Cougars Pick Up Big Road Win at North Georgia

Dahlonega, Ga. -- Columbus State's Lamar Williams dropped in two free-throws with 12 seconds left to seal a 72-69 road win for the Cougars at North Georgia on Saturday. The two tosses capped a finish which saw CSU erase and eight-point Saints lead over the final six minutes.

"After I got the technical foul, I thought our guys really picked up their intensity and took an 'us against the world' mentality," said CSU head coach Doug Branson. "We went on a big run and played well over those last six minutes. I'm proud of their effort and the results. It is a huge road win for us."

Branson was whistled for the technical as he questioned a no-call on a missed layup by Brandon Bland just seconds earlier. Taylor hit one of two free-throws to give the Saints their largest lead of the game at 62-54. CSU rallied themselves and rattled off eight unanswered points to tie the game at 62 on a Jeremy Grimball jumper with 3:18 left. That became part of an overall 16-2 run for the Cougars in which they held the Saints without a field goal. Two Bryant Thomas free-throws with 35 seconds left capped the run and put CSU up 70-64.

North Georgia cut the lead to one at 70-69 on a Carl Taylor three-pointer - one of his four on the day - with 14 seconds left. That set the stage for the two Williams free-throws to seal it for the Cougars.

After CSU had taken a 32-26 lead at the half, North Georgia could not make much headway in the first five minutes of the final period. CSU led by eight points early and by seven on two other occasions in that span. Taylor drained a three-pointer with 15:16 left to cut a seven-point margin to 41-37, and then Jon Nolton's dunk and another trey - this one by Tyler Norman - gave the Saints a 42-41 lead. Those points were a part of an overall 11-0 run by the Saints that saw them take a 45-41 lead after another Taylor triple with 12:51 left. NGC would lead from then until Chris Telesford's jumper with 1:27 left put the Cougars on top to stay.

Telesford and Williams each tallied 17 points on the day to lead CSU (11-9, 5-6). Telesford went 7-13 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Williams went 6-16 overall and 4-4 at the free-throw line. Four players scored eight points for the Cougars and two more added six. The Cougars shot 44 percent in the second half to finish at 42 percent overall. CSU was totally dominated on the boards as North Georgia held a 52-30 advantage in rebounding.

Taylor and Bernard Rimmer led North Georgia (12-9, 7-4) with 17 points each. Rimmer added 11 rebounds and three assists. Norman finished with 11 points. North Georgia shot 48 percent in the second half to finish at 37 percent overall. The Saints were just 15-24 at the free-throw line in the game and committed 18 turnovers.

CSU returns home for a Thursday date with Flagler at the Lumpkin Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM.