Wolves Outlast Ospreys to Advance to ASUN Quarterfinals

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - West Georgia men's basketball made history tonight by winning its first-ever ASUN Tournament game, 93-85, over the North Florida Ospreys in Swisher Gymnasium. The Wolves are set to take on Queens this Friday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in the ASUN Quarterfinals.

Capitalizing on 60 percent shooting while also dominating the glass, UWG (15-16, 9-10 ASUN) created a 20-point lead over UNF (7-25, 5-14 ASUN) early in the second period, but the Wolves weren't out of the woods yet.

Going on a cold spell, the Ospreys stormed back to make it a four-point game late. In the final three minutes, North Florida forced the Pack to win at the free throw line by fouling on every UWG possession. With a host of Wolves sent to the charity stripe, UWG knocked down its foul shots to ultimately outlast the Ospreys' comeback.

Forward Shelton Williams-Dryden led the Wolves with 27 points and 13 rebounds on 81 percent shooting. Fueled by four three-pointers and 7-for-7 free throw shooting, guard Josh Smith dropped 25 points on a 50 percent field goal clip.

Playing in their first-ever ASUN Tournament game, the Wolves opened with guard Malcolm Noel and Williams-Dryden attacking from inside the paint to put the Pack up early.

Even with the Ospreys capitalizing at the charity stripe, back-to-back threes from guards Josh Smith and Brady Hardewig pushed the Wolves to a 17-10 advantage by the first media timeout.

Over the next four minutes, UWG extended its lead to 27-17 thanks to a smothering and physical defense that gave UNF early trouble.

Capitalizing on a handful of turnovers by the Wolves, North Florida cut the Pack's lead to a pair of possessions, but the hot-handed Smith would respond with two more made shots from beyond the arc to reestablish a double-digit advantage before the final media break.

Despite the Wolves committing seven turnovers, combined with UNF winning the free throw battle by 11, UWG went into halftime holding a 48-35 lead. Smith's 14 points pushed the pace for the Pack in the opening half.

Before North Florida knew what hit them, Noel knocked down a three-pointer and Williams-Dryden added four more points to his impressive total to put UWG up by 20 early in the second period.

Coming out of the first media timeout of the half, West Georgia missed a handful of three-pointers in a row, which allowed UNF to go on a five-point run.

UWG quickly recovered thanks to Williams-Dryden staying red-hot from inside the arc. With under 12 minutes to go, the Wolves found themselves up 67-52 in front of a packed house of UNF fans.

Another costly cold spell by UWG allowed the Ospreys to slowly chip away at the Wolves' double-digit lead. At the six-minute mark, West Georgia held a 72-63 edge.

The two teams traded basket-for-basket over the next few minutes, resulting in UWG holding a 79-72 lead with under three minutes remaining.

In the final three minutes, UNF sent the Wolves to the free throw line in every possession.

Being sent to the line, Smith, Noel, forward JaVar Daniel and guard Matija Žužić knocked down enough of its charity stripe shots to hold on and beat UNF.

Today's win advances the Wolves to the ASUN Tournament Quarterfinals against Queens. Tipoff from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. this Friday.

NOTABLE NUMBERS
-Tonight's victory extends the Wolves winning streak to three.
-Williams-Dryden recorded his 13th double-double of the season.
-Attacking from the inside the paint, forward Kenneth Chime dropped nine points on 80 percent shooting, while also pulling down seven rebounds.
-46 of the Wolves' points can in the paint.
-The Wolves dominated the glass tonight, 41-25.
-UWG led 94 percent of the game.
-West Georgia's largest lead tonight was 23 points (up 62-39).
-UWG committed 12 turnovers to North Florida's five.
-UWG shot 53 percent from the field, 42 percent from three and 74 percent from the line. UNF shot 42 percent from the field, 23 percent from three and 88 percent from the line.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Brady Hardewig: G; 6' 2"; Freshman

#23 Malcolm Noel: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#22 Kenneth Chime: PF; 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

#4 Shelton Williams-Dryden: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#5 JaVar Daniel: G/F; 6' 10"; Junior

#6 Matija Žužić: G; 6' 7"; Senior

#10 Josh Smith: G; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#14 Brady Hardewig
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: G

#23 Malcolm Noel
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#22 Kenneth Chime
: 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman
: PF

#4 Shelton Williams-Dryden
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#5 JaVar Daniel
: 6' 10"; Junior
: G/F

#6 Matija Žužić
: 6' 7"; Senior
: G

#10 Josh Smith
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

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Wolves Outlast Ospreys to Advance to ASUN Quarterfinals

Players Mentioned

#14 Brady Hardewig

#23 Malcolm Noel

#22 Kenneth Chime

#4 Shelton Williams-Dryden

#5 JaVar Daniel

#6 Matija Žužić

#10 Josh Smith

Players Mentioned

#14 Brady Hardewig

#23 Malcolm Noel

#22 Kenneth Chime

#4 Shelton Williams-Dryden

#5 JaVar Daniel

#6 Matija Žužić

#10 Josh Smith