WALESKA, Ga. – For the fourth time this season, the Thomas University Men's basketball had to battle back from a double-digit deficit to keep a contest close, but critical miscues in the final minute cost the Night Hawks a chance to win, falling to William Carey 63-60 Friday night at the James & Sis Brown Athletic Center.
 
Thomas (5-5, 1-2 SUN) finished the night with more shot opportunities from the field (67-62), but struggled to convert from long range, shooting 6-for-25 (24%). 
 
One silver lining for the Green & White came in the form of a double-double from Tim Williamson, as the senior Guard picked up his fourth, straight double-digit performance with 17 points along with 11 rebounds.  The double-double was the Augusta, Ga. native's first as a Night Hawk.
 
William Carey (4-2, 1-1 SSAC) set the tone of the contest by jumping out to a 7-0 lead before Thomas responded with five unanswered points.  The Night Hawks would see its first lead with 11:47 left in the first half when Senior Guard Toriano Lewis canned a go-ahead trey to give TU a 12-11 advantage.
 
The game would remain tight as both teams exchanged baskets, but after a made 3-Ptr. from Graduate Guard Reggie Wright at the 5:23 mark made the score line 24-23 in favor of William Carey, the Crusaders answered with a 10-0 scoring run in a two-minute span to give the Crimson & White its first double-digit lead of the night.  WCU would ultimately head into the locker room holding a 39-31 lead.
 
The first 4:25 of the second half proved to be a quiet one, as the five points scored in that span came from the Crusaders that gave them its largest lead of the game (44-31).
 
After WCU's Sayveon Bumpers "bumped" up the Crusaders' lead to 11 (47-36) with 13:30 remaining, Thomas' defense went in full effect, not allowing a single point for nearly the next seven minutes while posting 11 unanswered points to tie the game 47-47.
 
The deadlock would not last long, as the Crusaders quickly went back up by as many as six points before the Night Hawks would tie the score again (57-57) in the waning moments of the contest.
 
The Night Hawks would finally see its second lead of the day at the 1:46 mark when Senior Guard Jordan Booker would go 1-for-2 on a free-throw set that put up Thomas 58-57.  While the Crusaders made a jump shot on its next possession, Booker would take the lead back with a layup to head into the final minute with a 60-59 advantage.
 
Once again, William Carey hit a go-ahead jumper (61-60) with 45 seconds left, but a costly turnover by Thomas led to another basket for the Crusaders to extend its slim lead to 63-60.  On the ensuing position, Lewis attempted to tie the game with a 3-pt. shot but missed, forcing TU a pick up a quick foul with four seconds.
 
As both teams played fairly clean the entire night, Thomas was fortunate to give up a few fouls late in the final seconds to buy the team another shot to extend the contest.  With two seconds remaining, WCU's Dajon Whitworth missed a game-clinching 1-and-1, giving the Night Hawks one last gasp to deliver the game's equalizing bucket, but the team's efforts were negated by a foul, ultimately preserving the Crusaders' 63-60 win.
 
TU by the Numbers
2:        Players scoring double digits
3:        Players shooting 40% or better
4:        Games Thomas tied the contest after trailing by double-digits
6:        Games the Night Hawks have made 10 or more Free Throws
31:      Team Rebounds (tying second-highest on season)
60:      Points Scored
 
The Night Hawks will look to bounce back against the University of Mobile Saturday, with tipoff slated for 1 p.m.
 
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