11/25/19
Turnovers Haunt Hoop Dawgs in Quarterfinals of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational
Cover Photo: @UGABasketball
By. Andrew Rodberg (twitter.com/AndrewRod2019) (instagram: 404thebeat)
ATHENS, GA— In the first game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, Georgia faced the Dayton Flyers with a chance to move on to the semifinals. With a 2:30pm tip-off, the Dawgs instantly fell into trouble as they came out sluggish and turnover prone.In the first 10 minutes of play, Georgia found itself down by 16 as Dayton rode the hot hand of sophomore Obi Toppin who was 5-5 with 12 points. The trouble started with Tobbin but wasn’t the real issue… The Dawgs weren’t playing good transition defense, were playing too fast and not getting good shots up, and turned over the ball uncharacteristically.
With Rayshaun Hammonds the heart of the Georgia offense, he was unable to score more than 2 points and racked up a few fouls that crippled him from getting anything going. With Hammonds on the bench, Sahvir Wheeler and Anthony Edwards felt like they needed to score in order to cut into the lead and they also weren’t able to get anything going. The Dawgs had 14 turnovers, and went 11/24 on shots as they hobbled to the half down 25-43.
Key Contributors at Half:
Sahvir Wheeler: 6 pts, 1 rebound
Tye Fagan: 6 pts, 2 rebounds
In the second half, Georgia woke up and began to find the openings in Dayton’s defense. In doing so, the Dawgs cut the lead down to 13 after 5 minutes of play. The inexperience of the Dawgs really showed it’s face as they were unable to take advantage of the Dayton lackluster second half defense. Dayton early on, made it a focal point to feed the ball inside but in the second half they went to the deep ball. With that being said, Dayton’s Jalen Crutcher would make a three every time the Dawgs would begin to make a run as he went 4/8 from three with about 12 minutes left in the game.
Although the clock hadn’t hit 0:00, the game was well out of reach. The Dawgs were overpowered by the Flyers in every asset of the game… three point %, field goal %, and turnover battle. No matter what team you are, if you trail in two of the three of those battles, you are sure to lose. Hammonds with foul trouble all afternoon, officially fouled out with 6:17 left in the second half. and ended his outing 5 points after having 25+ in the last two games. The Dawgs couldn’t mount a comeback as they lose their first game of the season 80-61.
Honorable Mentions:
Shavir Wheeler: 7 points, 4 assists
Tye Fagan: 11 points, 2 rebounds
Next Opponent:
The Dawgs will now play the loser of the Michigan State/Virginia Tech game at 2:30pm tomorrow .
Continue to support your Men’s Basketball team as they begin their 2019-2020 campaign!
404thebeat.com 