Gordon State Men’s Basketball Drops Heartbreaker In Season Opener
A goaltending call as time expired propelled Albany Tech to a stunning 75-74 win over Gordon State College in the 2021 season-opener for the Highlanders on Tuesday at the GSC Student Activity and Recreation Center Arena.
JahNile Hill (Manchester, Ga. / Manchester HS) had given GSC a 74-73 lead with 25 seconds remaining on a jumper from right of the key, but a wild flurry of action under the Albany Tech basket that included two previous missed shots before the goaltending call on GSC provided the one-point victory for the Titans.
Zeff Felton was credited with the final field goal for Albany Tech (2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association).
Trailing 42-26 at halftime, GSC (0-1, 0-1) came out on fire to start the second half and quickly tied the game at 49-49 with 12 minutes remaining.
GSC eventually pulled out to a nine-point lead at 63-54 with 7:10 to play when Hill, who led all scorers with 19 points, connected on a three-pointer.
But Albany Tech began to climb back into the game and took the lead at 73-72 on a layup by Jalen Nesmith with 1:17 to go, which set up the frantic finish.
Two GSC players had double-doubles as Isaiah Wray (Long Island, N.Y. / Union Grove HS) finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Trenton Gordon (Duluth, Ga. / Duluth HS) had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Shawn Smith (Conyers, Ga. / Newton County HS) added 13 points as the Highlanders finished with four players in double-figures.
Cameron Singletary led Albany Tech with 17 points.
The same two teams met again on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Albany while GSC is back home on Saturday as Southern Crescent Tech comes to Barnesville for a 1 p.m. contest. No spectators are allowed in the arena for the game at GSC.