By Brackin Lambert
uscbathletics.com
It was almost a historic moment for USCB men’s basketball Saturday in The Cove, as the Sand Sharks were on the cusp of knocking off No. 10 North Georgia, but the Nighthawks narrowly escaped with an 84-82 overtime victory.
Qurahn Anderson led Beaufort with 18 points, while Kenney Gaines posted a career-high 16 points along with five boards. Larry Bulluck scored 15, and Shea Champine added 11.
USCB led for much of the first half, but the Nighthawks took a 25-22 lead before Beaufort reeled off an 11-0 run fueled by Anderson’s one-handed jam.
UNG battled back to tie it up at 34 heading into the break, and the aggressiveness picked up early in the second, as both teams picked up offsetting technical fouls. UNG held a four-point lead into the second media timeout of the half, but Anderson electrified the Frenzy with a posterizing jam off an assist from Bulluck, tying the game at 53.
Kyle Polce banked in a triple from the wing to give USCB a 61-58 lead, and Gaines followed with a pull-up jumper from the paint and then drained a triple for a six-point advantage.
The Nighthawks were able to tie it in the final seconds and the game went into overtime — the third overtime game this season for USCB — tied at 73. Gaines hit a triple to put Beaufort up 80-79 but UNG hit one of their own to make it 82-80 Night Hawks. Anderson dribbled through the defense and tied it at 82, but the Nighthawks went back to big man Frank Champion, who laid in the go-ahead basket and came up with a steal to help seal it.
A similar script played out Wednesday, as USCB let an eight-point second-half lead slip away in a 93-90 loss to Georgia College.
The Sand Sharks (10-12, 3-11) have lost five straight, with three of the defeats coming by four points or fewer, heading into a tough test at USC Aiken on Wednesday. USCB hosts Flagler at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for its final home game of the season.
