DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team gutted out a 96-90 overtime win over USC Beaufort (USCB) on Sunday at Lynn Cottrell Arena in the UNG Convocation Center to celebrate Homecoming.

In another close contest against the Sand Sharks, UNG exacted revenge from a three-point loss to USCB earlier in the season.

On Saturday, it was junior headliners AJ White and Cayden Charles that lifted the Nighthawks to their 14th win of the season and first in the last six games to end a five-game skid.

White dropped 23 points for his seventh 20-point game of the season. The Memphis, Tenn. guard came up clutch multiple times as he went 6-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-8 from three-point range. 

White's four triples tied a season-high in the overtime win.

Charles posted a 20-point, 15-rebound double-double that included three assists, two steals and two blocks. Saturday marked the Kennesaw, Ga. native's seventh double-double of the season and his fifth in the last 10 games.

In total UNG had six scorers in double figures on Saturday. That's the most in a game this season for the Nighthawks.

Freshman forward Zack Hawkinson added 18 points as his day was highlighted by four ferocious dunks. 

Junior center Colin Turner chipped in 13 points with six rebounds while dishing out a career-high and game-high six assists in the win.

Off the bench, sophomore guard Chase Champion dropped a season-high 10 points to aid his team to the victory.

Saturday's competition was a hotly contested one in which neither side was able to pull away from the other.

While UNG led for much of the first half, the Nighthawks never mounted more than a nine-point lead in the opening 20 minutes. The Nighthawks would take just a 39-36 lead into the break after the Sand Sharks went on a 10-4 run in the final 2:22 of the period.

In the second half, USCB reclaimed the lead at the 16:27 mark with a triple from Krishen Atwel. The Sand Sharks would hold the lead for the next six minutes, leading by as many as seven points during the stretch. 

Eventually, UNG tied the game at 59-59 with a free throw from Charles.

The lead would change hands four times over the next three-and-a-half minutes before a quick spurt and a three from USCB's Dominc Eason gave the Sand Sharks a 71-66 advantage with 5:50 remaining in the game.

Trailing 80-76 with only 46 seconds to play, UNG was on the brink of losing its sixth game in a row. 

Turner cut into the deficit with a pair of clutch free throws with 36 seconds on the clock. On the other end of the floor, the Nighthawks benefited from a missed one-and-one free throw from the Sand Sharks. UNG got the ball back with 30.6 seconds to go with a chance to tie or take the lead.

On the ensuing possession, Charles lost the ball out of bounds but it was last touched by USCB. As the Nighthawks inbounded the ball to Hawkinson, the big man who physically dominated the second half was fouled by Sand Shark Kenney Gains.

Hawkinson drilled both free throws to tie the game at 80-80. 

Still, USCB had 19 seconds left to win the game. Instead Charles made an amazing play defensively as he stole the ball from the Sand Sharks with five seconds to go. Falling out of bounds, Charles had the awareness to call timeout and secure possession for his team.

UNG had a chance to win the game on the final possession of regulation but ultimately did not convert on an alley oop attempt to Hawkinson.

As the game went into overtime the Nighthawks quickly pulled ahead as Charles and White combined for four free throws in the first minute.

On a night where White was consistently clutch offensively, he came through once more when it mattered most in overtime. 

With a three-point lead and under a minute to play, White worked off a ball screen from Hawkinson. The defense made the critical mistake of sagging off White on the screen. At the top of the key he pulled up and drilled a three-pointer to make it 89-83 and put UNG in the driver's seat with less than a minute to go.

After a missed three on the other end the Sand Sharks were forced to begin intentionally fouling the Nighthawks. UNG went 7-for-8 at the free throw line in the final 38 seconds to cement the win.

Now the team will get ready for a rare Monday road matchup against Georgia Southwestern. The game is a makeup after the original meeting with the Hurricanes was postponed due to a winter storm. Tip off on Monday, Feb. 17 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.