Basketball teams take aim at lofty goals

Both University of North Georgia (UNG) basketball teams will lean on experienced leaders as they tip off the 2026-27 season expecting to contend both nationally and in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC).

"Our basketball coaches and players set high standards for themselves, and they always represent Nighthawk Nation with excellence," UNG Athletic Director Mary Rob Plunkett said. "We can't wait to see what they accomplish this season."

The men's basketball team, under the direction of eighth-year head coach Dan Evans, will be seeking its fourth NCAA Division II tournament appearance in five years. Junior forward Zack Hawkinson (9.8 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game), senior guard Chase Champion (6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds) and graduate student guard JoJo Peterson (3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds) are the top returnees from the 2025-26 team that went 22-8. The Nighthawks were 14-6 in PBC play, good for third place, before finishing as the conference tournament runner-up.

Evans' team hosts Toccoa Falls in a noon Oct. 28 exhibition game at the Convocation Center, then tips off the regular season at 8 p.m. Nov. 9 at home against Lee University.

The UNG men were picked fourth in the preseason PBC poll.

The women's basketball team, led by 33rd-year head coach Buffie Burson, is taking aim at its eighth NCAA Division II tournament berth in 10 years.

Junior guard Averie Jones (17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists), junior guard Zaynah Preston (11.6 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds) and senior guard Hannah Cail (9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists) are the leading returnees from a group that went 19-13 overall and 13-7 to take third place in the PBC. Jones, a Dahlonega, Georgia, native, was a first-team All-PBC selection in 2025-26, and Preston was a third-team All-PBC honoree.

Burson's team tips off this season at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at home against Albany State.

The UNG women were picked second in the preseason PBC poll.