Junior guard AJ White’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the University of North Georgia men’s basketball team a victory over Lander at home Monday night. This game was the first matchup between the conference opponents since last year’s Sweet 16, which the Nighthawks also won by three points.
The first half started anything but pretty for UNG, missing their first seven shots while committing six turnovers in the first six minutes of the game. Trailing 10-0, a layup by freshman forward Zack Hawkinson got the scoring started for the home team.
The Nighthawks found their way back into the game with a 9-2 run, including seven points off the bench from senior guard Sutton Smith. The Lander lead was cut to just one before the Bearcats went on an 8-0 run capped off by their eighth three-pointer of the half. The halftime score was 36-27 in Lander’s favor.
Trailing by nine, the Nighthawks looked completely different coming out of halftime thanks to junior guard Cayden Charles. Charles finished with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds, with 15 of those points coming in the second half.
“All it came down to was just playing my game. My teammates and coaches believe in me and that makes it easy to play freely and with confidence. I was able to find my spots and score efficiently,” Charles said.
Defensively, the game plan came together, only allowing 23 points in the second half.
“Truthfully, there were no real adjustments made; we just executed our game plan more efficiently,” Charles said. “We were in each other’s gaps, communicating, and overall, just had five guys sync with each other. Guys like Jojo Peterson, Chase[Champion] and Colin[Turner] really gave us the boost that we needed defensively, especially in that second half.”
With 8:26 to go, a Charles jump shot gave UNG their first lead of the game, which the team held for almost eight minutes. Late baskets from junior center Colin Turner and junior guard AJ White, who both ended in double figures, put the team up six. Back-to-back Lander 3-pointers, including forward Noah Dunn’s with 5 seconds left, tied the game at 59.
Coach Dan Evans then took a timeout with 5.1 seconds left on the clock, hoping to give his team one last shot.
White took the ball up the court and launched from way behind the arc as time expired, banking the ball off the backboard and through the hoop. The bank shot heard around Dahlonega sent the student section into a frenzy and gave the Nighthawks the 62-59 win.
“The main thing was just to get me the ball to try and make a play. The original goal was to get the rim, but I just took the first available shot to me. I felt it as soon as I let it go that it was going in. I have probably hit five buzzer-beaters in my life, but that was my first in college, and it felt good.” – AJ White, UNG junior guard
White’s late-game heroics improve UNG’s record to 12-5 and a solid 4-1 in the Peach Belt Conference. The junior trio of White, Charles and Turner combined for 47 out of the teams 62 points.
A trip to Bluffton, South Carolina marks the next game on the calendar as the team takes on PBC opponent USC Beaufort on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
