SAVANNAH, Ga. – C.J. Wilson scored 27 points while Isaiah Johnson added 20 more as Young Harris College tipped off its Peach Belt Conference opener with a 80-77 men's basketball victory over Armstrong State University Thursday (Dec. 18) evening at Alumni Arena.
The Mountain Lions, who were playing their first game in nearly three weeks, improved to 4-3 overall and to 1-0 in the Peach Belt while the Pirates fell to 2-6 and 0-2. Young Harris continues its road trip with a 3:30 p.m. league contest Saturday (Dec. 20) against Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida.
"It was a hard-fought win on the road tonight," said Young Harris head coach Pete Herrmann. "C.J. and Isaiah were key for us down the stretch."
Young Harris wasted little time as they took a 9-1 lead on a Johnson layup with 18:03 remaining. The Mountain Lions expanded their lead to 11 points (34-23) on an old-fashioned three-point play by Bjorn Walker with 5:43 left before taking a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
The Mountain Lions took a 51-43 lead on a three-pointer by Wilson, who was 8-of-13 from the field, with 15:45 left in the game. However, the Pirates used a 13-4 run to take their first lead of the contest (63-61) on a three-point basket by Shema Sabiiti with 6:53 remaining.
Young Harris regained the lead less than a minute later when Walker nailed a three-pointer. With the game tied at 67 with 3:59 left, Johnson, who sat the majority of the second half with four fouls, re-entered the game and proceeded to score the next five points for Young Harris, building a 72-69 lead with 1:36 left.
Young Harris pushed that lead to six (76-70) on two free throws by Wilson with 22 seconds left, but the Pirates rallied, getting baskets by senior Emmanuel Tiluscar and Jonathan Blair in a 10-second span to cut the lead to three. Wilson made two free throws, but Tiluscar answered with a three to cut the lead to two (79-77) with 13 seconds remaining.
Wilson made one of two free throws with 2.4 seconds to give Young Harris an 80-77 lead. The Pirates had a last ditch chance to tie, but junior Trey Suttles' three-pointer from 35 feet out hit off the right rim and preserved the win for Young Harris.
Johnson, who was 8-of-14 from the field, added five rebounds while Herdie Lawrence added 12 points for the Mountain Lions. Kevin Altidor tossed in 10 points and six rebounds in the win.
Tiluscar led the Pirates with 24 points while Blair and Shaquiell Mitchell each contributed 12 and Suttles added 11 points.
