The South Georgia State College Hawks punched their ticket to the GCAA semifinals Tuesday night with an 84-69 win over the South Georgia Tech Jets.
Carlos Hart led all scorers with 28 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Kyric Davis had 10 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. Justin Edmondson also finished with 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, and had four assists.
SGSC shot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half but only made one three-pointer and shot 50 percent from the free throw line. There were two ties and five lead changes in the first 20 minutes, with the Hawks holding on to a 34-32 lead at halftime.
The Hawks quickly built a double-digit lead to open the second half and led by as many as 18 points late in the game.
SGSC held South Georgia Tech to 37.5 percent shooting for the game and forced a total of 25 turnovers.
The GCAA Tournament moves to Rome, Ga. for the semifinals and championship game as top seed Georgia Highlands defeated No. 8 Gordon State 87-64. In the other two quarterfinal games, No. 5 Central Georgia Tech defeated No. 4 Andrew College 63-58, and No. 3 Albany Tech defeated No. 6 East Georgia State 70-61.
SGSC will play Albany Tech in the semifinal round Friday, March 11 for the chance to play in the championship game on Saturday. The winner of the GCAA Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., later this month.