UGA Men’s Basketball: Georgia Tops Samford, 79-75, in Thriller
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 40 | 75 | |
| 31 | 48 | 79 |
ATHENS, Ga – Despite trailing for nearly the entire game, the University of Georgia men’s basketball team outlasted the Samford Bulldogs, 79-75, Saturday evening in front of 1,638 fans at Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs (5-0) only led for 46 seconds Saturday, but a strong second half led by sophomore Sahvir Wheeler and junior Tye Fagan helped hold off a game Samford squad (2-2).
Graduate Justin Kier led Georgia with a season-high 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. Wheeler and Fagan each pitched in 15 points, with Wheeler also leading the Bulldogs with six assists and Fagan tying for the team lead with seven rebounds. Graduates Andrew Garcia and P.J. Horne also tallied double-digit scoring performances with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Georgia only shot 43 percent from the field for the game, but improved to 50 percent in the second half and outrebounded Samford, 46-38, for the game.
For Samford, redshirt senior guard Myron Gordon turned in a career night off the bench with 29 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
“That’s a character win,” said head coach Tom Crean following the game. “(Samford is) a highly confident group. They’ve been on the road. They shoot the three. The bottom line is we had a character win against a good team that is fearless shooting that ball and we did it without our leading scorer.”
Samford opened the game firing, quickly building a 9-5 lead heading into the first media timeout, although a 3-pointer from Kier helped halt the momentum. Samford maintained its pace after the break with a 15-4 run powered by its strong play on the boards.
Coach Crean
Fagan finally broke a four-minute scoring drought for Georgia with a layup, kickstarting a scoring burst that ate into the Samford margin heading into the last media timeout of the half. Samford responded with two quick baskets, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Wheeler and Kier narrowed the deficit to five with just over two minutes remaining. After a free throw with two-tenths of a second left, Georgia entered the locker room trailing, 35-31.
As he did in the Jacksonville game, Fagan started the second half on a hot streak, scoring Georgia’s first five points of the period, but a pair of 3-pointers kept Samford out in front. Taking advantage of a prolonged field goal drought by Samford, a corner 3-pointer from Horne closed the score to 49-46 with under 12 minutes to go. Samford was able to finally break its skid with a pair of treys, but Georgia responded with two of its own as Kier brought the Bulldogs to within one.
Both teams continued to answer each other as the contest began to wind down with Wheeler piloting the Bulldogs’ transition game. Nonetheless, Samford continued to counter as Gordon connected on a 3-pointer following a Wheeler lay-in that tied the game for the first time since the opening tip.
Sophomore Jaxon Etter finally gave Georgia its first lead of the evening with a layup at the 1:17 mark, but once again, Gordon knotted it with a drive on the other end. Despite earlier troubles, Georgia would eventually clinch the game at the foul line, with Horne putting back a missed free throw to build a game-high five-point lead. Following a final Samford layup, Wheeler dribbled out the final second to seal the victory.
“I’m not sure our guys understood just how fast they were going to come at us, and it stunned them a little bit,” said Crean. “I was fully aware because I’ve watched (Samford head coach) Bucky (McMillan) coach for many years. They come at you and he’s going to win a lot of games there. It was a good lesson for us and I’m glad we got the win.”
Georgia returns to the court next weekend as it plays host to the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Dec. 19 at Stegeman Coliseum. The non-conference matchup is set for an 8 p.m. tip time and will be broadcast on an outlet to be named later.