Valiant Effort Comes Up Just Short as Cougars Fall 77-75 at GCSU

Milledgeville, Ga. -- Columbus State senior Brandon Bland had a career day and the Cougars fought Georgia College & State University toe-to-toe for 40 minutes on Saturday, but the valiant effort came up just short as the Bobcats squeaked out a 77-75 win over the Cougars. GCSU leads the Peach Belt Conference West Division and moves to 20-4 overall and 13-2 in the PBC, while CSU sees its hopes of a PBC Tournament berth fade further as they fall to 11-13 overall and 5-10 in league play.

CSU shot a blistering 62 percent in the opening period, going 18-29. Of those 29 shot attempts, none came from three-point range as CSU did all its damage inside the arc. GCSU did not fare as well overall, but managed to go 6-11 from three-point range and that statistic made the difference as the Bobcats held a 44-38 lead at the break. 

GCSU was able to use a late run in the first half and convert a slim, one-point lead at 30-29 with 4:24 left, into a 44-35 lead with 39 seconds left in the half. Ty Rowland's layup capped the 14-6 spurt. CSU got a three-point play from Bland with 28 seconds left to cut the margin to the six-point halftime lead.

The Bobcats maintained their lead in the first 10 minutes of the second half, equaling their largest margin of nine points on two occasions, the last coming with 10:18 left on two Josh Hurst free-throws to make it 61-52. The Cougars then picked up the intensity on both ends of the floor and ran off 10 unanswered points to take a 62-61 lead. Bland single-handedly carried the Cougars on the run, scoriing all 10 of the points with the last two coming on his layup with 7:54 left.

The two teams then traded three-pointers and the lead over the next four minutes with Blake Zamudio's triple giving the Cougars a 72-71 advantage with 3:30 left. GCSU took the lead on the ensuing possession as Graham Martin scored a layup to make it 73-72. CSU was unable to score for over three minutes and turned the ball over four times during that crucial scoreless stretch. The Bobcats barely took advantage, scoring just one field goal to hold a three-point lead. Chris Telesford brought the Cougars within one at 75-74 with 11 seconds left, but Martin sealed the win by hitting a pair of free-trhows with nine seconds left.

Bland went 11-19 from the floor overall on Saturday, adding seven of 10 free-throws for his 29 points. Lamar Williams added 15 points and was 5-14 from the floor, while Donta Ridley came off the bench to score 13. CSU shot 41 percent in the second half to finish at 52 percent overall, but committed 15 turnovers and was out-rebounded 37-34.

Martin led the Bobcats with 20 points in their homecoming win. Hurst chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Ryan Aquino added 11 and Ty Rowland 10. GCSU shot 41 percent overall on the afternoon and went just 1-9 in the second half from long range to finish at 7-20 for the game. 

CSU returns to the Lumpkin Center on Wednesday for its final home game of the year, hosting Georgia Southwestern. Tip-off time is set for 7:30 p.m. on Senior Night.