Hawks beat Gordon State, will host semifinals and finals of championship tournament

The No. 2 seed South Georgia State College Hawks advanced to the GCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals Tuesday night with a 67-61 win over the No. 7 seed Gordon State Highlanders.

Jalen King led the Hawks with 15 points, followed by Jayce Moore with 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jordan Coffee and Bryce Brown each had 11 points. Brown had nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Hawks were held without a field goal in the first five minutes of the game, with the teams scoring a combined total of 18 points in the first 10 minutes. SGSC built a 23-8 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half and watched the Highlanders score 15 unanswered points over the next 4:30 to tie the game. The teams went into the halftime locker room tied 26-26.

SGSC shot 76.9 percent from the free throw line but struggled from long range, missing 13 three-point shots (18.8 percent).

Tuesday night’s win coupled with No. 8 East Georgia State’s 93-87 win over No. 1 Georgia Highlands means SGSC will host the GCAA semifinals and championship game this Friday and Saturday. The Hawks will play No. 3 South Georgia Tech in one semifinal with No. 5 Central Georgia Tech playing East Georgia State.

More information regarding the semifinal round and championship game will be announced by SGSC through the college’s website and all social media channels.