ATHENS – Georgia basketball showered North Florida with a season-high 11 3-pointers in a 78-60 win on Friday.
The Bulldogs (9-3) seized a double-digit lead early and never let it go, passing another “preseason” test with flying colors.
UGA was also at its most accurate from beyond the arc, finishing the game at a season-high 55 percent from 3-point range. The Bulldogs simply built on a 16-point lead at halftime, shooting 13 of 28 in the second half to bury the Ospreys (7-7).
Jabri Adbur-Rahim stayed red-hot for Georgia, leading the team with 18 points, 4 rebounds and an assist. Abdur-Rahim, who scored all his points in the first half, came off a career-high 23-point game against Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday.
“(Abdur-Rahim) found his range for all of us,” UGA coach Mike White said. “He did a good job moving off the ball. He’s got a quick, high release, and made some shots, got us going.”
Noah Thomasson added another 10 points with a two-pair of rebounds and assists.
Georgia put North Florida away for good with a 9-0 scoring run in the second half. RJ Melendez drained a floater at the 10:36 mark followed by consecutive layups from RJ Sunahara.
Silas Demary Jr. then drained Georgia’s 11th 3-pointer of the game to extend the lead to 21 with seven minutes remaining.
Georgia kept a lead comfortable enough to give walk-ons Jaden Newell and Brandon Klatsky their first collegiate regular season minutes.
UGA caught fire about halfway through the first half, rumbling back from an early 20-12 deficit to take a 45-29 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs took just nine shots before the 10:46 mark, when a Jalen DeLoach dunk sparked 17 unanswered Georgia points. UGA outscored North Florida 33-9 in the half’s last 11 minutes.
Georgia made its first eight attempts from 3-point range in the win.
Abdur-Rahim led the first half explosion again for UGA, shooting 5 of 5 from 3-point range for the 18-point half. Abdur-Rahim has kickstarted the Bulldog offense plenty this season, including a 21-point first half on Wednesday.
The former Virginia transfer nailed back-to-back 3-pointers followed by another trio of free throws to build a comfortable lead for Georgia.
UGA’s defense seemed to find its stride at the same time. The same Ospreys that shot 8 of 17 through the first 10 minutes of the game finished the half 12 of 34.
North Florida entered the game averaging the country’s most 3-point attempts (35.1) and makes (12.5) per game. Georgia allowed 12 makes on 42 attempts.
“We knew how good they were shooting the ball, and they came out and showed that, so we had to tighten up a little bit,” Abdur-Rahim said. “We were afraid of that, and that’s what they do. They’re a good team, they’re going to make shots, but I think we responded the right way.”
Georgia is back in action hosting Alabama A&M at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 30. The Bulldogs, now winners of seven straight, will tip off SEC play against Missouri at 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2024, at Mizzou Arena.
“We’ve got some momentum,” White said. “We continue to get better in certain areas, but overall, we’ve got to get a lot better in a few to be really competitive in our league.”
