Zaquavian Smith had 27 points, three other players scored in double digits, and a late first half run that broke the game open allowed the South Georgia State College Hawks to roll to a 103-63 win over Combine Academy-Orlando Saturday.
It was a defensive struggle in the first 11 minutes, as the Hawks (8-2) found themselves in a 15-15 tie with nine minutes left until halftime. A 16-2 run over the next 4:30 broke the game open, giving the Hawks a 31-17 lead. SGSC would eventually outscore Combine Academy 26-8 over the final nine minutes of the half to take an 18-point lead into the locker room.
Combine Academy managed to trim the lead to 16 points in the second half before the Hawks pulled away. The win avenges a 76-65 road loss to Florida State College Jacksonville Nov. 30.
Of the eight regular season wins thus far, seven of them have seen the opponent keep things close. The Hawks have generated a scoring run each time to build a significant lead.
“I would credit those kinds of runs to our defensive pressure and our ability to shoot,” said head coach Cory Baldwin. “Also, we had balanced scoring today, which is another plus.”
In addition to Smith, Jordan Young finished with 20 points, and Nate Louis had 14 points. McKinley Chambless rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points.
The Hawks are in the middle of a four-game homestand, which continues Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. against USC-Salkehatchie. USC-Salkehatchie gave the Hawks their first loss of the season, winning 98-95 in Allendale, S.C. Florida State College Jacksonville comes to Waycross Saturday, Dec. 17 for a 4 p.m. tip.
“We have two big tests coming up at home, and both are going to allow us to find out a lot about ourselves,” said Baldwin.
General admission to all regular season home games is five dollars with children five and under admitted free.
– Submitted