Bulldogs Narrowly Scrape Out a Win in First Round of the NIT over Xavier

After going up 23 in the second, Georgia found itself in a two-point game with Xavier with 11 seconds left. The Dawgs, however, pulled out the 78-76 win, to advance to the second round of the NIT.

Athens, GA – The season continues for the Georgia Bulldogs as they advance to the second round of the NIT after defeating Xavier 78-76 in the first round. This is Georgia’s first postseason win since defeating Belmont in the 2016 NIT.

Georgia collected the opening tipoff, and each team remained scoreless until graduate student center Russel Tchewa went 2 for 2 on free throws for the Dawgs in the third minute (17:36). Xavier responded 16 seconds later with three free throws from senior guard Quincy Olivari. Freshman guard Silas Demary Jr. knocked down the first field goal of the game for Georgia with a layup with 17:04 remaining. The teams exchanged baskets and leads (no greater than two points) for the next five minutes until UGA went on a brief 6-2 to go up 19-13 with 11:32 on the clock. The Musketeers made it a five-point game, but senior forward Justin Hill sank two back-to-back three-pointers to put the Dawgs 8 (25-17) with just over nine and a half minutes remaining. Xavier answered with a 6-2 to make it a four-point game, 23-27 at the 6:37 mark. Georgia took an 8-point (40-32) lead with less than a minute and a half left in the half. The Dawgs were able to maintain and improve upon this lead after a 6-0 run capped off by a dunk from R.J. Melendez to send the Dawgs into the locker room on top 46-34.

Xavier added to the scoreboard first with a layup from sophomore guard Desmond Claude in the first 20 seconds. Graduate student guard Noah Thomasson gave the Dawgs their first score of the half with a layup 20 seconds later. The Musketeers had their second three-pointer of the game, with one from Olivari, to make it an 8-point game (40-48). UGA extended its lead to 14 (54-40) with a 25-second 6-0 run right after. Georgia took its biggest lead of the game thus far, 21 points, with a 2:14 9-0 run to go up 63-42 with 13:48 remaining. Xavier called a timeout 7 seconds later, but the Dawgs continued the scoring drive, adding two more (a 23-point lead). Xavier responded with an 8-0 run that trimmed the UGA lead to 13 (57-70) with 8:38 left in the game. With 2:33 remaining, Xavier made it a four-point game (72-76) after going on an 11-2 run. The Musketeers made it even closer, 74-76, when senior guard Dayvion McKnight made a jumper with 1:35 on the clock. Demary Jr. made a layup with 0:26 remaining to send the Dawgs up 78-74. McKnight, however, made a layup for the Musketeers with 11.4 seconds left to keep it a two-point game. Tchewa came up with a big block with 1.9 seconds left that left Xavier with the basketball but prevented a game-tying layup. Despite Xavier outscoring the Dawgs 42-32 in the second half, Georgia ended with a 78-76 win.

UGA had four Bulldogs record in the double-digit range: Demary Jr. (16), Melendez (14), Thomasson (12), and Hill (10). Georgia’s bench contributes 35 of the points tonight. In the first half, the Dawgs shot 50% from field goal range, 42.9% from behind the arc, and 87.5% from behind the line. All of these shooting percentages fell in the second half, causing UGA to go 43.8% from the field goal range, 37.5% from three-point range, and 57.1% from the line for the entire game. Georgia’s bench contributes 35 of the points tonight. Both Demary Jr. and Tchewa led in assists, each with 4. Georgia collected a total of 38 rebounds; Tchewa and freshman forward Dylan James each led with six. Georgia had 10 steals the entire game, and Melendez had 4 (2 in each half).

Claude racked up 30 points (23 came in the second) and led the Musketeers in scoring. He is followed by Olivari, McKnight, and Ousmane, who had 11, 10, and 10, respectively. All of Xavier’s shooting stats increased in the second half, and for the night, the Musketeers went 46.7% from field goal range, 40.0% from three-point range, and 80.0% on free throws. Claude was also the leading distributor for Xavier for the night, with five assists. Ousmane led the team in rebounds with 10, and Lazar Djokovic was second, grabbing 8.

The Dawgs have had a lot of close games this season, and according to Melendez, coming out on top in an outing that came down to the final seconds "feels great.” On Saturday or Sunday, Georgia will face either Wake Forest or App State, depending on the outcome of their game on Wednesday. 

Other Georgia News:

• The Light On Georgia's Season Stay On with a Win over Missouri in the First Round of the SEC Tournament
• Bulldogs Add Sixth Game to Losing Streak After Being Up over Florida
• UGA Suffers Fourth Consecutive Loss after Falling to Mississippi State

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