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MBB: Georgia Bulldogs Defeats South Carolina 75-70
The 18th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs defeated South Carolina (10-6, 1-2), 75-70, on Saturday afternoon at the Colonial Life Arena to move to 14-2 (2-1) on the season. Sophomore forward Kanon Catchings led all scorers with 20 points in the contest.
Fast Facts:
- With the win, Georgia narrows the all-time series to 64-63, trailing by one game.
- Kanon Catchings scored a season-high 20 points – 15 of which came in the first half. Somto Cyril also added a career-high 18 points, with Jeremiah Wilkinson and Blue Cain joining the tandem in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
- Georgia led South Carolina in points off turnovers (14-10), total rebounds (38-35), points in the paint (38-34) and fast break points (18-11).
- The Bulldogs have now beaten the Gamecocks in the last three trips to Columbia.
- After shooting 8-8 from the field in the win, Cyril now has a 100-percent field goal percentage in five of his last seven games.
- With his two made free throws today, Cain now sits at No. 2 in program history in single-season free throw percentage at 91.1 percent (minimum 50 attempts).
Key Quotes
Georgia Head Coach Mike White
On the win…
“Incredibly tough to come by, and that was the last message I just gave our guys. There are things you talk about after wins and losses, and you try to harp on some positive after losses. You’ve got to make sure, at least that’s just my philosophy, after some big wins, let’s talk about some of the negatives, too. It’s a good time to learn because we’re all feeling good, we’re all locked in, and we’re all connected and cheering about the win. That last possession defensively, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ The way we started defensively in the first half, our shot selection in the first half, just some stuff that has just got to continue to be addressed. That said, though, the huge positive is South Carolina is a very, very good. They just came off a huge road win. They’re really hard to beat. They’re really hard to beat at home. Just winning on a road in this league, don’t take it for granted, guys. That was big, but we’ve got to keep getting better.”
On first-half struggles…
“It was awful. Challenged our guys at halftime, as we always do, but nothing really different. Told a couple guys in particular, ‘If we don’t get locked in, man, I’ve got to take you out.’ We’re going to start with our starters in the second half, but we’re going to make substitutions really quickly. Especially when you saw we were a completely different team with a different lineup in the start of the first half. When we play our best basketball this year, all 11 that play look like that, but we’ve just got a couple guys out of character right now, and we’ve got to – you hear me say it for four years now, we weren’t taking our shot now. We had some games within the game where we were taking my shot. We were trying to hit home runs, and it doesn’t work that way, especially against a really good defense. It just makes you look bad. Offensively, we had some possessions where we looked bad. Second half, much, much better.”
On having veteran leadership in a tough road environment…
“We also had a couple older guys that – you’re not real old. For us, we’ve got a couple juniors that play a lot and a couple sophomores, and we’re still one of the younger teams in the league, but we’re not incredibly young like last year, and we’ve got to grow up pretty quickly if we’re going to make a run at this, which is our ceiling, right, which is what we want to get to. I love our personnel, our roster individually. We’ve got to put it together. That said, though, on the road in the SEC, yeah, you do have – there’s a learning curve there, for sure. Learning how to finish a game. They missed a couple free throws for us. They missed a couple shots for us. We had a couple fouls that, if we’re just a little bit more disciplined with our wall up, with our block out, aren’t fouls, and potentially you win that game by eight or ten, you’re a little more comfortable, and you and I didn’t have heart issues.”
Up Next: The 18th-ranked Bulldogs return home to Stegeman Coliseum to face Ole Miss on Wednesday, January 14. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
GYM: Georgia Defeats No. 21 Ohio State in Columbus
TEAM SCORES
No. 12 Georgia: 197.000
No. 21 Ohio State: 196.250
Georgia’s Season Record: 1-0
GymDogs Event Scores:
Vault: 48.825 | Bars: 49.200 | Beam: 49.500 | Floor: 49.475
The No. 12 Georgia GymDogs recorded a 197.000 to defeat No. 21 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday at the Covelli Center, 197.000-196.250. This score marks the Bulldogs’ first 197.000 season opener since 2007 against Stanford (197.375).
FAST FACTS
- Junior Lily Smith led the way with first-place finishes on bars (9.875), beam (9.925), and floor (9.950), earning co-champion honors on bars and beam alongside freshman Kelise Woolford. Smith was a 2025 floor All-American.
- Junior Ady Wahl claimed the vault title with a 9.900, marking her 10th career finish of 9.900 or higher on the event. The Zanesville, Ohio, native added a 9.775 on bars (tied-7th) and 9.850 on floor (tied-6th). Wahl was a 2025 vault All-American.
- Junior Ja’ Free Scott and sophomore Nyla Aquino each notched a 9.850 on the vault apparatus to tie for second in the event.
- All five of Georgia’s freshmen made their NCAA debuts against the Buckeyes. Woolford earned co-champion honors on bars (9.875) and beam (9.925), tying Smith in each event. CaMarah Williams scored a 9.900 on floor to place fifth, while Autumn Reingold finished fourth on bars with a 9.850. Brooke Pierson and Avery Moll both made their collegiate debuts on vault.
- Sophomore Harley Tomlin posted a career-high 9.875 on beam to finish fourth in the event. Tomlin also made her NCAA debut on the floor, opening the rotation for Georgia with a 9.825.
UP NEXT:
Georgia Gymnastics will compete in Stegeman Coliseum for the first time in 2026, hosting No. 2 LSU at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, in Athens, Ga. The theme of the Bulldogs’ home and SEC opener is GymDog Beach Bash, featuring free Hawaiian shirts for the first 250 kids 12 and under in the Kids Zone and the first 500 students.
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