CARROLLTON, Ga.-Last month at Canale Arena, West Georgia built a huge first-half lead and the Christian Brothers University Bucs rallied within one point in the second half, losing by three points. Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the VisitSpaceCoast.com Gulf South Conference Championships, the teams followed a nearly identical pattern, with the host Wolves building a 19-point first-half lead, the Bucs coming within one point in the second half, and the second-seeded Wolves advancing to the semifinals with an 85-82 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED:• After the teams traded baskets early, the Wolves (20-8) used a 13-2 run to open a 20-11 lead on an Ivan Saicic layup with 11:32 remaining in the first half.
• After the Bucs (12-17) came within seven points, UWG answered with a 16-4 run to take a 45-26 lead on a Keron Briggs triple with 2:05 remaining in the half.
• CBU began its comeback quickly, with
Cody Garbuzinski (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) scoring a layup and a three-pointer before halftime to cut the deficit to 46-33. After the first eight minutes of the second half saw the lead fluctuate between 12 and 17 points, the Bucs began their comeback in earnest on a
Jack Hummel (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade HS) jumper with 12:23, sparking a quick 7-0 burst that brought the Bucs within eight points at 63-55 on a
Drew Hildreth (Memphis, Tenn./Bolton HS) triple with 10:35 remaining.
• An
Alex Trentman (Alexandria, Ky./Bishop Brossart HS) triple sparked an 8-0 burst, capped by another Hildreth trey that brought the Bucs within a 73-69 deficit with 5:46 remaining.
• The Bucs' final charge came in the game's final minute, after a Steph Branch free throw had given the Wolves an 83-78 edge with 1:30 to play. First, Hildreth drew a foul and sank both free throws with 40 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 83-80. After CBU fouled, the Wolves missed their second straight front end of a 1-and-1.
Jordan Miller (Fulton, Ky./Fulton City HS) drew a foul on the rebound and sank both free throws with 31 seconds remaining to bring the Bucs within an 83-82 margin, and UWG threw away the inbounds pass.
• Miller's turnaround jumper that tie missed with 17 seconds remaining, and Branch grabbed the rebound and sank both free throws with 15 seconds remaining. Larkin's three-pointer missed as time expired, giving UWG the 85-82 victory.
KEY STATS:• Hildreth scored 23 points with four rebounds in his final game, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also grabbed four rebounds.
• Larkin scored 18 with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Miller scored 14 points with four rebounds and three assists.
• Trentman notched 11 with three rebounds and three assists.
• The Bucs shot 50 percent (30-of-60) for the game, including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from beyond the arc. CBU shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) in the second half despite missing their final four shots of the game, also shooting 60 percent (6-of-10) from three-point range.
• UWG was 51.7 percent (30-of-58) overall, including 50 percent (10-of-20) from three-point range.
• The Wolves out-rebounded CBU 34-27, including a 13-8 edge in offensive rebounds, but they committed 11 turnovers to the Bucs' nine.
