COCHRAN, Ga. – The Thomas University Men's basketball team played another contest that would come down to the last minutes, and for the second straight game, the Night Hawks pulled off a hard-fought win, defeating Middle Georgia State 63-59 in overtime Tuesday night at Morris Gym.
 
TU (3-1) saw a different tone of basketball compared to the previous contests they played, as the team was caught in a defensive battle against the Knights (1-1).  The Night Hawks limited MGA to under 33% from the floor, as the Purple & Black took 58 shot attempts.  At the free-throw line, Thomas converted 20 of 27 shots.
 
For the first time in the TJ Rines era, Thomas kept Middle Georgia below 30 points scored in both halves.  Additionally, Thomas matched its fewest turnovers count under Rines, only giving away possession nine times on the night.
 
Senior Tim Williamson came off the bench to lead the Night Hawks in scoring with 12 on the night, also notching seven boards and six assists while going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. Senior Guards Justin Figueroa and Toriano Lewis tallied 12 and 13 points, respectively. 
 
Within the first three and a half minutes of the game, Middle Georgia State set the tone the same way it did last year against Thomas: jumping out to a three-possession lead.  The Knights' 12-4 lead would be the team's largest of the night before TU would tie the contest at 20 in time with a 16-8 scoring run that spanned a little over eight minutes.  The Night Hawks took its first lead of the night at the 6:34 mark, when Lewis canned a shot from outside the perimeter to put Thomas up 23-20.
 
After MGA's Tyler Willoughby scored on a layup to cut TU's lead to two (28-26), the Night Hawks spent the final 3:53 of the half shutting down the Knights' offense, allowing only one made 3-ptr. before heading into intermission with a 33-29 lead.
 
Middle Georgia's defense came out solid in the second, limiting the Night Hawks to just 21 second-half points.  Thomas was unable to restart its shooting from outside the arch, going 0-for-11 in the half.  Nevertheless, both teams kept within six points of each other the entire 20-minute period.  With the contest tied at 52, a critical MGA turnover gave the Night Hawks possession with three seconds remaining in regulation.  As the ball was inbounded to Senior Guard Jordan Booker, the Powder Springs, Ga. native drove up the court on a wide angle while being pressed, forcing Booker out of bounds to give MGA the ball back with just under two seconds left.  Luckily for the Night Hawks, the Knights missed its golden chance to steal the win, as Dayreontae Foster could not convert on a layup, thus sending the game into overtime.
 
In the extra period, it took two minutes and four seconds before the first basket was scored, a 3-ptr. from Williamson before MGA would respond with their own made 3-ptr. to keep the score line deadlocked (57-57).
 
A TU foul with 1:56 left gave Foster a second chance to retake the lead and potentially come away with a win from the free-throw line, but the sophomore missed both shots, keeping the Night Hawks alive in the contest. 
 
Nineteen seconds later, Willoughby converted the go-ahead jumper for Middle Georgia before Lewis nailed a critical 3-ptr. from the nearside court to put Thomas up 60-59 with 64 seconds remaining.  A missed jumper by Tristan Harper on the next possession forced the Knights to foul, giving Williamson the opportunity to add two more points to the stat sheet and TU's lead (62-59).  A final 3-pt. attempt from Juwan Johnson bounced off the front iron as the Night Hawks picked up the defensive rebound and drew another foul.  Williamson would add one more for TU to ice the 63-59 win.
 
TU by the Numbers
3:        Straight games with a critical 3-ptr. made in the first half's final minute
4:        Overall wins against Middle Georgia State
9:        Team Turnovers
10:      Lead Changes in the game
16:      Forced Turnovers
31:      Team Rebounds
59:      Points Allowed
63:      Points Scored
 
The Night Hawks are back on the court Monday for the team's home opener against Brewton-Parker College.  Tipoff at TU Gymnasium is set for 6 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on games and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU men's basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMBKB.