The Georgia Southwestern men's basketball team cut a 15-point second half deficit down to six before falling, 62-54, to Columbus State in the Storm Dome on Saturday evening.

CSU trailed only once during the entire contest - that coming at the 15:10 mark of the first half as the Hurricanes took an 8-7 lead. The Cougars re-took the lead after that, but could not pull away. Their biggest lead was their final lead of the half as a Chris Telesford jumper made it 29-22 with 21 seconds left.

An 8-0 run to start the second half gave CSU a 37-22 lead with 17:36 left and would be the biggest lead of the night for the Cougars. CSU kept a double-digit lead for much of the next 15 minutes, but the Hurricanes would not go away.

Trailing 58-44 with 2:41 to play, GSW pulled themselves back into contention with a 7-0 run over the following one minute and 38 seconds, capped by a converted three-point play from Chris Rawls. After Brandon Bland knocked down a pair of free throws for Columbus State, Ric Roderick drained a three-pointer for Southwestern with 29 seconds left to cut the margin to just six at 60-54. The Hurricanes would not get another basket, however, and two Bryant Thomas free-throws put the finishing touches on the win for CSU with 14 seconds left.

Rawls led GSW with game-highs in points (17) and boards (11) for his fourth double-double of the season. Marcus Scott added 16 points, on 6-of-11 shooting, and eight rebounds, while Evan Mobley added 12 points. The Hurricanes held a 38-36 advantage in rebounds, but shot just 28 percent in the second half and 31 percent overall.

Telesford led Columbus State (9-7, 3-4 PBC) with 13 points and eight rebounds. Lamar Williams added 11 points, while CSU got 10 points each from Donta Ridley and Brandon Bland. The Cougars shot 46 percent in the second half to finish at 43 percent overall.

The Hurricanes (5-12, 1-6) host No. 6 Augusta State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

PICTURED: Sedale McGee-Jones

PHOTO BY: Chris Fenn