The University of Georgia Men’s Basketball team defeated the Chattanooga Mocs 72-65 in a Wednesday matinee matchup in Stegeman Coliseum.
Kario Oquendo led the way for the Dawgs offensively with 22 points, 16 of which came in the second half as he came alive down the stretch to help Georgia mount a comeback victory. Terry Roberts and Braelen Bridges contributed nice performances as well, adding 14 and 12 points, respectively. Jamal Johnson carried the load for Chattanooga’s offense in dropping a game-high 23 points including 6 3-Point makes in 10 tries.
The Mocs came out firing from deep to build a quick lead which they would maintain for the entirety of the first half. 21 of the team’s 27 first-half field goal attempts came from beyond the arc as they converted on 9 triples before heading to the locker room at halftime with a 3-point lead despite only one made field goal from 2-Point range. While the Dawgs’ measly 2-10 3-Point performance fell far short of Chattanooga’s 42.9% clip, Georgia boasted a 16-0 advantage in paint points in spite of the imposing 7’0”, 275-pound interior presence of Chattanooga center Jake Stephens. Stephens, the Mocs’ leading scorer on the season at 22.5 points per game, was limited on Wednesday as he primarily operated on the perimeter, where he dropped in 6 of his 10 points with 2 first-half 3-Pointers. Bridges was effective down low against the big man as he converted on 3 of his 4 attempts to help slow down what was becoming a fast-paced shootout. Jaylin Ingram also provided a nice offensive spark off the bench to lead the Dawgs in scoring at the half with 7 points on 3-6 shooting.
The Chattanooga advantage teetered between 1 and 8 points for the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Mocs repeatedly found an answer to the Dawgs’ many attempts to take the lead. A 5-point Georgia scoring spurt capped off by a driving layup from Roberts brought the game to its first tie at a score of 50-50 with 9:23 remaining, but yet another 3-Pointer from the red-hot Johnson on the ensuing possession hastily put Chattanooga back on top. The two squads would trade 5-point runs twice more before MA Moncrieffe’s first bucket tied the game for the third time at a score of 60-60 with 4:23 on the clock. From there, Oquendo began to attack the basket relentlessly and converted on 3 of 4 free throws to give the Dawgs their first lead of the game with under 3 minutes to play. Georgia would end the game on a 16-5 run over the last 6:02 of action, earning 9 of those points at the charity stripe in 12 attempts. The Bulldogs defended the 3-Point line much more efficiently in the second half, allowing only 5 makes after giving up 9 in the first half, which ultimately played a major role in erasing the deficit. On the other end, the Dawgs picked up their shooting efficiency from deep in making 4 of 9 3-Pointers to add another dimension to their offensive attack.
Interestingly, starting guard Mardrez McBride only saw 4 minutes of playing time on Wednesday afternoon as coach Mike White looked primarily to Terry Roberts and secondarily to Justin Hill to assume ball handling responsibilities. This comes only three games after McBride led the Dawgs in minutes (34) against FAMU and two games after logging 27 minutes off the bench against Georgia Tech, so the role of the transfer from North Texas remains a bit unclear for this young season.
The win on Wednesday was certainly a good one for the Dawgs who bested a talented Chattanooga team while holding their best player to a season-low in scoring. The victory brings Georgia to 9-3 on the season as they prepare to host Rider on Wednesday, December 28th in what will be their last non-conference matchup before SEC play begins in January.