Carrollton, Ga. – November 16, 2005 – The 2005-06 season opened with a bang Wednesday night at the HPE Building, as the Braves used a 68 percent shooting effort in the first half to cruise to a 97-62 victory over the Carver Cougars.
Chris Burras, right, had 12 first-half points to lead the Braves.
Carver came out and took an early lead on a layup by Jeremy Russell, but at the 18:31 mark, Chris Burras and the West Georgia Braves took over.
Burras gave the Braves the lead with a pair of free-throws at the aforementioned point, then used a steal and a breakaway dunk to put UWG up 6-2 and the rout was on.
At the 17:20 point, Carver’s Renaldo Forbes pulled the Cougars to within three at 8-5, and the West Georgia defense took over from there. Over the next 10 minutes, the Braves held the Cougars scoreless while building a 33-5 advantage. Russell hit a layup with 7:41 left in the half for the Cougars’ first points in some time.
UWG continued the offensive and defensive onslaught through the end of the half, heading into the locker room with a 51-26 advantage.
The second half was more of the same, as the lead reached as much as 42 in the period before head coach Ed Murphy called off the dogs and the Braves coasted over the last three minuts.
Four Braves scored in double figures, led by Dru Petkunas with 25 points. The junior introduced himself to West Georgia fans with a 4-for-10 shooting effort from beyond the arc.
Antonio Shaw followed up with 18 points and seven rebounds, and Burras finished with 14 points and five boards. Freshman Ramon Sims came off the bench to score thirteen points on 3-of-5 from three-point range.
One of the biggest question-marks for West Georgia this season received an answer in freshman point guard Adam Stanger. The native of Australia had six assists and a turnover and five points while running the Braves’ offense.
West Georgia takes on Lane Friday evening at 7:00 PM on the campus of Delta State in Cleveland, MS. The game can be heard at the Go Live! link on the UWG homepage.