The Georgia Northwestern Bobcats trailed by just three points at halftime on Friday night, but a second-half dry spell would spell trouble for the visitors as they lost to host Emory-Oxford College, 81-67, on the first night of the Oxford Classic in Covington, Ga.
GNTC (3-10) recovered from a quick 11-3 hole to slice the Eagles' lead to 18-16 with 10 minutes left in the opening half.
However, thanks to the outside shooting of Emory's Ryan Kwong, the Bobcats were unable to take the lead. Kwong finished the first half with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. It was two more 3-pointers than the entire Bobcats' team made in the first half (3-of-18).
Then in the second half, the Bobcats went a full 10 minutes before finally connecting from the field. Free throw shooting would keep the visitors within striking distance and Georgia Northwestern trailed by just 12 points, 55-43, with 11 minutes remaining. However, the Bobcats would finish with just seven made field goals in the final 20 minutes.
GNTC would get to within 10 points (66-56) with six minutes to play, but two more threes by Kwong would be the straw that finally broke the camel's back and the Bobcats would never get closer than 14 points the rest of the night.
Kwong finished with a game-high 30 points, followed by 23 from J.J. Hazaby and 10 by Aaron Gerber.
Jeremy Wilson had 22 points to pace the Bobcats, followed by 12 points and 14 rebounds from Jarret Gill. J.T. Langford also had a dozen points to go with seven boards and four assists. Mark Chester had nine points and eight rebounds. Hayden Murphy and Jayce Harris both added four points, while
Kannen Derryberry and Cole McKeehan each finished with two.
The Bobcats will close out the weekend with a 2 p.m. game on Saturday back at Williams Gymnasium against the Georgia Highlands Diamonds.