AMERICUS, Ga. – The Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks men's basketball team (1-3) battled the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes (5-0) on Monday night at The Storm Dome, but the Hurricanes pulled away late to earn a 94-78 victory in a non-conference matchup.

Despite being down by 10 early in the second half, the Warhawks rallied and pulled to within two points – at 68-66 with 7:16 to go – before Georgia Southwestern used a 17-5 run over a five-minute span to take control and pull away for the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
AUM scored the opening basket of the game, but Georgia Southwestern went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead in the first two-plus minutes. The Warhawks closed to within 9-7, but the Hurricanes made another 12-4 burst to open up a 21-11 lead in the middle part of the half.

The Warhawks slowly closed the gap over the next 10 minutes, pulling to within 41-38 with 1:44 to go before halftime. However, GSW scored five of the final seven points of the half to take a 46-40 lead into the break.

AUM made 14 of its 29 shots (48.3 percent) in the first half, including going 4-of-5 (80 percent) from 3-point range. GSW outrebounded the Warhawks, 20-7, but AUM forced the Hurricanes into 10 turnovers (leading to 15 points) while only committing four of its own. Chappelle Whitney led AUM with nine points. Elhadji Thiam and Marius Canery had seven points apiece, and the duo of Colby Williams and Jamarious Martin tossed in six points each for the Warhawks.

Georgia Southwestern was 18-for-30 (60 percent) from the field in the first half, making five of its nine 3-point shots (55.6 percent). The Hurricanes were paced by Markel Freeman, who scored 13 points. Amir Reaves had nine, and two players – J.R. Jacobs and Deonte Williams – chipped in eight points apiece for the Hurricanes in the opening 20 minutes.

Second Half
A layup by Williams got AUM back to within 46-42 in the opening minute of the second half, but a 6-0 run by GSW pushed the Hurricanes' advantage back out to 52-42 with 16:45 remaining. The Warhawks chipped away at the Hurricanes' lead before back-to-back 3-pointers by Canery and Max Ogbalet-Ndiaye made it 68-66 GSW with 7:16 left.

However, the Hurricanes went on an 8-1 run to stretch their lead out to 76-67 after a pair of free throws by Reaves with 4:16 left. Less than 30 seconds later, Devin Barksdale sank a free throw to close GSW's lead to 76-71 with 3:55 to go, but the Hurricanes scored the next nine points to open up an 85-71 lead with 2:11 remaining before cruising to the win from there.

NOTABLES
- AUM finished the game 27-for-58 from the field overall (46.6 percent), including a scorching 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Warhawks made 11 of their first 12 shots from beyond the arc in the game. AUM made 11 of its 19 free throws (57.9 percent), had seven turnovers, and lost the rebounding battle, 36-14.
- Barksdale led AUM with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-for-4 on 3-pointers. Canery had 14 points, two assists and two steals, Whitney finished with 12 points, two assists, two rebounds, and two steals, and Thiam (three rebounds) and Williams (four rebounds, two steals) added eight points apiece for the Warhawks, who had seven players score six points or more in the game.
- Georgia Southwestern was 31-for-53 (58.5 percent) from the field, making 10 of its 20 3-point shots (50 percent). The Hurricanes went 22-for-28 (78.6 percent) at the free-throw line and had 14 turnovers, only four of which came after halftime.
- Jacobs had a game-high 27 points and six assists to lead the Hurricanes' offensive attack, which saw five players reach double figures. Freeman had 20 points, four rebounds, and two assists, Reaves netted 18, three rebounds and three assists, Williams filled the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and two steals, and Matthew Webster pitched in 12 points, nine rebounds, and two assists in the win.

UP NEXT
AUM is back in action Tuesday, as the Warhawks take on Florida Tech (0-4) at Georgia Southwestern in Americus, Ga. Tipoff at The Storm Dome is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT. 

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