A disappointing regular season for the Georgia Bulldogs came to an end in Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, but the campaign concluded on a relative high note, provided not losing to the South Carolina Gamecocks for the second time qualifies as a "high note." It is, at a minimum, better than falling again to the only team in the league demonstrably worse than the Hoop Dogs, so today’s 67-55 victory counts for something, at least.
Getting there wasn’t easy, however. The game remained scoreless two and a half minutes in, and the Garnet and Black led the Red and Black, 10-0, with twelve minutes and change remaining until intermission, thanks to a flurry of ill-fated three-point attempts by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nemanja Djurisic, Connor Nolte, Gerald Robinson, and Dustin Ware.
A Robinson steal and layup finally got the Bulldogs on the board, and, in a subsequent two-minute span, the senior guard drained a trio of treys and a pair of free throws to give the Athenians their initial lead of the day, 22-21, with just under four minutes remaining until halftime. Up by seven at the break, the Red and Black found themselves leading by just two five minutes into the second half.
Robinson sparked a 14-2 Georgia run with a layup, after which the Gamecocks occasionally narrowed the gap but never truly threatened the Bulldogs’ lead. The Fox Hounds were up, 52-42, with five minutes remaining, and they were up, 57-47, with three minutes remaining, and, in between, Bruce Ellington fouled Ware in a manner that would have been deemed “flagrant” in the pickup game between Michael Irvin and Adam Sandler in the remake of “The Longest Yard.”
In the final two minutes, the home team made eight foul shots in as many tries, boosting the final margin to a dozen points in a game in which Robinson led the way, knocking down four of six from beyond the arc and finishing with 23 points and three steals.
Go ‘Dawgs!