(DAHLONEGA) – Cayden Charles scored a season-high 21 points to lead five Nighthawks in double figures as the No. 6 University of North Georgia men’s basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 92-75 Peach Belt Conference win over USC Beaufort on Saturday afternoon at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center.
AJ White and Frank Champion each pitched in with 18 points while Giancarlo Bastianoni added 17. Greg Billups, Jr. added 14 points and eight rebounds.
With his 13th point of the evening, Champion became UNG’s all-time career leading scorer as the junior now has 1,482 career points, passing Shaquan Cantrell (1,477) for the top spot on the list.
Champion and Charles rounded out double-doubles as both pulled down 10 rebounds while White dished out eight assists. Charles connected on 12-of-14 attempts from the free throw line.
The Nighthawks scored the game’s first five points and would lead all 40 minutes of the contest. North Georgia led by as many as 20 before a Sand Shark three in the final seconds brought the game to its final score.
Larry Bulluck led USC Beaufort (9-5, 2-4 PBC) with 18 points, all of which came from behind the three-point line.
North Georgia wraps up the two-game home stand on Wednesday, Jan. 24 when Georgia Southwestern comes to town for Spirit Night. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
Single game tickets for all home UNG basketball games are available at UNGAthletics.com/Tickets – $10 general admission, $7 seniors (65+), $7 students (middle and high school) and $7 military. Admission is free to all UNG students, faculty and staff using the Campus Groups app on their phone. Ticketing to UNG Athletics events is fully digital as no cash is accepted. Admission is free to all elementary school-aged children (fifth grade & under).
A full slate of spirit activities is scheduled in advance of Wednesday’s game including a new tailgating option for Nighthawk fans that opens at 3:30 p.m. in the Alumni House lot adjacent to the UNG Convocation Center.
