12/4/19 9:00pm
Hoop Dawgs Remain Perfect at Home Behind Huge First Half
Cover Photo: @UGABasketball
By. Andrew Rodberg (twitter.com/AndrewRod2019) (instagram: 404thebeat)
ATHENS, GA—Following a buzzer beater win vs Chaminade in Hawaii, the Dawgs returned back home to Athens to face the North Carolina Central Eagles. With a 7:00pm tip-off, the Dawgs enforced their will and showed that they were the better and more aggressive team while building a big lead behind Edwards and Hammonds.
Now 7 games into the season, the narrative has been that the Dawgs start slow, struggle from the three point line and defense can be lackluster at times but tonight all of those were completely wrong. Starting with the defense, the Dawgs were able to smoother the Eagles and force 11 turnovers that resulted in multiple open three point shots (that were going down early and often). With that being said, the Dawgs rattled off 7/14 from three as everything was working in the first 20 minutes. Edwards started off red hot, going 7/11 on field goals and 4/7 from three as the first half came to a close. The Dawgs were able to build a 15 point lead and went into halftime at a 50-35 score.
Key Contributors at Half:
Rayshaun Hammonds: 10 pts, 1 rebound, 2 blocks
Tyree Crump: 9 pts, 3 rebounds
Anthony Edwards: 19 pts, 3 assists, 2 steals
In the second half, the shots continued to go down as the Dawgs remained aggressive and showed no signs of letting the Eagles get back into the game. With the week break, the Georgia defense really showed improvement as they clamped down and forced some bad shots and turnovers by the Eagles. While the defense refused to allow a comeback, Tyree Crump, Anthony Edwards, and Rayshaun Hammonds continued to drain shot after shot on their way to a huge 30 point lead with a little over 7 minutes left. With the game well over, the Dawgs sat Anthony Edwards and let some of the key bench players get some work in. In doing so, every person on the Georgia roster aside from Jaykwon Walton was able to get on the scoreboard in a blowout win for the Dawgs. In what looked to be an overmatched Eagles team, they continued to fight but were only able to put up 24 points in the second half to the Dawgs 45 that resulted in a 95-59 win for Georgia. The Dawgs record now sits at 6-2 with a matchup with Arizona State coming up in 10 short days.
MVP:
Anthony Edwards: 21 pts, 3 assists
Honorable Mentions:
Rayshaun Hammonds: 19 pts, 9 rebs
Tyree Crump: 13 points, 3 assists
Next Opponent:
The Dawgs will now travel to Arizona State to play the Sun Devils at 8:00pm on 12/14.
Continue to support your Men’s Basketball team as they begin their 2019-2020 campaign!
404thebeat.com 