Georgia Northwestern turned up the heat just in time to rally from 11 points down in the final five minutes to shock Macon State (GA), 69-65, at the Rossville Athletic Complex (R.A.C.) Friday night. Georgia Northwestern sophomore NJCAA All-Region and All-District player Alex Miller (Calhoun, GA) would lead the Cats with 19 points in the home win.
The Bobcats held a commanding lead going into the break, 34-20. However, the visiting Blue Storm would send a flurry of full-court presses resulting in a 30-8 run to open the first eleven minutes of the second half.
With Macon State jumping out to a late lead that seemed insurmountable, Georgia Northwestern started dropping shot after shot.
Hard-drives to the basket in the final five minutes, including a pair of acrobatic shots from Miller kept the Cats within a basket down the stretch. Down by three with :40 to play, freshman Bobcat Tavish Reynolds (Calhoun, GA) launched a three from the home bench corner to knot things up at 65-all.
Georgia Northwestern Men’s Head Basketball Coach David Stephenson would then call for a full-court press the rest of the way. That’s when freshman Bobcat Hunter Ivester (Trion, GA) would take over with not one, but two steals in the final :40 of play that led to the final four points of the game and Georgia Northwestern’s seventh win of the season. Ivester would end the night with 12 points, six rebounds, three steals, and three assists.
Playing above the rim blocking shots for Georgia Northwestern was Bobcat sophomore post player Bud Todd (Trion, GA) who would drop in 10 points and reject five shots in the Friday win. “We had huge play from a lot of players tonight,” said Stephenson. “A 12-footer on the baseline from Johnson (Andrew), Richard (Olsen) hit some big shots at the glass, and Tavish (Reynolds) really locked in for us.” Reynolds, a 6-foot-1 guard from Calhoun, Georgia went four-of-six from three-point land in the win.
Stephenson has four weeks until the NJCAA Region XVII Post-Season Tournament in Warner-Robbins, Georgia. “We simply need to get the mental discipline it takes to play the full forty minutes of a college basketball game,” said Stephenson. Georgia Northwestern (7-14, 0-5) will see their next action when they travel to Cleveland, Tennessee Wednesday night to take on Lee University in a non-region game.
The Bobcats are a member of NJCAA Region XVII, the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, and a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia. For more information on Bobcat Athletics, contact the Georgia Northwestern Office of Sports Information at 706.764.3813 or e-mail to dfoley@gntc.edu.
Georgia Northwestern (69) – Cotton 2, Jackson, Hunter Ivester 12, Bud Todd 10, Alex Miller 19, Robinson, Tavish Reynolds 12, Olsen 8, Johnson 4, Dempsey 2.
Macon State (65) – Samples 6, Greenleaf, Braddy 4, Stevenson, Quaid Stone 14, Reid 4, Steadman Merritt 24, Brown 6, Stafford 2.
Halftime Score:34-20, Georgia Northwestern