Georgia Northwestern turned up the heat just in time to rally from 11 points down in the final five minutes to shock in-state foe Macon State, 69-65, at the Rossville Athletic Center on Friday night. Alex Miller would lead the Bobcats with 19 points in the home win.

The Bobcats (7-14, 0-5) held a commanding 34-20 lead going into the break. However, the visiting Blue Storm would send a flurry of full-court presses resulting in a 30-8 run to open the first eleven minutes of the second half.

But with their backs to the wall, Georgia Northwestern started dropping shot after shot.

Hard-drives to the basket in the final five minutes, including a pair of acrobatic shots from Miller, kept the Bobcats within a basket down the stretch. Down by three with 40 seconds to play, freshman Tavish Reynolds launched a three-ball from the home bench corner to knot things up at 65.

GNTC head coach David Stephenson called for a full-court press the rest of the way, and freshman Hunter Ivester would take over with two steals in the final 40 seconds that led to the final four points of the game and the win. Ivester would end the night with 12 points, six rebounds, three steals, and three assists.

Bud Todd had 10 points and blocked five shots in the win, while Reynolds was 4-of-6 from behind the three-point arc.

“We had huge play from a lot of players tonight,” said Stephenson. “A 12-footer on the baseline from (Andrew) Johnson, Richard (Olsen) hit some big shots at the glass, and Tavish really locked in for us.”

The Bobcats are now four weeks away from the NJCAA Region XVII Tournament in Warner-Robins.

“We simply need to get the mental discipline it takes to play the full 40 minutes of a college basketball game,” the coach added.

GNTC will travel to Cleveland, Tenn. on Wednesday night to take on Lee University in a non-region game.