AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team upended third-seeded Augusta 77-68 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Peach Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on the road Wednesday night. 

The win advances the sixth-seeded Nighthawks to the conference semifinals to be played in Columbus, Ga. as top-seeded and No. 6 Columbus State will host the final two rounds of the tournament. 

UNG will take on second-seeded USC Aiken in the semifinals. The Pacers took down seventh-seeded Flagler 88-63 Wednesday night. 

The upset victory at Augusta came on the shoulders of junior guard AJ White who dominated the Jaguars with a career-high 38 points in the victory. White went 12-for-18 from the floor and 4-of-7 three-point range as he set a new career-best mark for made field goals in a game. White also went 10-for-15 from the free throw line and poked a season-high four steals on defense.

The scoring outburst also moved White past 1,500 points for his career. The three-year Nighthawk stands in second place on the UNG men's basketball NCAA Division II era (2005) scoring record list just 241 points behind former teammate Frank Champion. 

White was surgical against the Jaguars on Wednesday as he opened the game by scoring the first eight points for the Nighthawks. He finished the first half with 18 points as UNG ended the half by out-scoring Augusta 20-8 in the final six minutes. The Nighthawks led 43-29 at the break.

That was the largest the lead would get as the Jaguars slowly chipped away at the deficit in the second half. By the 12:45 mark, a Max Amadasun layup made it 51-48 to pull Augusta within a possession for the first time since 6:26 in the first half. However, White silenced the momentum with a quick jumper on the other end.

It seemed that every time the Jaguars would score to build momentum, White would answer with a miraculous shot to shut down the threat. 

With 7:24 to play, Augusta's Elias Palsson converted on a tip-in layup after an offensive rebound to make it 59-54 UNG. White came down the floor and calmly drilled a three pointer to put the Nighthawks back up by eight.

The dagger perhaps came a few minutes later from White. With a nine-point lead and under four minutes to play, White drove the lane amongst numerous taller defenders. He got to the right side of the basket and elevated for a shot. The whistle blew as White was fouled and headed to the free throw line for what appeared to be two shots. Instead, White double-clutched in the air and flung the ball high above the rim. The ball fell perfectly in the hole for an and-one basket. White made the free throw to put UNG ahead 68-56 with 3:51 to go. 

White scored 10 of the Nighthawks' final 12 points to fend off the Jaguars and complete the upset. Six of those 10 points came at the charity stripe for the superstar guard who leads UNG in scoring this season. 

White was joined in double figures by junior guard Cayden Charles who did a little bit of everything with 13 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. 

Junior center Colin Turner led UNG on the glass with seven points and a team-high eight boards as he also added a pair of blocks. Four of Turner's rebounds came on the offensive end, helping the Nighthawks to 18 second-chance points in total.

Freshman forward Zack Hawkinson had a strong night at both ends of the floor as well with eight points, five rebounds and three steals. 

Now UNG will prepare for a semifinal showdown against USC Aiken. The Nighthawks are seeking revenge against the Pacers after going 0-2 against them in the regular season. The game tips off in Columbus, Ga. on Saturday, March 8 with the start time to be announced later this week by the league office.