Georgia basketball: Bulldogs notch 69-47 win over Ole Miss
It wasn’t the sharpest performance for Georgia basketball, but thanks to a stellar defensive performance, Georgia cruised to another SEC win.
Georgia held Ole Miss to just 27 percent from the field and the Bulldogs got a strong performance from J.J. Frazier to pick up a 69-47 win over Ole Miss.
With the win, Georgia improves to 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, while Ole Miss falls to 10-6 and 1-3. It’s just the second time in Mark Fox’s tenure that the Bulldogs have gotten off to a 3-1 start in SEC play.
Frazier knocked down two 3-pointers and the Bulldogs had one of their best defensive halves of the season in the opening 20 minutes, as Ole Miss had just 18 points at the break. The 18 points tied the Bulldogs season-best for points given up in a half. The Rebels were also dealt a significant blow when their leading scorer, Deandre Burnett, injured his ankle in the first half and did not return.
HALFTIME: Georgia leads Ole Miss 30-18 on the road!
J.J. Frazier leads the Dawgs with 10 pts. #UGAvsMISS pic.twitter.com/Ca1u3EawSx
— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) January 12, 2017
Georgia did a great job of maintaining a healthy lead in the second half, as the Rebels were never able to trim lead to smaller than 7. Mark Fox never even took his jacket off in the game. Yante Maten led the way in the second half as he scored 13 of his 15 points in the final 20 minutes
The win avenges a 72-71 loss at Ole Miss from last season.
Player of the game: J.J. Frazier
The Bulldogs were able to build their first half lead because of their great defense and Frazier. 10 of his 17 points came in the opening 20 minutes, while Maten had just 2 first half points. Frazier also connected on three 3-pointers and finished with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
The senior guard did have a scary moment late in the game, as he had a hard fall with just under four minutes to play. Georgia was up 58-44 at the time of the fall. He did not return to the game but the victory was well in hand at that point. According to a UGA team spokesman, Frazier could’ve gone back into the game.
Maten finished with a double-double, as he 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Stat line of the game: Georgia field goal defense
Ole Miss never looked comfortable on offense as it shot just 27 percent from the field. The Rebels shot just 17 percent in the first half. Ole Miss had more fouls, 20, than made field goals, 14. Terence Davis led Ole Miss in scoring with 12 points.
Turning point: Jordan Harris take over
While he wasn’t dominant all game, freshman Jordan Harris had a strong second half performance that kept the Rebels at bay. Harris blocked two Ole Miss 3-point attempts, converted a driving lay-up and knocked down the 3-pointer that extended Georgia’s lead from 7 to 10 with 7:16 remaining.
What’s next for Georgia basketball
The Bulldogs will be on the road again on Saturday when they take on the No. 23 Florida Gators in Gainesville. The Gators are one of three unbeaten teams in the SEC, along with Kentucky and South Carolina. The Gators won both of last season’s matchups. The game will air on ESPN2 and tips at noon.
Georgia basketball box score
