Georgia Bulldogs improve to 11-1 with win over Charleston Southern

Georgia men's basketball pulled away late to defeat Charleston Southern 81-65.

Austin Mixon | 5 Hours Ago

Dec 19, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard De'Shayne Montgomery (2) dunks against the Buffalo Bulls at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia men's basketball pulled away late to defeat Charleston Southern 81-65.

Georgia basketball avoided the upset Sunday afternoon behind a pair of terrific performances from Dakota Leffew and De'Shayne Montgomery. Although it was far from a perfect performance, the Bulldogs handled adversity and controlled the game down the stretch. This type of game should help Georgia in the long run considering this team has not had many competitive games in non-conference play.

Mount St. Mary's transfer guard De'Shayne Montgomery led the team in scoring with 22 points. This was Montgomery's second appearance this season and served as an encore for his impressive debut against Buffalo. Georgia's other Mount St. Mary's transfer Dakota Leffew also impressed scoring 19 points. Both players hit clutch shots down the stretch of this game.

Charleston Southern cut the Georgia lead to just 5 points with 12:53 remaining in the game. Georgia responded, going on a 30-20 run to win the game handily. This run was sparked by a thunderous dunk from true freshman superstar Somto Cyril. This dunk brought the UGA bench and everyone in attendance to their feet. Cyril's presence in the paint will be crucial for UGA going forward.

UGA's defense continued its dominant start to the season blocking 6 shots and getting 8 steals. Georgia now averages 6.3 blocks per game this season which is top 10 in the country. This is one of Georgia's most improved areas as they only averaged 3.3 blocks per game last season.

Georgia will play their last non-conference game next Sunday at 2 pm against South Carolina State.