Georgia Bulldogs fall to Minnesota for second loss in New York
By Brad Rowland
After enduring a double-digit loss to Gonzaga on Wednesday night, the Georgia Bulldogs returned to action at Madison Square Garden on Friday afternoon, and they once again faced off with a quality opponent in the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Unfortunately, Georgia dug a considerable hole with carelessness in the opening moments, and the team could never fully recover on the way to a 66-62 defeat to even their record at 3-3 on the season.
Things did not start swimmingly for the Bulldogs, but not in the “traditional” way. Georgia came out of the gate at a blistering pace from the floor, shooting 67% from the field in the first 14 minutes of game action, but Mark Fox’s group suffered big-time turnover issues. The Dawgs issued 11 giveaways in that short time period, a number that is staggering, and as a result, they trailed 28-12 to start the afternoon.
From there, UGA responded with a 6-0 run to climb within ten points, but they could never get closer than an eight-point deficit before halftime. The Dawgs shot 63% from the field in the half, but with 15 turnovers and Minnesota able to shoot a ridiculous 7-12 from three in the half, the team from Athens went into the break with a 37-25 deficit.
The second half was far better for the Dawgs, but because of the first half hole, it wasn’t enough. Georgia mounted a 6-0 run to cut lead to 52-47 with 7:35 to go, and they were able to claw within three points after a J.J. Frazier three with less than a minute remaining. Still, Minnesota was able to execute down the stretch, and the Gophers escaped with the four-point win.
Marcus Thornton led UGA in scoring with 15 points, while freshman Yante Maten scored 12 points (all in the first half) and J.J. Frazier added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists of his own. It was a tale of two halves for the Dawgs, who improved greatly in ball security after the break, but in finishing with just 46% shooting for the game, the ball simply would not fall through the hoop in the final 20 minutes.
The Georgia Bulldogs will take the rest of the weekend off, before returning to action with an “interesting” true road game against the Chattanooga Mocs on Tuesday at 7:00 pm ET. Stay tuned.