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MBB Photos/Video: Georgia defeats High Point 66-58
The Georgia men’s basketball team used a balanced offensive attack with four players scoring in double figures to pick up a 66-58 win against High Point before 6,523 spectators inside Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday evening.
Silas Demary Jr. led the Bulldogs (7-3) in scoring for the second time in his career with 12 points along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. RJ Melendez, Russel Tchewa, and Noah Thomasson all contributed with 11 points each. Melendez added seven rebounds and a pair of steals, Tchewa had six boards and a career-high three blocks while Thomasson recorded six rebounds and three assists. Georgia held High Point (8-4), who ranks top-10 in Division I in scoring offense, to a season-low 58 points and 23.3 percent shooting from the field.
The Panthers came out hot, using their size to create a 15-1 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half and lead for almost the entire opening frame. Georgia trailed, 33-30, heading into the locker room. High Point continued to control the flow of the game, managing to respond each time the Bulldogs made a run to close the gap. Georgia regained its first lead since 17:56 in the first half at 45-43 following five-straight points from Frank Anselem-Ibe and a 3-pointer from Melendez with 11:02 remaining. The Bulldogs would go on to hold the lead for the remainder of the contest, picking up its seventh win of the season.
Georgia will return to action on Dec. 20 at 5:30 p.m. ET against Mount Saint Mary’s. The game, which will mark the team’s fourth of a six-game homestand, will be streamed on the SEC Network+. This will be the first all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Mountaineers.
Five Fast Facts
• The Bulldogs held High Point, who ranks top-10 nationally in scoring offense in Division-I, to a season low of 58 points. Its previous low was 72 points against Queens College on Nov. 14.
• Georgia held High Point to 23.3 percent shooting from the field, which is the lowest opponent field goal percentage the Bulldogs have allowed this season and the first time an opposing team shot under 30 percent since Mississippi State did so on Jan. 11, 2023.
• For the ninth time in 10 games this season and the 32nd time under Coach White, Georgia outscored its opponent in bench points, 25-8.
• RJ Melendez finished with 11 points in the contest, marking the fourth time in the last six games he’s reached double figures in scoring.
• Russel Tchewa set a new career-best in blocks with three, all in the first half, after previously recording a personal-best of one block in 31 different games throughout his career.
Coach White’s Postgame Interview with Transcript
Opening statement…
“Really good win for us. Long stretch of not playing. Exams. And a team that is a dangerous schedule for a lot of reasons. And they just showed all of us. They shot the ball, 73 shots, 25 offensive rebounds. They had 15 offensive rebounds at the half. They really move it. They do a great job. They’re going to win a bunch of games this season, and we were very fortunate.”
On what made the difference for Georgia at the end of the game…
“I thought Jabri [Abdur-Rahim] hit a big shot – an ‘and-one.’ And Justin Hill made a big floater in the paint. Nothing came easy really for either team offensively. We collected a few shots; I thought our defensive rebounding in the last 10 or 12 minutes, compared to the first 30, was a big factor.”
On having an 11-day lay-off between games…
“It probably affected both teams. They had a lay-off, too. I just thought they came in here hungry, aggressive and confident. [Trae] Benham got after it from the jump. Just hitting shots from deep, again with confidence and with hardly any room. We fouled two threes, got them to the line. They beat us to a lot of their offensive rebounds where we could’ve had them. They were just quicker to the ball. They played harder than us in the first 20, I thought. And offensively, they had us in rotations, a lot. They really moved it, shared it and attacked close outs, as well. Their guards do a good job on the offensive glass in addition. They’re a balanced team.”
On his halftime message to the team…
“They’re offensive rebounds were 15 to our one. That’s not a real good recipe in the SEC, so our guys, I thought, did a really good job of embracing it, owning it. Again, I thought down the stretch, Noah Thomasson, Silas Demary Jr, Jabri, RJ Melendez, they were all in their flying with less regard for their bodies down the stretch. We were getting stops with defensive rebounds.”
On the key to defending High Point successfully…
“Our first shot at defense was terrific against again a top-60, 70 offense, the numbers fluctuate every day, in the country. Changing up coverages, I thought, helped a little bit – ball screen coverages. Russel Tchewa continues to evolve on the perimeter. defensively for us. I thought Frank Anselem did a pretty good job there, too. R.J. Sunahara moved his feet pretty well for us. It was good to see him back out there healthy. Melendez did a good job defensively. They do a lot of stuff, too, where they make you communicate. They do a lot of stuff where the get a couple guards running at each other, and there are certain things we try to switch, which we tried not to switch. I thought vocally we were pretty sharp in the second half, especially.”
On his coaching decision to play with a lot of depth…
“We’ve got quality depth, and on different nights there has been different guys. We have a lot of parity on this roster. We have talked about this a lot in the past, and it’s no different now. And it’s going to be different guys on different nights, but collectively, pretty consistently we’ve been at least decent defensively. We got to continue to get better offensively. We played many guys, sometimes you’re a little bit more sporadic offensively. You’re not leaning on the same six or seven guys and roles are a little bit harder to define. You have to like the effort some of these guys are getting in for a few minutes and getting back out. I thought Blue Kane was really good defensively, as were some other guys. I am pleased with the defensive effort.”
On if he looks at the plus/minus…
“Yeah, I don’t know whether that’s right or wrong, but I do. One of the first things I looked at when RJ Melendez was in the game tonight, we were pretty good. It’s something that we talked about in front of his teammates right after the game.”
Box Score
WBB: Dawgs fall to Jackets
The University of Georgia women’s basketball team dropped a 64-53 decision to Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon before 3,744 spectators in Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia (7-3) spread scoring around to grab a 5-0 lead to start the game. Georgia Tech (8-3) struck back with a 12-point scoring run to close the first period leading 19-14.
Back and forth scoring fueled the second quarter as the Yellow Jackets held an 11-point advantage, 32-21, midway through the period. Three points from Chloe Chapman snapped a Georgia Tech eight-point run as the Yellow Jackets carried a 40-24 lead into the second half.
Georgia Tech continued to build on its lead in the third quarter before the Lady Bulldogs stacked eight points to get within 10, 44-34. The Yellow Jackets responded with five points of their own to spark a back and forth scoring effort to as Georgia Tech took a 55-41 lead into the final period.
The Yellow Jackets opened the fourth quarter with six points. Georgia ripped eight straight but could not overcome Georgia Tech’s lead as the Yellow Jackets finished with a 64-53 advantage.
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