UGA Suffers Fourth Consecutive Loss after Falling to Mississippi State
In their first pair of back-to-back road games, the Georgia Bulldogs fell on the losing side of a 62-75 fight against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday. With the outcome of this game, Georgia drops to 14-9 overall and 4-6 in the SEC. Meanwhile, Mississippi State advances to 15-8 and 4-6 in the conference.
Mississippi State struck first in the second minute with a set of free throws by freshman guard Josh Hubbard. UGA answered with a 3-pointer by Noah Thomasson with 18:01 left. Neither team would score for over a minute until Mississippi State went on a 6-0 run to go up 8-3 on UGA with 14:44 left in the first half. Georgia would continue their scoring drought until senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim sank a 3-pointer, assisted by junior guard R.J. Melendez. Mississippi State then went on a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 10 up, 18-8, with 8:17 left. Mississippi State worked the rest of the half to extend its lead, which peaked at 14 points twice, once with 3:06 left and once with 2:18 left. Georgia closed the gap slightly and ended the half with back-to-back free throws from freshman guard Silas Demary Jr. to head into the locker room down 8 (28-36).
Feb 7, 2024; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Justin Hill (11) dribbles as Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard (13) defends during the second half at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Mississippi State added to the scoreboard first coming out of the half, but not until almost two minutes had passed (senior forward Tolu Smith made a layup with 18:07 left). Taking advantage of four made free throws and a jumper from senior Justin Hill, Georgia put up a quick 6 unanswered points to bring the game within 4 (34-38) with 17:09 left. Each set of Bulldogs traded baskets for the next seven minutes until Mississippi State pulled away to increase their lead to 13 (56-43) with 9:29 left. Georgia responded by going on a 10-0 run starting at 8:38 and ending with 6:21 left in the game to cut Mississippi State’s lead to the shortest of the half, 3 points. This would be the last of UGA’s momentum, however, as Mississippi State rebounded with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 9-point game with 4:30 remaining. Mississippi State carried this momentum for the rest of the game, coming out with a 75-62 win.
Mississippi State held the lead for 37:52 of the entire game. Leading the offensive attack for Mississippi State yesterday was Smith, who had 19 total and went 8-10 from field goal range. Three other athletes crossed into the double-digit margin for Mississippi State: Hubbard (14), senior guard Shakeel Moore (11), and sophomore forward KeSahwn Murphy (10). Mississippi State shot 41% from field goal range and recorded 19 assists in the matchup, with senior guard Dashawn Davis leading the team with 8 total. In comparison, UGA shot 35.1% from field goal range, only had two athletes break the double-digit range, and recorded a mere 6 assists. Thomasson led Georgia with 20 points yesterday, freshman guard Blue Cain racked up 10 points, and Hill had 4 assists.
Defensively, Mississippi State had 43 (11 offensive and 32 defensive)å total rebounds, 10 more than Georgia’s 33 (7 offensive and 26 defensive). Georgia also gave up 28 points from the paint and 15 from fast breaks to Mississippi State.
The loss yesterday once again places UGA in uncharted territory; the Dawgs have never lost four straight this season. They venture to Fayetteville, AR, this Saturday, 2/10, looking for a win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the second half of their back-to-back road game.
Other Georgia News:
- In a Game of Physicality, Georgia Loses their Third Straight to South Carolina
- After Leading the Majority of the Game, Georgia Falls to No. 24 Alabama
- After Crawling Back From Trailing by 21, Georgia Loses in Overtime to Rival, Florida
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