The Georgia basketball squad used grit and perseverance to force overtime against LSU Saturday night, but wasted the effort with careless play in overtime.
The Georgia Bulldogs wasted a gritty second half comeback in the final moments of the first overtime, falling to LSU 87 – 84 in double overtime.
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On Georgia’s side, the Bulldogs committed 20 turnovers. On the LSU side, Tim Quarterman played horse from behind the arc and late in the game drove at will against Georgia defenders hamstrung with fouls to the tune of 27 points.
In the end, the Bulldog big men kept up their end of the bargain, scoring half of Georgia’s 84 total points and doubling the production of the LSU front line. But the Georgia point guard duo of J. J. Frazier and Charles Mann turned the ball over 11 times between them, more than half of Georgia’s total turnovers.
Marcus Thornton scored 16 and claimed 16 rebounds in the slugfest. Kenny Gaines scored 19 and Nemi Djurisic scored 16. Both Gaines and Djurisic fouled out and in the final overtime. Georgia, left with limited scoring options, put only four points on the board in the final five minutes.
While the Bulldogs shot 74% on free throws, seven percentage points over their average, they were shooting over 80% late in the second half. The Dawgs failed to convert free throw opportunities late in the first overtime and LSU finished the first overtime with three of three shooting to tie the game.
For those frustrated Georgia fans, just remember LSU is a good team, and UGA is on the road.
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) January 11, 2015
The Dawgs displayed their usual grit and determination, using all but 2 seconds of the second half to overcome a six-point halftime deficit. The Dawgs also saw a career performance by junior Cameron Forte (10 points and 6 rebounds) that included stellar second half defense and by freshman Yante Maten (11 points 4 rebounds)
That said, the Dawgs could have had this game won but for some dumb turnovers and missed FTs.
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) January 11, 2015
In the end it was 20 turnovers – six by Charles Mann and five J. J. Frazier – that ultimately did the Dawgs in.