Georgia College & State University men’s basketball sits at a 4-5 overall record with a 0-2 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) record.
Bobcats kicked off their PBC season at Young Harris College. The game fell 75-73 after an exciting double-overtime contest.
GCSU outscored the Mountain Lions in the first half of play to enter halftime with a 30-28 lead. YHC countered back in the second half scoring 35 points to the Bobcat’s 33 to force the game into overtime tied at 63-63. In the first five-minute overtime period both squads put up six points to force a second overtime. The Mountain Lions stayed consistent scoring another six points, but the Bobcats fell short only netting four points and falling 75-73.
GCSU had five players bank double-digit points in the extended contest.
Christian Koneman, Brandon Thomas, and Brendan Rigsbee all iced 13 points apiece.
Koneman knocked down four field goals including a three-point bucket and went 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Thomas scored three baskets from behind the arc to count for a majority of his points.
Rigsbee went 6-for-9 from field goal range and nailed a free throw for his 13-point total. Austin Sloan and Luke Chism rounded out the doubledigit scoring with 10 points apiece.
Sloan nabbed his first double-double of the season corralling 11 rebounds to lead the team. Koneman was the second leading rebounder with nine just missing the double-double by a single rebound. To round out an impressive performance on the night Rigsbee nabbed seven rebounds with five giving the Bobcats a second chance on offense.
For their next match, GCSU traveled to the University of North Georgia. The Bobcats took a tough 77-73 loss after a difficult second half. The game started out with 22 points scored between both squads. The Nighthawks led GCSU 46-34 entering halftime.
The Bobcats had an uphill battle ahead of them down 12 points coming out of the half.
The offense heated up for the blue and green as they scored 39 points.
They got defensive as they held a first half offense to 31 points. They fought until the end but ultimately fell 77-73.
There were three Bobcats who knocked down double-digit points.
Richard Crawford III led the offense with 13 points.
He shot for 50% from field goal range including three buckets from behind the arc. Zyair Greene played his best game of the season coming off the bench and icing 12 points as the teams second leading scorer.
Greene went 4-for-6 from field goal range including going 3-for-4 from behind the arc. To round out the double-digit scoring Chapin Rierson knocked down 10 points.
Chism led the team in rebounds with 10 and was just one basket away from the double-double as he added eight points. To round out the rebounding effort Rierson, Sloan and Thomas all had five.
The Bobcats will take a break from conference play and travel to Kennesaw State University for an exhibition contest Saturday, Dec. 17. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and check out GCBobcats.com to follow along with the action.