The Georgia Bulldogs Men’s Basketball team hosted their first home action of the season on Friday night in Stegeman Coliseum, taking care of business against Morehouse in a 64-49 exhibition victory.
Braelen Bridges and Kario Oquendo led the way for the Dawgs scoring 12 points each on 6-9 and 4-7 shooting, respectively, while Malik Kennedy led the Maroon Tigers with 14.
Morehouse came out aggressively on defense to start the game by implementing a mix of man-to-man and 1-2-2 full-court pressures, which earned them a 1-point lead heading into the first media timeout. Georgia responded with a 7-0 run coming out of the break, giving them a lead they would hold for the remainder of the contest.
Consecutive paint buckets from Braelen Bridges increased the Georgia lead to 28-17 with 3:57 to go in the first half, which eventually increased to a 14 point halftime margin following a transition 3-Pointer from Jaxon Etter with 1 minute remaining in the half. Georgia led 32-18 at the intermission.
A long 2-point wing jumper from Aaron Cook quickly following the start of the second half gave Georgia their largest lead of the night at 16 points with a score of 34-18 with 19:31 left in the game. Georgia maintained control until a 3-Pointer from Elijah Stewart with 13:28 to play sparked an 8-0 Morehouse run and corresponding Georgia scoring drought spanning 4:37, trimming the Georgia lead to 2 at a score of 41-39. The Maroon Tigers would be unable to pull any closer for the remainder of the game.
Georgia closed the game on a 10-0 run to eventually secure the 64-49 victory with contributing baskets from Kario Oquendo, Jaxon Etter, Jaylin Ingram, and Aaron Cook.
The Dawgs outpaced Morehouse the entire night, outscoring the Maroon Tigers 28-2 in fast-break points in dominant fashion. Georgia also manhandled Morehouse on the glass, boasting a 53-33 rebound advantage, adding an impressive 22 offensive rebounds. Neither team shot particularly well, with both teams shooting at an even 50% clip from the free-throw line and well below 30% from three-point range.
The Bulldog victory on Friday wraps up exhibition play for the team as they prepare to begin their non-conference regular-season schedule and host Florida International on Tuesday, November 9th in Athens.