UNG Bows Out In Evansville
Nighthawks Fall To West Texas A&M By A 90-76 Count
Coach Dan Evans' UNG Men's basketball team lost to the Buffaloes of West Texas A&M on Tuesday in Evansville in the first round of the Elite Eight of Division 2 NCAA.
UNG slogged through a slow start, made worse by two quick fouls charged to star forward Frank Champion. The Nighthawks had weathered a similar predicament one week earlier in the qualifying round. On that occasion, Champion's teammates were able to use an effective inside game to push past his absence and carve out a halftime lead.
Not so this time around. West Texas built their lead as high as 17 in the early first half, largely on the strenth of impressive 3 -point shooting by guard Zach Toussaint. He hit 4 of 5 from 3 point land to lead all scorers with 16 at the half.
UNG had less luck from distance, going only 2 of 10 in the first half . Still the Nighthawks were able to whittle the deficit down to 12 at the half.
The main culprit was poor first- half shooting– UNG hit only 34% of their field goal attempts. Meanwhile, the guys from West Texas were more on target, with a 48% field goal percentage including 7 of 20 from long distance. The main culprit for the Buffaloes was guard Zach Toussaint who was 4 of 5 on three pointers to help his 16 point first half total.
West Texas saw their lead drop to 12 at halftime and early in the second half, North Georgia looked like a different team. On the strength of better shooting they climbed back into the game, taking a 2 point lead with about 11 minutes left. They were unable to build on that lead though, and West Texas came back on the strength if 12 of 13 free throw shooting in the second half.
The Nighthawks' Frank Champion came back to score a team leading 19 for the game, but it was not enough as the Buffs pulled away over the final several minutes for the 14 point final margin.
Post- game UNG Coach Dan Evans lamented the big hole his team has encountered at the game's outset.
But he emphasized the positive big picture, saying the outcome ".. doesn't take away from what we've accomplished or from what we're building."
Senior guard Hunter Shedenhelm added," This all started in the summer and that's why we fight so hard– that's how we are trained."
His coach agreed saying the entire year had "... taught me a lot about resilience."
His team made UNG school history with their late season run, and he expects most of his roster back for next year. Many onlookers, including West Texas Coach Tom Brown, were impressed with Evans' troops and it would not be a surprise to see them back in Evansville in 2025.
Patrick Conarro RamblinSports.com