Georgia College & State University (GCSU) men’s basketball (7-16, 3-11, PBC) took two tough losses against USC Aiken and Georgia Southwestern State University.
At home against USC Aiken Feb. 8, the Bobcats took the early lead with a three-point bucket from Ian Davis on the opening play of the game. Austin Sloan added a field goal to boost the lead to 5-0 and for the remainder of the first half, both teams traded buckets until USC led 29-25 at halftime.
GCSU player Brendan Rigsbee kicked off the second half, scoring for Georgia College with a two-point jump-shot. However, the visiting Pacers scored several back-to-back shots in between Bobcat baskets to give them the upper hand and get the 83-59 win.
Davis led the Bobcats’ scoring effort with a careerhigh 19 points after going 6-for-11 from field-goal range, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Rigsbee was the only fellow Bobcat to reach double-digit scoring with 16 points. He went 5-for-12 from the floor and added 6-for-9 from the freethrow line.
There were no doubledigit rebounders that night for the Bobcats, but Brandon Thomas and Rigsbee each had five. Between the two, nine of their rebounds came under the Pacer basket.
Three days later (Feb. 11), GCSU was in Americus to tipoff against the Hurricanes of Georgia Southwestern, where the Bobcats came up short in a tough 85-76 game.
Thomas scored the first three points of the game for GCSU, but the host team responded quickly, going on a 14-3 run to secure a lead they never gave up.
Despite the loss, GCSU had four double-digit scorers. Rigsbee led the charge with 16 points going 5-for-9 from the floor and nailed all five of his free throw attempts. Christian Koneman came off the bench to score 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Richard Crawford III was the third-leading GCSU scorer with 12 points and Davis rounded out the double-digit quartet with 10 points.
AJ James and Koneman led the rebounding efforts for GCSU with five apiece, while Chapin Rierson had four on the night.
After traveling to Lander University this Wednesday (post- Bulletin deadline), the Bobcats return to the GCSU Centennial Center for Homecoming Feb. 18, where they will take on Clayton State University at 5:30 p.m., with live stats and broadcast links available at GCBobcats.com.