the Pack's advantage spread to 40-19 by the under-eight media timeout. Past the halfway mark of the first, Smith's nine points led the way for the Wolves, and he showed no signs of slowing down.

Keeping up the trend of distancing themselves from the Hawks between media timeouts, UWG led 54-24 with under four minutes to play in the half. Notably, It was not just one or two Wolves feasting, but the whole squad, and there was not much the Hawks could do to stop it.

Going into the half, UWG held a 69-34 advantage with Smith's 16 points leading the charge. Remarkably, the West Georgia lead grew between every media timeout. At the media breaks, the Wolves' advantage went from five to 15 to 21 to 30, before finishing with a 35-point advantage heading into the half.

In the early part of the second, the Hawks' offense began to drain their shots, dashing their deficit to 80-54 while hitting at 50 percent shooting.

Guard Eric Baldassarre continued to contribute for the Wolves in the second half, hitting back-to-back threes to push his total to nine on the night with under eight minutes to go.

It was not just Baldassarre who contributed coming off the bench. Guard Max Young had the UWG faithful on their feet when he knocked down his first career three to extend the Wolves' advantage to 116-77 with just 90 seconds left.

UWG would cruise to a 120-83 win, with seven Wolves scoring double digits.

Following Smith, guard Shelton Williams-Dryden recorded 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds, Lewless tallied 12 points with a team-high six assists, Baldassarre posted 12 points in his first college game, forward JaVar Daniel finished with 11 points and a team-high five blocks, and wing Kolten Griffin and guard Brady Hardewig rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points apiece. Guard Xavier Shegog recorded a career-high six points and Young finished his first college game with five.

When asked about the players who had a good night after coming off the bench, Moore said, "It's important. Cameron Merritt, Nate Jones, Max Young, those guys work hard everyday. Those guys walk-ons here. They are really good students and work their butt off. For them to get some shine during the game was really cool to see."

As a team, the Wolves finished shooting 48-73 (66 percent) from the field and 12-24 (46 percent) from three. HC went 32-82 (39 percent) from the field and 9-29 (31 percent) from three. 

The Wolves get back on the road to face off against UCLA next Monday (Nov. 10) at 10 p.m. in the Pauley Pavilion. Be on the lookout for a full preview and game notes soon.
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