Georgia falls to South Carolina 61-55

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Despite a late effort, the University of Georgia men’s basketball team fell to South Carolina 61-55 on Saturday afternoon before 10,211 spectators at Colonial Life Arena.

Senior Terry Roberts led Georgia (16-15, 6-11 SEC) in scoring with 14 points and five rebounds, while Fifth-year Braelen Bridges tallied 12 points. Juniors Justin Hill and Mathew-Alexander Moncrieffe each pitched in with eight points. Hill, a native of Houston, Texas logged his 1000th career point in the final minutes of the game, at the charity stripe. On the afternoon, the Bulldogs shot 37.3 percent from the field.

“Credit to South Carolina,” said Georgia head coach Mike White following the game. “These guys have been through some adversity. They obviously finished with a win at home. Playing good basketball… I’m going to keep doing what I do and what we do as a staff. Challenge these guys. Motivate them. Love them. We have a great group of guys. They have done some good things this year. We’ve accomplished some stuff. Certainly, we’ve been struggling, searching for a win here down the stretch. Just continuing to remind them… It’s a new chapter. Everyone gets a clean slate. Anything can happen in conference tournaments and it’s our last chapter. How are we going to respond to struggling in the win/loss column down the stretch.”

South Carolina (11-20, 4-14 SEC) quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead heading into the first media break, however, the Bulldogs immediately responded with a 12-0 run. The Georgia lead grew to eight, thanks to a pair of fast break buckets by fifth-year Mardrez McBride and sophomore Jusaun Holt. South Carolina responded with an 8-3 run to close out the half. The Bulldogs entered the locker room up 27-25.

Coming out of the locker room Georgia jumped out to a 33-29 lead. The teams battled over the next 14 minutes of play – trading baskets – with neither team leading by more than two. With 2:19 remaining, a steal by Jailyn Ingram led to a fast-break 3-pointer by Jusaun Holt to give Georgia a 51-50 lead. South Carolina immediately responded forcing a pair of turnovers. Despite a late effort by the Bulldogs, the Gamecocks made eight free throws down the stretch to give South Carolina the 61-55 win.

Georgia returns to action on Wednesday, Mar. 8, when the Bulldogs face the LSU Tigers in the first round of the 2023 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. Tip is set to follow the opening game at approximately 9:15 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.