AMERICUS, Ga. –
Jaizec Lottie scored a game-high 23 points as No. 17 (NABC Division II Top 25) Flagler College held off Georgia Southwestern State University 72-69 in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at the Storm Dome.
Flagler extended its winning streak to nine games and improved to 19-3 overall and 12-1 in the Peach Belt. Georgia Southwestern fell to 9-12 overall and 5-8 in conference play.
"I thought our guys were very resilient tonight," said head coach
Chad Warner. "Those types of games force you to come together and trust each other or splinter apart and fold. I thought both teams hung in there all night. Every win on the road is a gut check."
Flagler ran out to a 13-2 lead, but wound up trailing Georgia Southwestern at the half, 39-37. Outside of the early stages of the game, the score remained close. In the second half alone, there were eight ties and seven lead changes.
A layup by Lottie with 1:49 left to go gave the Saints a 68-66 lead.
The key play came with 29 seconds left as Kevin Kone had his layup attempt blocked by
Jalen Barr, which forced the Hurricanes to foul, and they sent Lottie to the line with 18 seconds left on the clock. Lottie sank both free throws to extend Flagler's lead to 70-66.
Jaconie Archie drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc with eight seconds left to pull Georgia Southwestern to within one (70-69).
Lottie was fouled with seven seconds to go and he sank both free throw attempts, which gave the Saints a 72-69 lead.
Archie had almost the same look as his previous trey with one second left, but the ball caromed off the back of the rim.
Chase Fiddler added 11 points for the Saints while
Chris Metzger and
Kohl Roberts each tallied 10 points. Barr corralled a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with nine points and two blocked shots.
The Saints forced 16 Hurricane turnovers, which led to 24 points.
Jarrett Adderton led Georgia Southwestern with a game high 28 points. Dontevius Tatum added 16 points and seven rebounds coming off the bench.
Flagler remains on the road and will face USC Aiken on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
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