MBB: Bridges Leads UGA Over Hampton
The University of Georgia men’s basketball team used strong first-half shooting and dominant second-half post play from Braelen Bridges to finish with a decisive win over Hampton, 73-54, Wednesday evening before 5,911 spectators at Stegeman Coliseum.
In his first start of the season, Bridges posted his sixth career double-double, finishing with a game-best 21 points, 16 of which came in the second half, and 13 rebounds. Bridges’ 21 points is the second-most scored in his career. Terry Roberts added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Jaylin Ingram had 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range.
“A good W,” said head coach Mike White. “I am really proud of Jailyn Ingram, I don’t think anyone in the room, including myself fully understands what he’s been through during his seven-year college career. I mean, he is a completely different player than he was as a young player at FAU [Florida Atlantic University], he’s overcome all kinds of adversity. … He made shots obviously, but defended, I thought he did a really good job defensively for us as well. That was a storyline to the game in my opinion, the second one would be the fact that Braelen [Bridges] really got it going, I thought he was good defensively to compliment his offensive prowess. He had a motor on the offensive glass as well.”
Georgia (6-2) opened by making both of its first two attempts from deep and racing out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes. The team’s offense lulled a bit as Hampton (1-6) eased into the contest until Ingram put in his first two 3-pointers of the season, pushing the score to 20-9 just over nine minutes into the half.
Mardrez McBride hit his second-consecutive three with around five minutes remaining in the half to put Georgia up, 31-18. Ingram subsequently went down after a defensive stop, finding his spot on the outside wing and putting down another trey, as the Bulldogs extended their lead to 16.
The Bulldogs remained on fire from deep in the first half, finishing with a season-best eight makes on 14 attempts. Heading into the locker room, Georgia led, 41-26, with nine of its 11 made shots coming off assists. Ingram led all scorers in the opening frame with 11.
The second half started slowly for each team, with both sides combining for nine missed field goals through the first four minutes. Bridges established his presence in the post, earning all six points for Georgia heading into the first media break. His third basket of the half marked a new season-best for him with 12 points.
The scoring drought continued into the midway point of the second half, with neither team making a field goal for over four minutes. Bridges ended the dry spell as he converted on a layup and sent the game to the under-12 media timeout, with Georgia leading by 14.
Coming off a pair of Pirate free throws, Roberts got the ball from the inbounds pass and got the ball to the rack for a layup in just 10 seconds. Just under a minute later, Roberts hit a jumper with time expiring on the shot clock to bring his scoring total up to 15.
Georgia closed out the evening shooting 44 percent from the field, including 10-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs nearly led wire-to-wire, taking the lead 25 seconds into play and holding it throughout the evening.
WBB: Furman Visits Athens Tonight
Thursday, Dec. 1 | 7 p.m. ET | Stegeman Coliseum | SEC Network+
TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart and Anne Marie Armstrong)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler)
Watch Link: Click Here
Listen Link: Click Here
Live Stats: Click Here
Storylines
» Georgia will play host to the Furman Paladins at 7 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.
» This marks the 19th all-time meeting between Southern Conference’s Furman Paladins and the SEC’s Georgia Lady Bulldogs. Georgia leads the series with a commanding 18-0 record, with the last matchup coming in 2021.
» Georgia boasts a 7-1 record, coming off a tournament win in the Paradise Jam last week and a win over rival Georgia Tech.
» This year’s 7-1 record marks the best start of any coach in his or her first year in Georgia history.
» Georgia posted its largest comeback in program history with a 26-0 scoring run against the Wisconsin Badgers on Nov. 24.
» Preseason All-SEC and Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List selection Diamond Battles leads the Lady Bulldogs this season. She paces the team in points (15.0), assists (29 total) and minutes played (34.4 per game). Battles was named Tournament MVP in the Paradise Jam and led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 53 points.
» Fifth-year senior Brittney Smith reached 1,000 points in her career in the Paradise Jam. Smith led Georgia in free throws, going 6-6 from the line in the Lady Bulldogs’ win over Wisconsin.
» Junior guard/forward Zoesha Smith is coming off the best game of her career. She set new career highs in points (21), rebounds (10) and steals (4) against Georgia Tech. Smith, who had not played more than 20 minutes in a single game prior to this season, also posted her first career double-double against the Yellow Jackets.
» The Lady Bulldogs are undefeated at home (4-0) thus far in the season.
» Senior forward Javyn Nicholson paced the Lady Bulldogs in rebounds in the Paradise Jam with 14 (Wisconsin), 13 (VCU) and six (Seton Hall).
Georgia Season Notebook
Lady Bulldogs Make a Splash in Paradise Jam
Georgia was named the winner of the Paradise Jam based on the point differential in the games. Diamond Battles was named Tournament MVP, while Brittney Smith placed on the All-Tournament team. Four players scored in double figures in the final game of the tournament against Seton Hall.
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