Reversal of fortune: Bobcats drop second straight
After the thrill of a four-game winning streak, the Georgia Northwestern Bobcats suddenly finding themselves on a backward slide.
The winning streak came to an end last Tuesday with a loss at Hiwassee College and even a loud home crowd couldn’t the Bobcats back on track Saturday afternoon as they dropped a game to former region foe Oxford-Emory.
Hiwassee 95, Georgia Northwestern 88
Up two points at halftime, the Bobcats couldn’t close the deal against the Tigers and dropped the road game and their modest win streak.
Georgia Northwestern led by as many as 14 in the opening half, but it wouldn’t last as the Tigers sliced the deficit down to just a single bucket, 43-41, by halftime.
Hiwassee stayed hot coming out of the locker room and jumped in front, 5745, with five minutes gone in the second half. But a steal and a lay-up by Daniel Parrish, followed up by a 3-pointer, sparked a run by the Bobcats that trimmed the Tigers’ advantage to 59-57.
However, Georgia Northwestern would get no closer.
The Tigers seemingly had an answer for every shot the Bobcats would make. GNTC would go one on final run late, getting a trey from Parrish and another one by Darrius Fugh - set up by a big block by Micah Wheeler - that pulled the Bobcats to within three at 88-85 with 1:30 to go. But Hiwassee would hit its foul shots late and scored seven of the game’s last 10 points.
Free throw shooting hurt the Bobcats as they connected on just 19-of-31 attempts.
Fugh dropped in 26 points to lead the Bobcats. He also had 14 rebounds and added four assists. Parrish had 21 points, nine boards and four assists. Alec Rattanaxay scored 13 points and dished out five assists. Demonte Parker had 12 points and Wheeler had eight points and blocked three shots.
Oxford-Emory 77, Georgia Northwestern 61
The Bobcats matched the visiting Oxford-Emory Eagles basket for basket in the first half, getting two late buckets from Fugh and Rattanaxay to forge a 32-28 advantage at intermission.
But the Eagles from Covington used a decisive 22-4 run to open the second half on Saturday to help send a Rec League Night crowd home from the Rossville Athletic Center disappointed.
Oxford-Emory would heat up in the second half behind the shooting of Sean Wickman. Wickman, who scored 14 points in the opening 20 minutes, connected on 6-of-8 from behind the arc in the second half to end his night with 36 points.
The big run, which spanned the first six minutes of the second half, saw the Bobcats’ four-point lead evaporate and become a 14-point deficit (50-36) with just under 14 minutes to go.
Georgia Northwestern would eventually pull to within seven points with seven minutes to play, but Wickman would bury treys on back-to-back possessions to end any hopes of a Bobcat comeback.
Fugh had 21 points for GNTC to go with 14 rebounds. Parrish was 5-of-9 behind the arc to end his evening with 18 points and four boards. Patrick Simmons had nine points and Wheeler grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.
Georgia Northwestern (8-8) will look to get back on track Tuesday for Veterans and Law Enforcement Recognition Night at the R.A.C. They will take on Welch College out of Nashville, Tenn. at 7:30 p.m., preceded by the Lady Bobcats’ game with Welch at 5:30.