DAHLONEGA – History was made inside Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center Tuesday night as the University of North Georgia men's basketball team took down Peach Belt rival Lander in a gut-wrenching roller coaster, 70-67 win to secure the program's first ever NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship. The Nighthawks are on to the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships in Evansville, Ind. 

These two teams have a checkered past. They both entered Tuesday's all-or-nothing showdown with a perfect 15-15 head-to-head record against each other. But more than just bragging rights was on the line.

UNG is the No. 14 ranked team nationally and Lander, just outside the top-25 pol, is receiving the most votes of any unranked team. 

The Nighthawks were looking for revenge after losing both regular season matchups to the Bearcats for the first time in program history. Lander was ready to make a statement after so many counted them out when they lost five of their last six games to end the regular season. All those ingredients were thrown into the hype stew in what was set to be the first-ever postseason matchup of any kind between the pair. 

No one knew what was going to happen. Everyone knew it was going to be exciting. Then, the game lived up to its billing.

UNG led by 10 points for 29 seconds in the first half. Other than that half-minute stretch, it was a single-digit game the entire way. 

The game opened slow for the Nighthawks. They didn't make their first field goal until sophomore center Colin Turner converted on a hook shot at the 17:06 mark. Yet, Lander was slow out of the gate too, as Turner's bucket only made it 4-3. 

Seconds later, disaster struck for UNG. Junior forward and former All-American Frank Champion was called for his second personal foul. With 16:45 still to play in the opening half, head coach Dan Evans was forced to sit his star big man on the bench. 

No one expected such a critical turn of events to take place so early in the game, but it did. What happened next was the epitome of the North Georgia men's basketball program. Rather than lay down and wait for Champion to get back in the game, Turner went to work. He battled on both ends of the floor with Bearcat bigs Inady Legiste and Noah Dunn. 

Each side got its share of good licks in, including the junior duo from Lander, but Turner's impact was undeniable. He finished the first half with 13 points and five rebounds as UNG miraculously took a 36-29 lead into the locker room despite Champion playing a little over three minutes. 

It wasn't just Turner who helped keep the Nighthawks in front. Sophomore forward Cayden Charles also had a career night. His numbers were not the single best of any game in his career, but they came on the biggest stage. 

With a record attendance of 3,767 fans watching, Charles took the game over. He had six points, five rebounds and a steal in the opening 20 minutes. 

Charles has grown to become an x-factor in all facets of the game this season for the Nighthawks. In just his second year, the wide smiling, happy-go-lucky wing is averaging 11.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 80.1 percent at the free throw line. 

In the semifinals against Catawba, Charles posted a career-high 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting along with seven boards. He helped his team advance to Evansville Tuesday with a game high 18 points and eight rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end. Charles' trio of performances in the regional rounds earned him the 2024 NCAA Southeast Regional Most Outstanding Player award. 

Champion joined Charles on the All-Tournament team along with Inady Legiste (Lander), KJ Jones II (Emmanuel) and Javeon Jones (Catawba). 

In the second half, Lander answered the bell. After being down by its largest deficit, 45-35, at the 16:10 mark, the Bearcats slowly chipped away at the UNG lead. 

Before long, with 9:52 to go, they pulled in front thanks to a clutch three-pointer from senior guard Phillip Burwell. The 50-48 edge was Lander's first lead since the 2:18 mark in the first half. 

The Nighthawks quickly fired back with a layup from junior forward Giancarlo Bastianoni. 

All season long, head coach Dan Evans has talked about how many great players he has on his team. While admitting the numerous deserving accolades of Champion and sophomore point guard AJ White, Evans has insisted that there is more to his team than those two. 

Evidenced by the number of different players (six) who were requested for a post game press conference due to their performances in the regional tournament, Evans' claims were and still are true. 

Bastianoni was even more evidence Tuesday night. 

The junior forward who started his career at the NCAA Division I level at Presbyterian College has carved out a unique and invaluable role with the Nighthawks. 

As a smooth-shooting, 6-foot-8 forward who can stretch the floor and create his own shot on offense, Bastianoni doesn't necessarily shock anyone with brute strength or athleticism. However, his hustle and unwillingness to back down from any challenge is unmatched. 

On Tuesday, he had 15 points and four rebounds off the bench for UNG while also maintaining a game-high plus-minus of nine points in the slim victory. 

It's guys like Turner, Charles, Bastianoni and junior forward Greg Billups, Jr. who played through visible pain on Sunday to get the Nighthawks this far, that are the makeup of this program. It's players like senior forward Hunter Shedenhelm making an immediate impact off the bench with a few quick buckets. It's players like junior forward Case Roach who, with a pair of crowd frenzy inducing and-one buckets, Lander head coach Omar Wattad cited as a difference maker in the first half. 

Those are the players that Evans is referring to. Along with Champion and White of course, they are the ones that have the Nighthawks still practicing on March 20. 

Once Bastianoni tied the game at 50-50, back-to-back buckets from Champion quickly put UNG back in front by four. Then Burwell hit another three to make it a one point game.

Still, the Nighthawks built a nine-point lead with 1:40 on the clock. The end was in sight, but Lander still stood in the way. Another Burwell triple made it a six point contest. Then the Bearcats forced a turnover and Burwell scored again to make it 67-63 with 52 seconds remaining. 

Two free throws from Lander junior guard Dominic Stanford made it 68-65 with only 17 ticks left. All 3,700 plus in attendance gasped when the ensuing inbound from UNG was stolen by Bearcat senior guard Nigel Colvin. 

Colvin was fouled in the act of shooting and proceeded to split the pair of free throws. On the other end, the Nighthawks safely inbounded to Bastianoni who was fouled and made both shots to put UNG up 70-66 with nine seconds left. 

On the ensuing possession, Colvin received the ball in front of his own bench, gathered and launched a corner three. As the ball went up, a whistle rang out through the arena. Colvin was fouled by Champion. Luckily, the shot barely missed and instead of Colvin having a game-tying free throw at hand, he would need to make three of them to cut the deficit to one point. 

He made the first but missed the second. After the miss, Wattad called a timeout to talk strategy. Colvin intentionally missed the next free throw, rifling the ball on a line at the rim with the hopes of an offensive rebound for Lander.  Instead, the ball grazed the underside of the iron and bounced out of bounds. 

With only three seconds left, UNG needed a safe inbound to punch its ticket to the Elite Eight. They relied on none other than the Southeast Regional MOP, Cayden Charles. Billups, Jr. launched the ball beyond half court where Charles was waiting. He caught it, took a dribble, turned toward his bench and then back towards half court. 

With a smile on his face, Charles discarded the basketball some 30 feet into the air. The celebration had begun. The best season in program history was not over yet. The entire Nighthawk bench spilled out onto the floor. Almost everyone headed straight for the UNG student section whose noise and energy contributed to the win. 

No one thought this would be easy for the Nighthawks. Everyone surrounding the UNG program knew this team had already gone through so much, but the Southeast Region wasn't going to take it easy on them. Through all the ups and downs, twists and turns, wins and losses, they have continued to prevail.