Waters has stellar debut for Bobcats
With a roster featuring 10 of 11 players who were getting set to play their first-ever college basketball game, Georgia Northwestern head coach David Stephenson knew his young, freshmen-heavy team would need to grow up in a hurry once the season began.
The Bobcats took the first step toward doing just that on Wednesday.
Down three points at home to the junior varsity squad from Hiwassee College with just 37.5 seconds to play, the Bobcats found a way. Scoring the game’s final seven points, they raised the curtain on the 2017-2018 season in style, thrilling the home crowd at the Rossville Athletic Center with a 71-67 victory.
Freshman Bryce Waters scored the final five points, including a fall-away jump hook that he converted into a three-point play that put Georgia Northwestern back into the lead for good with 19.4 seconds remaining. After the Tigers missed a three at the other end, the 6-foot-6 Waters grabbed the rebound and drove coast-to-coast for a layup with 5.9 seconds left to seal the win.
The Bobcats (1-0), who trailed by as many as seven in the second half, rallied to take a 63-59 lead with 5:15 to go. But save for a Justin Smith free throw with 2:20 to play, Georgia Northwestern was held scoreless for nearly five full minutes down the stretch.
A three-pointer by Justice Alameda with 4:51 left cut the Bobcats’ lead to one and Alameda scored on a lay-up in transition to give Hiwassee (0-1) a 64-63 lead with 2:51 to go. Smith knotted the game after making 1-of-2 attempts, but a free throw by Rasheed Michel with 2:04 to play and two free throws by Jermaine Thompson with 37.5 seconds left gave the Tigers a 67-64 advantage.
Georgia Northwestern would miss twice on its ensuing possession before a put-back by Davian Wheeler with 22.9 seconds remaining pulled the Bobcats within one. The home team would then catch a break when Hiwas- see stepped on the end line while attempting inbound the ball, giving the Bobcats possession under the Hiwassee basket.
After an initial pass, Waters came cutting down the lane and took the ball in the paint, getting bumped in the process. However, the former Sonoraville High standout was able to keep his body in control long enough to muscle in the shot.
“I knew we were in the double bonus,” Waters explained. “I also knew we were down one and I knew I need to make (the shot). I got up a little hook shot and it went in.”
Waters led the way for the Bobcats in his first collegiate game, scoring 11 of his teamhigh 17 points in the second half, including a 7-for-9 performance at the foul line. He also ended a solid night with six rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.
“I was a little nervous at first tonight, but as it went on (the game) kind of came to me a little more,” Waters said. “We could have shot it a little better tonight, but we’ll keep learning from each other and learning how we play.”
The two teams stayed within one possession of each other for much of the first half, which saw five ties and nine lead changes. Neither team led by more than five points in the first 20 minutes as the Tigers took a 35-31 lead into the locker room.
But the Bobcats would turn up the pressure defensively with a press in the second half and it paid dividends. After Hiwassee shot 41.2 percent from the field in the first half, they shot just 27 percent (10of-37) over the final 20 minutes, while Georgia Northwestern (46.2 percent from the field in the opening half) shot an even 50 percent (12of-24) in the second half.
Davian Wheeler finished with 11 points and Kolbi Suttles added 10, mostly on drives to the bucket. Tyler Phillips, who sunk the first shot attempt for the Bobcats this season on a three-pointer just eight seconds into the game, scored nine points and had eight rebounds.