Georgia Bulldogs defeat Winthrop Eagles, 74-64
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs move to 4-3 on the year after defeating the Winthrop Eagles at home Tuesday night, 74-64. This was the Dawgs’ last game before finals.
The Georgia Bulldogs get back over .500 by beating the Winthrop Eagles Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum, 74-64. With several days off during finals, head coach Mark Fox opted not to start shooting guard Kenny Gaines as well as play still-injured forward Juwan Parker Tuesday night. This was strictly precautionary.
Fortunately Georgia had three players play very well tonight in point guard Charles Mann, guard J.J. Frazier, and power forward Yante Maten. Mann had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Again, he didn’t shoot well from the floor (2-8), but did most of his damage from the charity stripe, making 9 of 10 free throw attempts.
-= Related: Georgia Bulldogs host Winthrop Eagles tonight =-
Frazier started in place of Gaines and had a double-double. He had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. It seemed like Frazier never left the court for Mark Fox. His energy was a major factor in the Georgia Bulldogs’ victory this evening.
More from UGA Basketball
- Georgia Basketball: The Bulldogs Land Their Point Guard
- Amir Abdur-Rahim Strengthens Atlanta Flavor In Athens
- Georgia Bulldogs: The Problem And Promise Of Tom Crean In Athens
- Tom Crean New Head Man For Georgia Bulldogs Basketball
- Georgia Bulldogs: Mark Fox Dismissal Not Clear Cut
Georgia’s best player on the floor tonight was emerging star in sophomore forward Yante Maten. Maten’s leap from his freshman to sophomore year has been an astounding one in the 2015-16 NCAA season. Tonight Maten had a game-highs with both 24 points and 12 rebounds. He shot a fantastic 10 of 16 from the field and a perfect 4 for 4 at the free throw line.
Yante Maten’s emergence down low has given Mark Fox the confidence to run the offense both inside and out on the perimeter with Georgia’s strong jump shooting. This will bode well for the team as they begin SEC play in a little less than a month.
Where Georgia won tonight’s game was at the free throw line. Winthrop got into foul trouble and UGA was able to turn the Eagles’ 26 fouls into 36 free throw attempts, making 29 of them. Though Winthrop shot better at the line than did UGA (14-16), Georgia’s extra 12 made free throws did serve as the difference in this game.
Next: Yante Maten: The inside presence UGA needs
This was only Winthrop’s second loss on the year, both to major Division I teams in the North Carolina State Wolfpack and now the Georgia Bulldogs. If UGA can continue to out rebound their opponent consistently (45 to 33 tonight) and do a solid job of distributing the basketball (17 assists on 21 made field goals), the Georgia Bulldogs could stand as a very tough team to beat once they are full healthy. Good luck on finals. Great team win. Go Dawgs!