Monday evening the University of West Georgia traveled to the University of Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide in an exhibition game. By all accounts this game was hugely favored by the Tide. The Wolves are coming off a sub par season going 9-18 over all with a 6-12 conference record while the Tide finished the year 23-13 with a 12-6 conference record. Also note that the Tide reached the quarterfinals in the NIT. With all these stats on the table West Georgia took the court against The Crimson Tide in Coleman Coliseum and fought till the last buzzer sounded. When it was all said and done the Wolves fell to the Tide by a score of 65-64 in OT. The game was almost a lock for the Wolves in regulation when West Ga’s Zach Taulien hit a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left on the clock. Tough luck would have a costly foul against the Wolves on the ensuing Tide possession which sent Trevor Releford to the free throw line and resulted in the contest going to overtime. Ultimately The Tide were able to hold off a last minute surge from the Wolves in OT and avoided a huge upset. Though the Wolves had a chance to win but could not pull the trigger, this loss is not necessarily a loss. Coming off a losing season, this near victory against a Division I program can be seen as a bright spot. If the Wolves can play each game this season at a caliber that can force a quality SEC basketball team into overtime, West Georgia should bode well in the GSC conference schedule. The Wolves have a four day break before heading to Puerto Rico on the 8th of November for the Mayaguez Classic.
You can check out live stats for all the upcoming games at uwgsports.com and listen to all the home action live at westga.edu/thewolf.
