Georgia Basketball: Bulldogs Beat Wofford 72 – 52
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports
The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Wofford Terriers 72 – 52 last Friday evening in the Stegman Coliseum before an announced crowd of 5592.
Georgia bullied Wofford inside to take command of the contest in the first half before cruising to the final bell. Georgia was led by junior Nemanja Djurisic who scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds and senior Donte’ Williams had 11 points and nine rebounds. Cameron Forte scored 9 while John Cannon and Tim Dixon combined for 5 to round out the Bulldog’s inside domination of the smaller Terriers.
Kenny Gaines demonstrated why enjoys a continual green light from Coach Fox, scoring 10 on jumpers and drives and claiming a career high 6 rebounds.
“It’s great to get started,” said head coach Mark Fox. “I thought we were a little nervous out of the gate, but I thought we calmed down and played pretty well to finish the first half. We beat a real sound, solid basketball team so I was really pleased with our first half effort. I thought we did a lot of good things, certainly a lot of teachable things. I thought there were a lot of positives, and for us, it was a great first night out.”
The cliché that games are decided in the last 5 minutes of the first half and the first 5 minutes of the second half certainly held true on this night. Georgia outscored Wofford 14 – 0 to end the first half and 7 – 0 to begin the second half. Neither team led by more than four points in the first half until Georgia went on its half ending 14-0 run to take a 39-20 lead into the break. Gaines led the way for the Bulldogs in the first half with 10 points. Freshman J.J. Frazier scored Georgia’s final five points of the half. Donte’ Williams converted two dunks and a pair of free throws for Georgia’s first six points of the second half. Forte put Georgia up by 25 points going 1-for-2 from the free throw line to give Georgia its largest lead of the game. The Terriers cut the lead to as few as 14 after a Justin Gordon tip-in with four minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs finished the game on a 5-0 run to preserve a 20-point margin of victory.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox talks to guard Kenny Gaines Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
“I think last year we might have come out a little slower, but we just got to focus on being a good team this year,” Gaines said about the first half run. “We just have to take it one game at a time and keep playing like we did today.”
A hot topic of conversation among the Bulldog Nation had been who Coach Fox would name as starters. Charles Mann (2/6 FG, 3/3 FT), Kenny Gaines, Marcus Thornton, Donte Williams and Nemi Djurisic proved to be the answer . However, Brandon Morris did not suit up and is rumored to be in Coach Fox’s dog house so whether this starting lineup remains in place is uncertain. First man off the bench Juwan Parker (0/2 FG, 2/4 FT) replaced Marcus Thornton (1/4 FG, 1/2FT) and J. J. Frazier (1/4 FG, 3/4 FT )received generous playing time in place of Charles Mann.
Georgia limited Wofford to just 38 percent shooting from the field, including 2-for-14 from behind the three-point arc. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Terriers 49-to-24 and scored half of their points from inside the paint.
Georgia will take a week off to prepare for a home contest against Georgia Tech on Friday November 15 at 7:00 PM . As Tech has beaten Georgia the last two years, preparations are expected to be intense.