Georgia Bulldogs Lose Home Opener in OT to Mocs, 92-90
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs fought admirably to force overtime down most of the game, but end up losing their first game of 2015-16 to the Chattanooga Mocs, 92-90.
The Georgia Bulldogs will not have a perfect 2015-16 NCAA Season, as the Dawgs lost their home opener to the Chattanooga Mocs, 92-90 in overtime. Georgia was down by as many 11 in this game and overcame an 8 point deficit at halftime to force overtime.
Turnovers and fouls were running rampant in this game for both teams. UGA had 21 turnovers and committed 30 fouls. UTC turned the ball over 16 times and committed 33 fouls. The Georgia Bulldogs clobbered the Mocs with blocks, 11 to 2, but couldn’t prevent the Mocs from taking so many shots. The Mocs out shot UGA in this contest, 69 to 48. Though the Georgia Bulldogs were more efficient in the shooting (.542 from the field), the high volume of Chattanooga proved problematic.
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Dropping the home opener in overtime is never good, but there were plenty of players on the Georgia Bulldogs that played well. Guard J.J. Frazier had a team high 22 points on 6 of 14 shooting. He hit 50% of his threes (4-8) and shot well from the charity stripe (6-7).
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Forward Yante Maten had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He shot an impressive 5-7 from the field and 7-10 from the free throw line. The big man from Michigan also had 4 blocked shots. He’s seems like a natural fit to start down low for Mark Fox going forward. I’m looking forward to his continued development in his sophomore season.
Guard Charles Mann continues to draw contact better than anybody. Mann had 17 points, shooting 10 of 16 from the free throw line, to go along with his 3 assists and 4 steals. The Senior guard from Alpharetta also brought down 5 rebounds. Guard Kenny Gaines had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
The offensive production for the Georgia Bulldogs seems promising with 4 of 5 starters in double figures scoring, with Forward E’Torrion Wilridge with another 8. Defensively, and especially on the glass, UGA needs improvement.
I’m certain that HC Mark Fox will figure this out shortly, as his Georgia Bulldogs teams tend to start the year slowly before coming into form during SEC play. The Men’s Basketball team did lose three major contributors down low in Nemanja Djurisic, Cameron Forte, and Marcus Thornton. It was nice to see Junior Forward Kenny Paul Geno get the start, but neither Forward Juwan Parker or Derek Ogbeide played due to injury.
Next: Georgia Bulldogs Basketball Season Starts Friday!
The Georgia Bulldogs hope to get back in the win column in their next game when the Dawgs take on Murray State next Friday (11/20) at 7 PM ET at Stegeman Coliseum. That game again will air on SECN+. Tough way to lose the home opener, but Let’s Go Dawgs!