UGA Men’s Basketball: Bulldogs Beat Grand Canyon at Holiday Hoopsgiving

ATLANTA — The Georgia Bulldogs (9-1) defeated the Grand Canyon Antelopes (6-3), 73-68, on Saturday night at State Farm Arena. Four scorers reached double figures on the night led by freshman Asa Newell’s 17 points paired with five rebounds.

Fast Facts
• After Newell’s 17-point effort, fellow freshman center Somto Cyril lit up the rim with 12 points powered by five dunks while graduate guard Tyrin Lawrence and sophomore guard Blue Cain each tallied 10 points, respectively.
• Somto Cyril was a force in the paint as he posted a career-high five blocks on the night while also notching eight boards, sitting one shy of his career best.
• Silas Demary Jr. matched a career-high eight rebounds on the night, last doing so on Nov. 17, 2023, against Miami (FL).
• Georgia outscored Grand Canyon 42-28 in the paint while winning the battle of blocks at 9-3.
• The Bulldogs are off to a 9-1 start to the season, doing so for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign (9-1 through 10 games).

Key Quote
“Really good team, and I thought [GCU] played really well,” head coach Mike White said. “I thought they defended at a really high level, and we never found offensive flow. They’ll win 30 games again, and they’ll go back to the tournament. And we’ll look back on this one as a learning experience. Very much a quality win, but we’re fortunate because it could have gone the other way.”

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will return to Athens where they will face Buffalo on Thursday, Dec. 19 with tipoff set at 7 p.m. ET at Stegeman Coliseum. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.