The preseason favorite to win the Peach Belt Conference, the North Georgia men's basketball team has remained at the forefront of the conversation throughout the entire season.
The Nighthawks battled USC Aiken and Lander atop the PBC standings week after week, the trio also playing a game of musical chairs in the 1, 2 and 3 slots in the NCAA Southeast Region rankings.
A couple of costly late-season losses left North Georgia at No. 2 behind USCA in the PBC and third behind the Pacers and Bearcats in the region.
Saturday afternoon, the Nighthawks stood alone atop the conference. Now they, and USCA, wait for Sunday night's NCAA Tournament selection show to see which one will host next weekend's region tournament.
North Georgia capped a run of three wins in four days at the Convocation Center, beating fourth-seeded Flagler 70-60 on Saturday afternoon in the PBC Tournament championship game.
The Nighthawks bullied the Saints on the interior, outscoring Flagler 40-18 in the paint to beat the Saints at their own game. They led for nearly the entire game, save for an 11-0 Flagler run late in the first half that put the Saints ahead.
But only briefly.
Tournament MVP Frank Champion scored 17 points, capping a week during which he averaged 24 points per game to lead his team to the title in the Nighthawks' first appearance in the PBC championship game.
Joining Champion on the All-Tournament Team was teammate Cayden Charles, who had 10 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in the title game. Flagler's Jalen Barr, honored earlier this week as the PBC Defensive Player of the Year, and Jax Bouknight also made the All-Tournament team, as did Columbus State's Kordell Brown and Georgia College's Luke Chism.
The Nighthawks spoiled potential Cinderella runs at every turn, holding off No. 7 seed Georgia Southwestern 77-73 in Wednesday's semifinals, then denying No. 6 seed Columbus State in a 58-53 win Thursday's quarterfinals. Both were come-from behind victories.
Saturday may have been a spoiler in more ways than one - for Flagler, which at No. 10 in the region ranking probably needed to win the PBC tournament to get the automatic NCAA bid, and possibly for USCA, which was in line to host the Southeast Region as the No. 1 team but may be surpassed by the Nighthawks after the Pacers lost in the quarterfinals Wednesday to No. 8 seed Georgia College.
That will all come down to what the selection committee decides. And, in either case, both teams have had success in the other's gym this season. North Georgia went 3-0 this week and also beat USCA at the Convocation Center on Jan. 31, and then USCA returned the favor and beat the Nighthawks on their home floor on Feb. 28 to take over sole possession of first place in the conference.
Regardless, now they both wait. The NCAA selection show is scheduled for 11 p.m. Sunday.
