GA Southern defeats Coastal Car 81-82
Thrilling Conference Win: GA Southern Edges Coastal Car 82-81
In a heart-stopping conference matchup, visiting team GA Southern outlasted host Coastal Car 82-81 at The HTC Center on Saturday night. The tightly contested battle showcased the talents of both teams, with each side trading blows throughout the contest.
The first half set the tone for the thrilling second half, as Coastal Car's AJ Dancler led all scorers with 22 points, including three three-pointers, to keep his team ahead 33-41 at halftime. Meanwhile, GA Southern's Spudd Webb paced his team with 14 points off the bench.
In the second half, both teams made significant adjustments to gain an edge. Coastal Car tried to slow down GA Southern's high-powered offense, but the visitors adapted and found ways to exploit their opponents' defensive lapses. Conversely, Coastal Car struggled with foul trouble, particularly on the interior, which allowed Alden Applewhite to dominate in the paint.
As the clock ticked down, the intensity reached a fever pitch. With 30 seconds remaining, Coastal Car's Joshua Beadle sank two free throws to tie the game at 79-79. However, GA Southern responded with consecutive three-pointers from Spudd Webb and Tyren Moore, respectively, to push their lead back up to five points.
Coastal Car refused to give up, as Dancler sank a deep three-pointer to cut the deficit down to two points with just over 10 seconds left. However, GA Southern's defense stiffened, forcing Beadle into a last-second shot that rimmed out, securing the win for Coastal Car.
The final box score revealed that both teams committed similar numbers of turnovers and steals but had stark differences in their field goal percentages (41% vs 37%) and free throw conversions (75% vs 78%).
In the end, GA Southern's clutch performance earned them a hard-fought conference victory. The win propels them forward in the standings as they look to continue their winning ways against upcoming opponents.
For Coastal Car, despite falling just short of capturing victory at home, they will take away valuable lessons from this battle, particularly regarding adjusting their defensive strategy and capitalizing on scoring opportunities.