Men's basketball team earns first PBC title

The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team will host the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional after winning its first Peach Belt Conference (PBC) tournament championship.

Top-seeded UNG will tip off its regional action against No. 8 seed Wingate University at 5 p.m. March 16 at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center. The winner of that opener faces the victor between No. 4 Catawba College and No. 5 UNC Pembroke in a 7:30 p.m. March 17 regional semifinal.

"The games are filled with challenges and opportunities, and the best way to handle both is to execute at a high level. Defending the ball, rebounding and taking care of the ball will ultimately determine the outcome," UNG head coach Dan Evans said. "I believe in our team's ability to remain focused and committed to the details it takes to succeed this time of year."

UNG secured the PBC tournament title with a 70-60 victory against Flagler College on March 9 in Aiken, South Carolina. Junior forward Frank Champion earned MVP honors after averaging 24 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 66.6 percent from the floor across three victories.

"We have a group of tough guys who want to play and win for each other, and when we do that, it can take us a long way," Champion said.

Sophomore guard Cayden Charles made the all-tournament team, in part thanks to a 10-point, seven-rebound, five-block, two-steal effort in the championship game. Junior forward Giancarlo Bastianoni tallied 13 points in the win against Flagler.

The Nighthawks' path to the PBC title also included a 58-53 semifinal win March 7 against Columbus State University and a 77-73 quarterfinal victory March 6 versus Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW). Champion made a PBC-tournament-record 19 free throws against GSW.

Champion and sophomore guard A.J. White were named first-team All-PBC performers for the regular season earlier in the week.

UNG entered the week as the No. 2 seed in the PBC tournament and the No. 3 team in the Southeast Regional before passing PBC rivals USC Aiken, the regular-season PBC champion, and Lander in the regional rankings while securing the historic tournament title.

"Our guys have a willingness to work together, accept each other for who they are, forgive each other for mistakes, and ultimately love each other like a family," Evans said. "We are connected in great times like this championship because we've been connected in difficult times that we've gone through over the last few years. That shared experience has created a resilience and belief that cannot be created without getting through tough times together."

The opportunity to host the NCAA Southeast Regional comes one year after UNG earned the program's first NCAA tournament appearance and went 1-1 in the Southeast Regional.

The team members and coaches keep reminding each other that more work remains.

"Our mindset is the same it's been since day one, and it will remain the same," Champion said. "Go out there and play championship-level basketball day and night and give it our all and live with the results."

Rounding out the regional's first round are a matchup between No. 2 USC Aiken and No. 7 Emmanuel University and a game pairing No. 3 Lincoln Memorial University against No. 6 Lander University.

The regional championship is slated for 7 p.m. March 19 with a trip to the NCAA Division II championship on the line. This year's NCAA championship will run March 26-30 in Evansville, Indiana.

Check back on the UNG Athletics website and all Nighthawk Athletics social media platforms early in the week for full coverage, including ticket information.