DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team defeated Lander 62-59 courtesy of a buzzer-beating three-pointer from junior guard AJ White at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center Wednesday night.  

There was a lot of hype surrounding this unsuspecting, midweek January matchup. For starters, this was the first time UNG and Lander had faced each other since the Nighthawks' legendary 70-67 win over the Bearcats in the 2024 NCAA Southeast Regional Championship. With both teams in a conference that entered the night with a four-way tie for first place with all four teams sitting at 3-1, there were large seeding implications coming into this game despite it still being only January. 

As is usually the case when these two teams meet, offense was at a premium Wednesday night. In four of the last five matchups between UNG and the Bearcats, the game has been decided by a single possession. It wasn't until the 17:42 mark on Wednesday that Lander scored the first basket of the game. While the Bearcats didn't necessarily catch fire, they opened the game on a 10-0 run. It wasn't until the 13:35 mark in the first half that UNG finally scored its first points on a nifty reverse layup from freshman forward Zack Hawkinson.

That basket would be the first of a 6-0 run that quickly got UNG back in the game. 

At 15-6 with 11:48 left in the first half, senior guard Sutton Smith checked into the game and gave the Nighthawks a spark offensively. The 5-foot-11 guard quickly scored on a hop step and leaning jump shot just seconds after checking in. A few possessions later, he stole the ball on defense then got it at the other end of the floor, drove and scooped it high off the glass to avoid the defense and score the bucket. He assisted on a bucket on the next possession for UNG. On the possession after that, he cashed in a corner three-pointer to make it 18-17 Lander and force the Bearcats to call a timeout. 

A few minutes later, White tied the game at 21-21. After trailing 10-0 early on, just working the game to a tie seemed like an accomplishment. Despite the Nighthawks tying up the contest, the Bearcats pulled away by halftime leading 36-27. 

In the second half, junior guard Cayden Charles came to life for the Nighthawks. His monster night of 19 points and 12 rebounds marked his fourth double-double this year and his second such outing in as many games. Charles helped UNG chip its way back into the game in the second half. By the 8:26 mark, he had capped off a personal 7-0 run to give the Nighthawks their first lead of the game. Charles would score nine straight points for UNG during the stretch.

The two teams would trade buckets as the game came to a close. When White knocked down a pull up jumper with just 37 seconds remaining give the Nighthawks a 59-53 lead, the game felt over. 

After White's jumper, Lander cut the lead in half with a three on the next possession. On the ensuing possession for UNG, junior center Colin Turner was intentionally fouled with 18 seconds left. 

With a one-and-one to come at the line, a single make likely would've sealed the fate of the Bearcats. Unfortunately, Turner's first free throw attempt just barely caromed off the rim, giving Lander some life. In the near side corner, after a UNG foul, Bearcat Noah Dunn drilled a three-pointer off the inbound to tie the game with 5.1 seconds to go. He sucked the air out of the building filled with a crowd that was ready to explode for a Nighthawks win. Instead, UNG would have to try to win the game on the final possession.

With a number of options offensively in a tie game, head coach Dan Evans could've elected any player to take the last shot of the game. But when you have AJ White (who was recently named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List for the best player in small college basketball) the decision is easy. You give White the ball and you let him do his thing.

The Memphis, Tenn. native did just that as he received the ball in the back court for UNG. He pushed it up the floor and crossed half court with about two seconds remaining. 

From approximately 38 feet from the basket, White stopped, planted and elevated. A hush fell over the UNG Convocation Center crowd. The next sound was the often feared but in this case beautiful dink of the ball off the backboard and into the bottom of the net. 

The horn sounded, the red lights went on and the celebration began. White drilled a near 40-foot buzzer beater to beat Lander 62-59 and send the crowd home in jubilation. He finished the night with 15 points, three rebounds and one made three-pointer. 

Now the Nighthawks (12-5, 4-1 Peach Belt) will get ready for a road contest on Saturday, Jan. 18 in Bluffton, S.C. against USC Beaufort. Tip off against the Sand Sharks is slated for 3:30 p.m.