Tigers Rally to Knock Off Gordon State 70-66; Williamson Shines

CUTHBERT, Ga. -- The Andrew College men's basketball team overcame a four point halftime deficit, then withstood a flurry of late 3's, to defeat Gordon State College 70-66 in the Jinks Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. With 68-66 lead and 2.9 seconds left on the clock Jalin Wimberly calmly made two free throws to seal the Tigers 19th win of the season (19-7), and improved their Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) record to 7-5. The Tigers sit one-half game behind Gordon for the final spot to host a home playoff game with four games to go, and just one full game behind South Ga. Tech for the #3 seed. Every victory continues to shatter the program record for wins in a season, they are now just one win away from the first 20-win season in men's basketball history, and moved closer to hosting a first-ever home playoff game.

Freshman Tim Williamson, normally a distributer of the ball, picked a big time to pour in his career high and team high in points with 15 in the win. He also added 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and just one turnover. Kristian Collins and Moses Jones each pumped in 14 points, Collins adding 6 boards and a pair of assists, while Jones had 3 rebounds and 3 steals, Wimberly had his 5th double-double of the season, scoring 10 points, pulling down 10 boards and dished out 5 assists, Marcus Kirkland added 8 points and 4 boards, and Jordan Booker chipped in with 6 points and 4 assists.

Head Coach Justin Newton commented, "It's not often you shoot only 45 times in a 40 minute game and win, especially when they shot 64 times, including 31 threes. However, we both made 25 baskets, holding them to just 39%, while we made 55% of our shots, making this game won at the free throw line, where we made 19 of 26 (73.1%). Terrific defense, getting on the glass, balance in the offense, and making your free throws from beginning to end. That's the way we want to play. And they did. Just a big, big team win."

The Tigers are back in Jinks on Wednesday night against East Georgia State at 7;30 pm. East Georgia knocked off Andrew 79-75 in Swainsboro earlier this year.