Georgia Basketball: Bulldogs Bounce Bama 66 -58 In Athens

Jan 11, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs forward Marcus Thornton (2) Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann scored 22 points apiece as Georgia beat Alabama 66-58 Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum. It was the first SEC home opener win for Georgia since 2012 .  It is also the first time this season Georgia has had two 20 plus point scorers in a game.

“That was really a hard-fought game,” said head coach Mark Fox. “We thought coming into the game that Alabama was just terrific defensively and that it would be a game that had to be won in the trenches. We talked about trying to play a determined 40 minutes and we had to do that to beat a good Alabama team. They really guarded us and we couldn’t score, but we guarded them also and that certainly was the difference in the game. Our defensive rebounding allowed us to win.”

After the Crimson Tide (7-8, 1-1) grabbed the early lead, Georgia (8-6, 2-0) closed the first half on a 19-8 run to take a 34-23 lead, largely behind Gaines’s 16 first-half points.

In the second half, Georgia shot just 19 percent from the field and Alabama shrunk the Bulldog advantage to as few as three points, but a resilient Georgia team fought back, riding a 9-3 run with seven minutes remaining to maintain its lead and secure its eighth win of the season. Georgia sealed the win with 8-for-12 shooting from the free throw line in the game’s final two minutes.

With the win, Georgia starts 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Jan 11, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Charles Mann (4) Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

“What’s important is the next game and that we continue to grow as competitors and grow as a team and that we go down there and give us a chance to win in Gainesville, Fla.,” continued Fox. “We’ve made progress and we’ve learned through adversity. This is the first time that I’ve thought we’ve handled success fairly well, but now we have to keep moving forward and keep getting better because we can really improve as a team.”

With the help of 10 blocked shots, 5 from Marcus Thornton, the Bulldogs’ defense held Alabama to just 36 percent shooting from the field–nearly ten percent below its season average. And despite being outscored 30 – 18 in the paint, the Bulldogs out rebounded Alabama 41-32, largely on the strength of superior offensive rebounding. Georgia is 8-0 when winning the rebounding battle.

Trevor Releford scored 17 points to lead Alabama. Rodney Cooper led the Crimson Tide with six rebounds.

Georgia returns to action on Tuesday in Gainesville against Florida. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m and the game will be televised on ESPNU.