This was not what Mark Fox and the Georgia basketball team envisioned when they scheduled a game against the Horizon league Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
The Bulldogs, traveled to Rochester, Mi., and a year after surviving a scare against Oakland, the Golden Grizzlies came away with a 86-79 win against the Bulldogs.
Despite a hot start from J.J. Frazier, Michigan native Yante Maten found himself in foul trouble in his homecoming of sorts. And the Golden Grizzlies took advantage and used an 18-4 run to take a 61-51 lead in the second half.
The Bulldogs were able to chip away at the lead, but they had no answer for Oakland’s Martez Walker, who scored 25 points in the second half for a career-high 30. Maten fouled out of the game with over six minutes to go in the game.
With the loss, Georgia falls to 8-4, while Oakland improves to 10-3.
Player of the Game: J.J. Frazier
With Maten stuck in foul trouble, it was up to Frazier to carry the team, and the senior guard did just that. He hit his first five shots of the contest and finished the game 22 points and four assists. Fittingly, Frazier missed his final 10 shots of the game. Georgia also got double figure performances from Juwan Parker, Derek Ogbeide. Parker finished with a season-high 15, while Ogbeide notched his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Stat of the game: Georgia’s turnovers
Georgia was very sloppy with the ball against Oakland, as the Bulldogs turned the ball over 19 times in the game. The Golden Grizzlies got 18 points off of those turnovers. Georgia’s perimeter defense was also suspect, as the Bulldogs hit 10-of-17 3-pointers in the game.
Turning point: Turtle Jackson air ball
The Bulldogs had trimmed the Oakland lead to 78-75 with less than two minutes to go in the game. But the Bulldogs gave up multiple offensive rebounds. Walker then hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to six. When Georgia got the ball back, Turtle Jackson airballed a 3-pointer, ending any chance Georgia had at making a comeback.
What’s next for Georgia basketball
The Bulldogs begin SEC play next Thursday as it travels to Auburn to take on the Tigers. Auburn picked up a win over Connecticut on Friday. When these two teams met last season at Auburn, the Tigers came away with a 84-81 win.
Georgia basketball box score
What Georgia head coach Mark Fox said
“We allowed 48 points in the second half and we just gave up less than that to Georgia Tech in a game. Our defensive performance tonight was just disappointing. We have to play defense where we don’t foul.”
“We’ll practice on the 26th and we’ve got a lot to work on.”