CARROLLTON, Ga. - West Georgia men's basketball held on to hand Queens University its first conference loss of the season today, beating the visitors 74-66 in The Coliseum.
With UWG (10-10, 4-4 ASUN) leading QU (12-9, 7-1 ASUN) 68-66 with under a minute to play, the ASUN scoring leader, forward Shelton Williams-Dryden, knocked down a contested midrange jumper and then followed it up by draining both of his free throws to push the Wolves out of reach of the top-ranked Royals, ultimately leading to the Pack's first win in five games.
Williams-Dryden led the Wolves today with his second straight double-double, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds on 53 percent (9-17) shooting. QU was led by forward Avantae Parker with 20 points while shooting 64 percent (7-11) from the field.
"I'm just really proud of the group," said head coach Dave Moore in the post-game press conference. "Short turnaround and, coming off Thursday's game, we didn't play very well. We were not who we wanted to be. But I thought today we were who we want to be. You know, we played West Georgia basketball."
Receiving his first start as a Wolf, forward JaVar Daniel recorded his second consecutive game with five or more blocks, bringing his season total to 40. This places the big man ninth overall in UWG history for single-season blocks.
"We didn't really care if they were undefeated. We just wanted to go out and play our hearts out," said Daniel after the big victory.
Talking about Daniel's performance today, Moore stated, "JaVar helped us inside. He was a presence in there with his shot blocking, another game with five blocks. You know, we have to have that. He erases a lot of mistakes when we get beat off the balance with his size and his length and his ability to block shots and change shots. We finally got back to playing the type of defense that we're capable of playing."
Backed by a smothering defense in the first half, UWG was able to create a first-period cushion with the Royals struggling to get open looks.
Fueled by a pair of three-pointers from guard Malcolm Noel and another one courtesy of Williams-Dryden, UWG opened the game jumping out to an 18-12 lead by the under-12-minute media timeout.
One thing that was apparent in today's ASUN action was the Royals' size. From their point guard to their center, Queens matched up as one of the tallest opponents UWG has faced this year.
Despite the size differential, the Wolves stayed out in front thanks to physical interior defense, UWG closing in on Royals to force contested threes and hard-nose rebounding. At the under-eight-minute media timeout, UWG led 24-19.
Following a cold spell by the Wolves, QU cut the Pack's lead down to 26-25, but UWG continued to fight.
With guard Josh Smith recording eight late points off a pair of three-pointers and a thunderous one-hand dunk, UWG held a 34-28 advantage at the break. William-Dryden's nine points led the way for the Wolves through the opening period.
The second half kicked off with the Pack attacking from inside the arc to extend its lead to 41-33 with less than 16 minutes remaining in the game.
In multiple series in a row, UWG fed Williams-Dryden cutting towards the basket for the forward to finish a handful of contested made buckets. At the 12-minute media timeout, West Georgia led 47-39.
With the Wolves going cold from the field, QU strung together an 11-3 run to lock the game at 50-50.
Like at the end of the first half, Smith came alive out of nowhere again, hitting back-to-back threes to give UWG a 58-56 lead at the eight-minute media timeout.
With Smith continuing to knock down contested shot after contested shot, West Georgia extended its lead to 64-59 with under three and half minutes left in the game.
Over the next two minutes, QU cut the Wolves' lead down to 66-63.
Up 68-66, Williams-Dryden hit a midrange jumper and then followed it up by knocking down both of his free throws to push the Wolves out of reach of the Royals.
Wolves beat QU 74-66.
The Wolves head to Kentucky next Wednesday (Jan. 28) to face off against Bellarmine in the first ASUN rematch of the season.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
-Today's win ties last season's overall win total (10) and ASUN win total (4) for the Wolves.
-Not only did Daniel record five blocks, the forward also dropped 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his first UWG start.
-Along with Williams-Dryden and Daniel, Smith also recorded double-digits, finishing the day with 20 on 44 percent (8-18) shooting.
-Today's double-double for Williams-Dryden marks his eighth of the season and his 14th in his career.
-Despite the height advantage, UWG outrebounded Queens 37-35. The Wolves have now outrebounded seven of its eight ASUN opponents this year.
- The Wolves finished the day shooting 46 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 64 percent from the line. QU shot 40 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 59 percent from the line.
-After being ranked No. 25 in the Mid-Major Poll yesterday, it is safe to assume that the Wolves knocked Queens out of these rankings today.
