Hot start not enough for CSU men in loss at Young Harris
In a Peach Belt Conference West Division showdown, the Columbus State University men’s basketball team fell 90-79 to Young Harris on Wednesday. The PBC contest took place inside the YHC Basketball Arena in Young Harris, Ga.
CSU dropped to 10-3 overall and 3-3 inside PBC play. The Mountain Lions are 5-0 in the conference and 11-3 overall.
“This was a back-and-forth game, and Young Harris turned it on at the right time,” commented head coach Robert Moore. “We knew that YHC is one of the top teams in the conference and we just have to play more consistently.
“If we play at our highest level on a consistent basis, we have all the talent to accomplish what we want to. We have to figure it out and get a road win this Saturday.”
The game saw 15 lead changes and was tight throughout. With under nine to play and Young Harris up 68-62, Darius Joell capped off a steal with a fastbreak layup to cut the margin to four. However, the Mountain Lions found a different gear over the next three minutes going on a 15-2 run to go in front 83-66 and put the game away.
CSU was able to cut the margin to single digits once in the final seconds before two YHC free throws ended the game’s scoring.
JaCori Payne scored 25 for the second consecutive game to lead the Cougars. The junior was 10-for-16 from the field while making five 3s, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Joell scored 21 for the Cougars with Marcus Dixon grabbing a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The Cougars shot 47.1 percent (33-for-70) overall and went 8-for-21 from three (38.1 percent). CSU went to the line just seven times hitting five of its attempts.
YHC shot worse from the field (44 percent) and beyond the arc (29.4 percent) than the Cougars. However, the Mountain Lions were 19-for-28 (67.9 percent) from the free-throw line and outrebounded CSU 48-37. YHC turned 23 offensive rebounds into 33 second chance points.
Columbus State started off the game hot, racing out to an 18-5 lead just over five minutes into the game. CSU scored 11 of the first 14 points as Payne and Dixon paced the Cougar offense. Payne had five of the 11, while Dixon added the other six.
The Cougars lead remained at 10 almost midway through the first half until a quick 10-0 run from YHC tied the game at 20 with seven to play in the half.
In the final 90 seconds of the first half, the lead changed hands three times with Young Harris taking a 38-35 advantage into the break after scoring the final five points.
After the break, the game remained very close as the margin stayed under five for the first 10 minutes of the half. Four straight points from Antonio Bishop pushed the Cougars ahead 48-45 at the 16-minute mark. YHC quickly responded with a three and a jumper to regain the lead as CSU was never in front the rest of the way.
Columbus State will be back in action at Lander on Saturday in Greenwood, S.C. Tipoff will be at 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 7:35 AM with the headline "Hot start not enough for CSU men in loss at Young Harris."