Second-half rallies not enough for Bobcats

Down by seven points early in the game last Tuesday, the Georgia Northwestern Bobcats came roaring back to take the lead at halftime and went up by double digits in the second half. However, the visiting Dalton State College club team would have the final say as they rallied for an 82-69 victory at the Rossville Athletic Center.

The Roadrunners, who literally took the game just four-and-a-half hours before tip-off after Georgia Gwinnett College - the Bobcats’ scheduled opponent - had to cancel, jumped out to a 10-3 advantage early in the opening half. But Georgia Northwestern, who matched Dalton State with seven first-half threes, would battle back.

The remainder of the first half would feature five ties and four lead changes before the Bobcats would take a narrow 35-34 lead into the locker room. Jeremy Wilson had an impressive first 20 minutes for the home team as he scored 16 points without missing a single shot (6-of-6 FG, 3-3 3-pointers, 1-1 FT).

Georgia Northwestern would stay hot in the first four minutes of the second half as a 7-1 spurt blossomed

into a 15-6 run that gave the hosts a 50-40 lead with 16:19 to play and forced the Roadrunners to call a timeout.

Coming out of the brief break, the Bobcats would extend their lead to 11 with just over 14 minutes remaining, but Dalton State would start to heat up again, especially from behind the arc, while GNTC began to cool off. Dalton would go 7-of-14 from long range in the second half with the Bobcats managing to connect on just 3-of-11 in that same span.

Georgia Northwestern desperately tried to hold on to the lead, but the Roadrunners would finally go back in front, 65-64, on a move in the lane by Gavin Hall with 5:34 to play. That basket would kick-start a decisive game-ending 17-5 run, highlighted by Nick Banks, who scored 10 points by himself in the final 3:35, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Banks, along with Mon’Darius Black, had 16 points each in the victory, while Briqarius James and Da’vae Hughley both finished with 14 points. Hughley grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds.

Wilson and Jayce Harris paced the Bobcats with 18 points each, while Harris pulled down a game-high 14 boards. Jarret Gill had eight points, while J.T. Langford and Cole McKeehan added six each. Mark Chester and Hayden Murphy both scored five, while three points by Kannen Derryberry rounded out the scoring.

West Georgia Tech 106, Georgia Northwestern 89

The Bobcats shot 67 percent in the second half and scored 59 points in final 20 minutes on Saturday night, but it was still not enough to overcome a 22-point halftime deficit in a road loss in Rome.

The Golden Knights got out to a 22-12 lead halfway through the opening half and kept pouring on steam the rest of the way. Cold shooting plagued the Bobcats, who hit on just nine first-half field goals, including 5-of-17 from behind the arc.

The second half would be a different story, however. Georgia Northwestern began to heat up quickly and the Bobcats came charging back. McKeehan knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers at one point and the Navy-and-Silver was able to slice the Knights’ advantage to eight points, 79-71, with 7:40 left to play.

However, the Bobcats would get no closer.

Jalen Leonard was 6-of-8 from 3-point land in the game and 4-of-5 in the second half as he quickly took the momentum back for West Georgia Tech. The Knights would push their lead back out to double digits and it would remain there for the rest of the night.

Leonard had 20 points to lead six Knights in double figures. The Knights also had a big advantage off the bench as they outscored the Bobcats, 43-6.

McKeehan went 6-of-9 from long range to account for 22 points, while Wilson hit four 3-pointers and had a game-high 24 points to go with six assists. Derryberry added 14 points, followed by Langford with 12, Gill with 11, Harris with five and Murphy with one. Harris had a team-best 10 rebounds.

The Bobcats (5-17) were scheduled to close out the regular season this Tuesday back at home at the Rossville Athletic Center against the Hiwassee College JV team at 7:30 p.m. That game was slated to be preceded by the Lady Bobcats’ regular season finale against the Dalton State club team at 6.