ST. AUGUSTINE – No. 25 (NABC Division II Top 25) Flagler College got a combined 42 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists from its backcourt duo of
Jaizec Lottie and
Derrick Ellis, Jr. in a 69-59 win over the University of North Georgia in a Peach Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game Tuesday night at Flagler Gymnasium.
Flagler improved to 22-6 overall and North Georgia wraps up its season with a 14-14 record. Flagler, the No. 2 seed, will face No. 6 Lander University on Friday at Augusta, Georgia. Lander knocked off the No. 3 seed Georgia College 83-79.
"I loved what I saw from our team tonight," said head coach
Chad Warner. "I thought we competed and defended well. March basketball is usually going to come down to those that."
After trailing for most of the first 10 minutes of the game, the Saints rallied behind an 18-5 run midway through the first half to take control of the game. Lottie capped the run with a driving layup with 2:45 left to go and gave Flagler a 29-19 lead.
The Saints took a 32-23 lead into the half.
Flagler held a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. The Saints shot a red-hot 60.9 percent from the field in the second half.
Lottie led all scorers with 25 points and he added eight rebounds to his line. Ellis, Jr. supplied 17 points, a game high seven assists and five rebounds.
Jalen Barr grabbed a game high 12 rebounds and blocked three shots.
The Saints dominated inside outscoring the Nighthawks 44-20.
Kody Shubert, Malik Hardy, and Eric Jones each tallied 11 points for North Georgia. Frank Champion finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
North Georgia was limited to 32.3 percent shooting from the field.
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