Georgia Falls 1 Point Short in Tuesday Night Triller to LSU

The Georgia Bulldogs take a loss on the road to the LSU Tigers Tuesday night after being down 15 at one point.

Baton Rouge, LA – The Georgia Bulldogs ended up on the losing side of a 67-66 game against the LSU Tigers last night. With the one-point loss, the Bulldogs decrease to 15-13 and 5-10 in the SEC. LSU improves to 15-13 and 7-8 in the SEC.

Georgia collected the opening tip-off and capitalized with a layup by Russel Tchewa. LSU responded with a three-pointer by senior forward Derek Fountain within the first minute. The teams grabbed two baskets each, then LSU went on a 7-0 run in less than a minute to go up 13-7. Georgia snuck in a three-pointer by freshman guard Silas Demary Jr., but then LSU went on an 8-0 run to go up 23-10 with 13:06 left on the clock. During this run, Georgia began a dry spell where they missed six straight field goals and lasted for almost four minutes; it ended when senior center Frank Anselem-Ibe made a dunk with 12:53 remaining. The Anselem-Ibe dunk not only ended the Dawgs’ dry spell but also kicked off a 9-0 run for UGA, which made it a four-point game (19-23) before the 10-minute mark. LSU bounced back with an 8-0 run, which lasted for four minutes, to go up 31-19 with 6:23 left. LSU worked to expand and hold this lead, which peaked at 15 with 30 seconds left. Freshman guard Blue Cain hit a layup assisted by Demary Jr. to beat the buzzer and send Georgia into the locker room down 27-40.

Opening the second half, Georgia once again collected the tip-off, and Tchewa opened up, going 2-2 on free throws. UGA was able to cut it to a six-point game within the first four minutes with a 9-2 run (LSU’s two points were from free throws). LSU scored their first field goal of the second half with 15:45 left and took an 11-point lead (47-36) with a three-point jumper from Tyrell Ward with 15:20 left. The Bulldogs made it a 5-point game (44-49) less than two minutes later with a pair of three-pointers and a layup. The teams traded baskets (the gap between the two would stay less than 10) until Georgia went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead since the first two minutes of the game, going up 58-57 with 5:38 left. LSU quickly took back the lead with a layup by senior guard Jordan Wright, but UGA once again hit another field goal to take the one-point lead. This pattern continued until senior forward Will Baker made a pair of free throws to tie and take the lead with 15 seconds left. Georgia tried to get a field goal in but failed to do so, and the LSU Tigers scathed by in the 67-66 Tuesday night thriller.

The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 39-27 in the second half, but overall fell short shooting-wise. For the game, UGA went 37.3% from field goal range, 25.9% from behind the arc, and 78.9% from the line. The offensive effort for Georgia was led by graduate student guard Noah Thomasson, who had 16 total, making 6 of 13 field goal attempts. He is followed by senior guard Justin Hill, who had 11, three of which were three-pointers. Demary Jr. collected 4 of the Bulldogs’ 9 assists. In comparison, LSU shot well from the field, going 46.8% from field goal range and 50% from three-point range (the Tigers went 77.8% from the line). Wright led the Tigers with 17 total points; he shot 10 of 11 free throws and 3 of 7 field goals. Baker followed Wright into the double-digit range with 12 on the night (10 came from the first half). Senior guard Trae Hannibal led the Tigers with 8 assists.

Both teams picked up over 30 rebounds (UGA 34 and LSU 31). Demary Jr. led and grabbed 7 for the Dawgs; Tchewa was close behind with 6 rebounds. Freshman guard Mike Williams III led the Tigers’ defensive effort with 8 rebounds.

A big difference maker was turnovers and points off of turnovers. LSU had 16 total turnovers, but UGA only got 13 points off of them. UGA had 12 total turnovers, and LSU had 16 points from them.

With the loss yesterday, Georgia falls to 25-2 under head coach Mike White when holding its opponents to less than 70 points. This is Georgia’s second loss in a row after losing to Auburn, and the Bulldogs return home Saturday to play Texas A&M at 6 PM EST.

Other Georgia News:

• Georgia Falls in Huge Fashion to No. 14 Auburn in their First Match Up of the Season
• UGA Basketball Gets Win for First Time in Four Weeks
• Bulldogs Add Sixth Game to Losing Streak After Being Up over Florida

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