Rafael Rubel knocked down a 3-pointer with five seconds left and Central Georgia Technical College rallied from eight down in the second half to knock off Florida Gateway College 81-79 on Saturday at the Howard Center.
Emmanuel Jones came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points while Rubel finished with 22 for the Titans (2-6). Rubel’s game-winner came just after Axel Holmquist made a layup to give the Timberwolves (7-4) a one-point lead with 16 seconds to go.
FGC lost despite shooting 72% from the field, including 6 of 6 from 3. Antewan Webber led the T-wolves with 16 points, while Isaac Broxey added 11 and Ty’jahn Wright finished with 10.
Central Georgia Tech, which made 66% of its shots, trailed 41-40 at halftime and 66-58 with 9:24 left before going on a 10-1 run to take a one-point lead with 4:45 to go. After Wright made a free, Broxey made a layup for FGC’s first field goal in nearly five minutes, but Nelson Johnson’s basket of the day tied the game at 70.
Jones then hit a 3 and then another after two foul shots from Holmquist to give the Titans a 76-72 lead. Oakley Lewis answered with a layup before Florian Tenebay slammed home a dunk to make it 78-74.
Webber responded with a 3 to pull the T-wolves within a point and Holmquist’s layup made it 79-78 before the Titans stole away a win right before the buzzer.
It snapped a four-game winning streak for FGC, which will try to bounce back on Tuesday at Trinity Baptist.