Georgia College & State University (GCSU) men's basketball put up 101 points to 87 by Flagler College Feb. 22, for a Senior Night victory, but took a tough 67-65 road loss last Saturday at Columbus University to put a cap on the Bobcats’ 2022-23 season.
Before the contest against Flagler the GCSU Athletic Department honored three Bobcat seniors: Christian Koneman from Chatsworth; Chris Parks from Buford; and Brandon Thomas from McDonough.
The Bobcats (9-17, 5-12 PBC) quickly put up eight straight points to counter a tip-off, three-point bucket by the Saints (12-16, 6-11 PBC). The game was heavy on offense as baskets fell left and right, with each squad going on several- point runs.
Redshirt senior Chapin Rierson iced a buzzer- beating, half-court shot to take the Bobcats into the half leading 48-43. GCSU continued to stay hot in the second half, shooting almost 50 percent from behind the arc.
In the end, the Bobcats netted their first 100-point game since Dec. 3, 2009, against Carver Bible College. It also marked a full-circle moment for head coach Ryan Aquino, as he corralled nine rebounds to lead the team in that 2009 contest.
The Bobcats had five double-digit scorers last Wednesday night, including Richard Crawford III, who led the offense with a personal season-high 26 points.
Rierson was the squad’s second-leading scorer with 18 points including 4-for-7 from three-point range, and also good for his season high. Austin Sloan and Brendan Rigsbee were the team's third- and fourth-leading scorers with 15 and 14 points, respectively, and Koneman rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13 points.
Koneman and Sloan led the team in rebounding, picking up seven apiece.
The Bobcats played their final game of the season last Saturday and struck first on a layup by AJ James. The two squads traded buckets back and forth throughout the first half, with GCSU leading 33-28 going to the locker room.
However, the Cougars went on to outscore the Bobcats 39-32 in the second half and won the game with a last-second layup.
GCSU’s scoring was led by Ian Davis with an impressive 16 points after going 5-for-7 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Sloan was second in scoring with 14 points, Rigsbee had 11, including five field goals, and Rierson scored 10 points to finish out the team’s double-digit scoring list.