The visiting Toccoa Falls Screaming Eagles may have been a bit on the chilly side when they got off the bus in northwest Georgia on Saturday night, but it didn't take them long to warm up.
Toccoa Falls shot 53 percent (32-of-60) from the floor and 48 percent (12-of-25) from behind the 3-point arc as they used a big second half to take down Georgia Northwestern, 90-53, and spoil the season debut for the Bobcats at the Rossville Athletic Center.
The game was a tight one for the first 10 minutes of the first half, but Toccoa reeled off a 9-0 run to give them a 34-18 advantage, their biggest lead of the half with just under five minutes left before intermission.
But Georgia Northwestern would continue to hang around in the closing minutes, cutting the lead down to 40-28 at the break after a Cameron Sherlin 3-point with 57 seconds left in the half.
However, any thoughts of a Bobcat comeback were quickly dashed by the red-shooting of the Screaming Eagles coming out of the intermission.
Toccoa Falls went on a 20-7 run to open the second half to push the lead to 60-35 with 14:00 remaining and 23-10 spurt over the next nine minutes expanded the Eagles' advantage even more. The lead would eventually grow to as many as 40 late as the guests connected on 8-of-14 from long distance in the second half.
"They've got a lot of guys that have played three and four years together before and we've got four guys that have played just one year together," said Bobcats head coach David Stephenson. "At the end of the day, that's a huge difference. But we have to try to get better quicker, which is a reason we're playing this type of competition early. Still, I saw some good things. We just have to continue to work."
The Screaming Eagles put four players in double figures, led by 20 points from Josh Barrett and 19 from Derek Westfall.
Sherlin was the lone Bobcats in double figures as he finished with 14 points. Dustin Stanley had nine points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds, while Tyler Shropshire and Cody Cochran added eight points apiece.
The Bobcats (0-1) will return to the court on Tuesday as they host Pasco Hernandez College at 7 p.m. at the R.A.C.
TOCCOA FALLS (90) - Josh Barrett 20, Jon Sauls 14, Smith 1, Zach Barrett 12, Derek Westfall 19, Foluell 8, Lanterdove 5, Sherman 5, Iverson, Brown, Bailey 3, Sullivan 3, 3-pointers: 12 (Josh Barrett 4, Sauls 4, Lanterdove, Sherman, Bailey, Sullivan), Free throws: 14-21
GEORGIA NORTHWESTERN (53) - Watkins 4, Cameron Sherlin 14, Shropshire 8, McAllister, Bell 6, Stanley 9, Cardoza 4, Cochran 8, 3-pointers: 8 (Sherlin 2, Cochran 2, Shropshire 2, Watkins, Bell), Free throws: 3-10