Georgia basketball had its challenges with Oregon on Monday after, but hustle and resiliency were not among them.
The Bulldogs trailed throughout most all of game but avoided the blowout, scrapping back each time the Ducks threatened to runaway.
“We fought to the bitter end,” Georgia coach Mike White said. “We weren’t crisp enough .... We’re trying to build something, but we have to do a better job.”
All-Pac-12 post N’Faly Dante led Oregon, which led by as many as 20 points en route to the 82-71 win over the Bulldogs at T-Mobile Arena in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series.
Dante, a 6-11, 220-pound force, scored 16 points and pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds as the Ducks used their size and athleticism to outscore Georgia 48-20 in the paint and hold a commanding 63-41 rebounding edge.
“They dominated us on the glass,” White said. “My goodness those rebounding numbers are staggering, unbelievable.”
Nike co-founder and billionaire Phil Knight was court side watching as Oregon’s talent advantage was obvious throughout the contest.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim scored 18 points to lead the Bulldogs, including a 3-pointer with 1:55 left to cut the lead to 78-68.
UGA’s big men were not able to come up big enough.
Russel Tchewa, UGA’s 7-foot transfer portal addition from South Florida, had 5 points and 9 rebounds in the 20 minutes he played.
Frank Anselem, a 6-10 center who transferred into UGA from Syracuse last year, failed to score and had just one rebound the 7 minutes he was in the game.
White’s most efficient lineup was of the smaller, quicker variety.
Freshman Blue Cain (12 points, 5-of-11 shooting), drained a corner 3 to make it a three-possession game at 79-71 with 57.4 seconds left.
Oregon, coming off a 21-win season and looking to get back into the NCAA tourney for the first time in three years, was able to close out the game without Georgia getting any closer.
Kario Oquendo, who starred at UGA the past two seasons before transferring to play for the Ducks, had 7 points in the nine minutes he played coming off the bench for this loaded Oregon team.
Georgia basketball had hoped its 10-day trip to Italy last summer would help prepare the team for a strong season after last year’s 16-16 campaign.
The Bulldogs, however, simply had no answer for Dante and Oregon’s interior game from the jump.
The Ducks led by as many as 17 points in the first half (28-11) before Georgia used an 11-0 run to make the game competitive, closing the gap to 32-28 on a Cain steal and drive.
The Ducks re-extended the lead to 40-30 as the teams headed into the halftime locker room.
“When we moved the ball side to side, we gave them trouble inside,” Oregon coach Dana Altman noted. “We had (28) points in the paint.”
Georgia, meanwhile, had just 10 points in the paint in the first half, turning the ball over as many times through the first 20 minutes (9) as they had field goals.
The Bulldogs finished with 16 turnovers -- too many for White’s liking.
“I thought we’ve had better cohesiveness and connectivity both offensively and defensively leading into this, one“ White said. “But a good program like that will expose you, that’s why you play these games.”
The Bulldogs return to action at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Stegeman Coliseum against ACC power Wake Forest.
