Georgia Defeats Bucknell 65-61

Georgia improves to 3-1 after defeating Bucknell, despite trailing for majority of first half.

The Georgia Bulldogs improved to 3-1 tonight after a victory against the Bucknell Bison in Athens, Georgia. Despite trailing for the majority of the first half, The Bulldogs dominated their opponent in the 2nd half to emerge victorious.

Turnovers and poor shooting were once again the story for Georgia in the first as they found themselves tied 30-30 at the end of the first half. The Bulldogs went into the locker room with 7turnovers and were shooting just 28.6% from the field. Thankfully, Bucknell also struggled with turnovers and shooting, which allowed the Bulldogs to stay in the game for the 1st half.

The 2nd half went much better for Georgia. The Bulldogs transitioned to a 1-3-1 defensive approach which caused a great deal of trouble for Bucknell. The Bison spent the first 5 minutes of the second half without earning a single point in the paint. Georgia would emerge victorious 65-61 after holding onto a double-digit lead for much of the 2nd half.

The Georgia bench stepped up in a big way, as the Bulldogs were without their starting guard Kario Oquendo. Former walk-on Jackson Etter hit 2-3 of his 3 pointers off the bench and finished with 8 points total. Senior guard Terry Roberts led the team in points once again with 20. He also led the team in rebounds with 9 before going down with what appeared to be an injury to his right knee with just over a minute left in the 2nd half. He would return shortly after to finish the game. Head coach Mike White revealed in his post game presser that Roberts had been dealing with an illness and believed that he was dealing with cramps.

Senior guard Xander Rice led the Bison with 19 points and shot an impressive 62% from the field. However, despite Xander Rice’s shooting efficiency and the Bison’s early lead in the first half, Bucknell’s 15 turnovers and lackluster shooting performance in the 2nd half proved to be too much for them to overcome down the stretch.

Georgia will head to Daytona, Florida Monday night to begin “away play” in the “Sunshine Slam” tournament against St. Joseph’s. Depending on bracket play, they will play either UAB or USF on Tuesday night