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Official Website of the UWG Wolves
MBB vs Mercer | Dec. 4th, 2024
Benjamin Lilley
62
West Ga. UWG 5-23,3-12 ASUN
80
Winner North Ala. UNA 20-8,12-3 ASUN
West Ga. UWG
5-23,3-12 ASUN
62
Final
80
North Ala. UNA
20-8,12-3 ASUN
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Ga. UWG 31 31 62
North Ala. UNA 37 43 80

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Danny Talbert

Wolves Dealt 80-62 Defeat

FLORENCE, Ala. - UWG men's basketball fell 80-62 to the top-ranked North Alabama Lions in the Wolves' final road game of the regular season. 

West Georgia (5-23, 3-12 ASUN) battled with the Lions in the first half, but North Alabama's (20-8, 11-3 ASUN) ability to score off of UWG turnovers ultimately helped the hosts secure a conference win. UNA finished with 19 points off of West Georgia's 13 turnovers while the Wolves were able to capitalize with four points off of five Lion turnovers.

Junior forward Shelton Williams-Dryden led the Wolves with his second straight double-double, tying his career-high of 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Behind Williams-Dryden, senior forward Kolten Griffin scored 13 points and senior center Tamaury Releford knocked down 12.

UNA finished with four double-digit scorers with junior guard Jacari Lane securing a team-high 22 points. Following Lane, senior guard Taye Fields and Daniel Ortiz scored 14 and 13, and redshirt sophomore Cornelius Williams drained 11.  

Following the game, head coach Dave Moore talked about what he saw, stating, "I was disappointed with the first five minutes. We came out slow and got down 10 points, but then we fought back. We got right back in it. The game got away from us a little bit towards the end of the second half, but I thought our guys competed. We just didn't have enough shot-making tonight."

UNA started tonight's ASUN action building a 14-4 lead after the Wolves opened 2-for-7 (29 percent) from the field in addition to committing four early turnovers.

Coming off the bench, Tamaury Releford gave UWG some stability down low, scoring a quick six points and grabbing three rebounds to help West Georgia cut the UNA advantage to 18-12. 

By the Under-8 Media Timeout, UWG had erased most of the Lions' lead, pulling within one point at 19-18. Releford and Shelton Williams-Dryden spearheaded the comeback, leaving the Lions with no choice but to call for a pause in play.

The Wolves finished out the half battling from inside the arc to end at the break trailing 37-31. Williams-Dryden led the Wolves with eight points and Jacari Lane posted a Lions-high 12 points. Both teams looked solid from the field, but mostly stayed away from shooting beyond the arc. UWG finished the period hitting 47 percent from the field to North Alabama's 52 percent. Unexpectedly, one of the game's three made three-pointers came from Williams-Dryden, who has only taken 10 from deep this year prior to today. 

Continuing the trend of attacking from inside the arc, UWG dashed the Lions' advantage to 45-42 with 15 minutes remaining in the game. 

Lane, the Lions' sixth all-time leading scorer, continued to push the pace, allowing UNA to extend their lead to 58-47 at the second Media Timeout. 

Each time the Wolves went on a run, UNA responded swiftly to establish a double-digit lead. With six minutes to go in the game, UWG trailed 71-56. 

The Wolves' scoring stalled in the final three minutes, allowing the top-ranked Lions to secure an 80-62 win

As mentioned, Shelton Williams-Dryden tallied his second-straight double-double on his way to tying his career-high of 27 points in addition to tonight's 10 rebounds. This marks the forward's sixth double-double this season and the third game in a row he scored over 20 points. He scored these 20-plus points tonight shooting 55 percent from the field.

Kolten Griffin came alive in the second half, accumulating 10 of his 13 points in the later period. Through the last seven games, Griffin has broken into double scoring figures five times, almost half of his season total of 11.

Tamaury Releford posted his seventh time scoring double-digits after draining 12 points while shooting 66 percent from the field. 

Demetrus Johnson II finished tying his career-high of eight assists.

As a team, the Wolves finished shooting 44 percent from the field to UNA's 51 percent. The Lions, who lead the league in rebounding, won the battle of the glass, finishing with 36 boards to the Wolves' 32. UWG lead at the midway mark 17-16.

As the regular season begins to wrap up, the Wolves return to Carrollton for their final three games, where they'll fight for a spot in the ASUN Tournament. UWG faces Central Arkansas this Thursday at 7:45 p.m. in The Coliseum. The women's basketball team will play Stetson beforehand.

"We are so happy to be back at home. It feels like we have been on the road all season long," said coach Moore. "Thursday is the most important game of the year. UCA is a really good team, but we can compete with them. We are excited about the chance to get into the tournament." 

Don't miss out on the opportunity to catch the Wolves live in The Coliseum before the regular season is over. Click here to purchase your tickets for this Thursday's DI doubleheader.
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