November 25, 2006 – COLUMBUS, GA – Guard William Belton rebounded from a sub-par game yesterday to score 19 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a monster performance by Columbus State’s Alton Hart, as the Cougars squeaked by Morehouse 76-73.

Close from start to finish, the final game of the All-Georgia Shootout was tied at halftime and featured seven ties and eight lead changes.

Morehouse forced the Cougars into 20 turnovers and outscored the home team 17-10 on points off of turnovers. But the difference in the game was points in the paint. In that department, CSU outscored Morehouse 38-10. The Cougars out-rebounded the Maroon Tigers 40-32.

Belton, last season’s second-leading scorer, hit 7-of-19 shots, with three three-pointer to lead the Maroon Tigers in scoring.

Morehouse had a 32-12 edge in bench points, led mostly by forward Jason Patterson’s 16. A starter on last year’s 16-12 team, Patterson sat out yesterday’s game, a loss to Georgia College & State University. This was his first action of the season. He came off the bench to shoot 6-of-9 from the field, including two three-pointers in 20 minutes of play.

The Maroon Tigers took care of business on the free-throw line, hitting 13-of-16 for 81.3 percent.

Center James Beasley scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

CSU’s Hart scored 26 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, handed out three assists, collected two steals and blocked seven shots. Tarik Jackson was nearly as effective, with 24 points and eight rebounds.

Morehouse will travel to Tuscaloosa, AL, Saturday, to face defending SIAC champion Stillman College, at 7 p.m. CST.