Eagles remain hot with close home win over Gordon State, 67-65

SMYRNA, Ga. – Chattahoochee Tech survived a late rally from Gordon State to come away with a 67-65 victory at the Smyrna Community Center on Wednesday night. The Golden Eagles (19-5, 7-5), who led by as many as eight points after going up 53-45, picked up the GCAA win thanks in large part to a late put-back by Carl Washington off a missed free throw, pushing the lead to 67-64 with under a minute to play.
The Highlanders (12-11, 5-7) had a chance to tie with 4.7 seconds left after Chattahoochee Tech missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but the Golden Eagles were able to foul Gordon's James Walker before he could attempt a 3-pointer. After Walker made his first of a 1-and-1, the Golden Eagles rebounded the intentional miss on the second shot to run out the clock.

Chattahoochee Tech, which now sits alone in third place in the conference, entered the game just one game up on Gordon, which took a closely contested 75-72 win in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 7 in Barnesville.

A.J. Mosby continued his hot shooting with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three, while Washington finished with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks, including a crucial swat immediately following his late put-back. DiMychael Ross joined them in double-figure scoring with 10 points on the strength of 6-of-7 shooting from the free throw line, while Zach Landis had an all-around stat line of seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Elijah Robinson pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds; the two teams were matched evenly on the boards, 32-32.

The teams played to a 28-28 halftime tie after the Golden Eagles struggled from the field in the first half, but both teams picked up scoring in the second. The Highlanders were able to shoot 53.8 percent from the floor in the second period, but that was offset by the Golden Eagles' excellent team 3-point shooting of 6-of-11 (7-of-17 for the game). Chattahoochee Tech also gained an advantage at the foul line, making 14 free throws to Gordon's five for the game.

Myles Howard and Aquavious Young of Gordon kept the Highlanders in the game in the second half with torrid three-point shooting, combining to go 8-of-15 from deep for the game. Young led all scorers with 22 points, while Howard was second for Gordon with 15.

Chattahoochee Tech will be back in action this Saturday, Feb. 7 at South Georgia Tech in another critical game for the standings. The Golden Eagles are percentage points ahead of the Jets, who sit at 8-6 and in fourth place. The game tips off at 3 p.m.