(HARROGATE, Tenn.) — The 14th-ranked North Georgia men’s basketball team went into halftime trailing No. 22 Lincoln Memorial 43-36, but rallied to tie the game at 77-77, force overtime and eventually take down the Railsplitters 89-83 on the road Tuesday in non-conference action. The North Georgia victory snapped the Railsplitters’ national-best 63-game home winning streak in B. Frank “Tex” Turner Arena.
The Nighthawks (9-1) had four players score in double figures, led by AJ White, who had 25 points and two steals. Frank Champion tacked on a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds and Eric Jones pitched in with 14 points and two steals. Giancarlo Bastianoni came off the bench to add 12 points on an efficient 5-of-8 from the floor.
Champion added game highs in assists (8) and steals (5).
The Railsplitters raced out to 12-2 lead to open the game and would lead by as many as 13 (24-11) only to see UNG fight back to a one-possession game with less than two minutes remaining. A 7-2 LMU run to close the half sent the Railsplitters to the locker room with a 43-36 lead.
White canned UNG’s first three-pointer of the contest to open the second half while the North Georgia defense held LMU without a field goal for the first 5:15 as the Nighthawks stretched their lead to seven (50-43). The two teams would trade runs for the remainder of the half with LMU holding a four-point advantage (75-71) with just 1:52 remaining. After getting fouled on a three-point attempt, White calmly canned all three free throws to send the contest to an extra period with just three seconds left.
North Georgia then took care of business in overtime, outscoring Lincoln Memorial 12-6 to seize victory by the 89-83 final score. Consecutive dunks by Eric Jones tied the game and eventually gave UNG the lead for good in overtime.
It was the first home loss for Lincoln Memorial (7-4) since March of 2019.
The win improves North Georgia to 9-1 overall as the Nighthawks return to action on Jan. 3 when the Nighthawks open Peach Belt Conference play with a 7:30 p.m. start against Clayton State at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center.
