CARROLLTON, Ga. – The West Georgia Technical College Golden Knights men’s basketball team dropped a 71-63 decision to Emory Oxford on the road Saturday night. West Georgia Tech is now 8-12, 3-1 on the season.

The Golden Knights had to play much of the game without leading scorer and rebounder Demontray McCormick, who was ejected from the game after receiving a second technical foul with 16:04 remaining in the first half.

Emory Oxford led 37-30 at halftime and increased its lead to 20 with nine minutes to play. But the Golden Knights stormed back, and were within six points with 2:04 left. A short jumper would have pulled the Knights to within four, but it fell off the rim.

West Georgia Tech was led by Randalezzo Chaney with 16 points. Coby Moore recorded a double-double, with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Blair Austin and Tori White each scored 12 points.

But the Knights could not overcome the loss of McCormick, who was averaging a conference-best 20.8 points per game.

“Winning on the road is tough to do, especially in conference games, and we didn’t help ourselves by letting our emotions get the best of us,” said WGTC head coach Niki Okolovitch. “We have a lot we can learn from this game, and sometimes losing a game can help you in the long run. We have two big conference games to get ready for.”

West Georgia Tech returns to action next Friday, with a conference road game at Southern Crescent Technical College in Griffin. The Golden Knights beat Southern Crescent a week ago 88-61.