CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Hawks used an 11-3 run over the final two minutes, capped off by Phil Taylor's layup, to defeat the West Georgia Wolves, 104-100.

West Georgia jumped out to a 5-0 advantage, but after Shorter took its first lead off an Alijah Bennett three-pointer, it fell behind only twice more for the remainder of the half.

The Wolves Shannon Fowler scored four straight points to help his team retake the lead, but a jumper by Cedric Guillaume, followed by freshman Yephnick Adelphonse's layup put the Hawks in front with 10:34 remaining, and they led for the rest of the half.

Taylor, who leads the NCAA in scoring, converted six consecutive free throws in less than 60 seconds, giving Shorter its largest lead of the half, 29-18, with 8:17 to play.

The Wolves would rally over a five and a half minute span to pull within two, but Eric Ross and Taylor scored the Hawks final seven points of the half, sending Shorter to the break with a 47-40 lead over its in-state rival.  

In the second period, West Georgia took a one-point advantage after four minutes of play, which was quickly extended to six, thanks to a Fowler jump shot.

The Wolves took their largest lead of the contest prior to the eight-minute media timeout, but Bennett's jumper and Taylor's layup, which was sandwiched between a UWG field goal, cut the lead to single digits.

Although the Wolves took a 15-point lead, it quickly evaporated, thanks to the play of Taylor.

The senior guard scored 10 of the Hawks 13 points, making it a two-point game in favor of West Georgia, 90-88. 6 of his 10 points came from behind the three-point line, while he also made four free throws.  

With 2:32 to play, the Wolves led 96-90, but Shorter went on a 10-2 run, capped by a Taylor layup, giving the Hawks a 100-98 advantage.

Shorter hit four free throws in the final ten seconds, and defeated the Wolves for the fourth time in school history and first time since the 2014-15 season.

The 104-100 victory improves the Hawks record to 9-2 and 3-2 in the Gulf South Conference. This marks the second time the team has crossed the century mark this season.

West Georgia falls to 7-4 overall and suffers its first conference loss of the season.

Taylor led all players with 48 points, while the Wolves Steph Branch scored 45. Taylor shot 14 of 33 from the field and 15 of 16 from the charity stripe. Branch hit 16 attempts from the field but only 8 free throws.

Shorter will return to action on Saturday, January 7, when it hosts West Florida. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.