Hot Shooting Georgia Downs UTC, 86-55

Georgia guard Kenny Gaines hit the game’s first 3-pointer in the first 30 seconds and it proved to be a preview of things to come.

The Dawgs from Athens (4-3) kept hitting 3s (7 of 11, 63.6%) and also 2s (31-49, 63.3%) on the way to an 86-55 win against host Chattanooga at McKenzie Arena Tuesday night in a men’s college basketball game.

Gaines had a season-high 25 points (9-11 from the field) while teammate Marcus Thornton contributed with a career-best 24 points, plus six boards and Nemanja Djurisic had 10 points and a game-best eight boards.

“This was a really good win for us as our guys were geared up for the game, shot the ball well and our defense was good,” said Georgia coach Mark Fox who has 89 wins in six seasons in Athens.

“We really respected UTC and played hard and we needed to come in here get a win because we needed some confidence,” stated Fox as the Dawgs were coming off losing two games in the NIT Season Tip Off in New York City last week.

The Mocs were led by Casey Jones with 19 points and five rebounds, followed by Justin Tuoyo with eight points, four boards, three blocks and two assists.

“I felt good at half trailing by only seven (39-32), but we didn’t make open shots in the second half (6-28, 21.4%) and they hit theirs (16-24, 66.7%),” said UTC coach Will Wade.

First Half: Georgia 39-32 ...

Georgia took early lead at 5-0 as Kenny Gains drained a 3 and then a 2-pointer .. but UTC's Casey Jones scored six of the Mocs first 10 points as it was tied 10-10 at 16:04 ona 3-pointer by Greg Pryor ... UGa led by as many as 11 at 23-12 at 10:48 .. Mocs cut it to five at 34-29 at 3:30 on a 3-point play by Justin Tuoyo.

Second Half: Georgia was up 15 at 52-37 at 14:01 on a 3-pointer by Juwan Parker ... Black and Red went up 20 at 57-37 at 12:36 on layup by Nemanja Djurisic ... Mocs were down 16 (63-47) on free throws by Casey Jones ... he scored seven points in 2:30 ... UTC never got closer than 16.

Good Things for UTC: “We shared the ball, found the right guy and had the open looks, but just didn’t make the shots,” Wade stated.  “In the first half, I felt good where we were (down 7), the pace was good, but didn’t sustain it.”

Notes: Hot Shooting – last time Georgia shot 60% or better was 60% last February in a 91-78 win against LSU …

UTC Game Plan: “We didn’t want them to pound the ball inside and we hoped they would shoot their season average (44.1%), but they didn’t,” coach Wade said. “It’s a game of give and take and they hit their shots.”

Record vs. UGa:  Georgia leads 28-5 ... last UTC win was 73-70 in the NCAA tournament in 1997 ... last win in McKenzie was an NIT victory in 1984 (74-69 (OT)

Good Crowd: 3,784 ... largest home crowd of the season

200 Assists: UTC's Ronrico White had four assists tonight for 203 for a career

Next Game: Monday Dec. 8 - Montreat at home

Home Games Before Christmas:

* Mon Dec 8 - Montreat

* Tues Dec. 16 - Northern Kentucky

* Mon. Dec. 22 - Alabama-B'ham

also Mocs open SoCon season on the road at The Citadel (Dec. 11) 

 

Georgia 86, Chattanooga 55

UGa 39 – 47 – 86

UTC 32 – 23 – 55

Records: Georgia (4-3), Chattanooga (3-5)

Game Stats:

Points in the Paint: UGa, 42-18

Points off Turnovers: UTC, 11-9

2nd Chance Points: UTC, 13-10

Fast Breat Points: UGa, 4-0

Bench Points: UGa, 22-13

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net