UGA Men’s Basketball: Bulldogs Best Buccaneers, 81-65

ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Bulldogs (11-1) defeated the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (3-11), 81-65, on Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum. Three scorers reached double figures led by sophomore guard De’Shayne Montgomery’s 22 points on the night.

Fast Facts
• After Montgomery’s 22-point effort, graduate guard Dakota Leffew followed with 19 points while freshman forward Asa Newell posted 14 points.
• Georgia has shot 50 percent or better from the field in three straight games, doing so for the first time since December 20-30, 2023.
• De’Shayne Montgomery’s season-high 22 points marks 38 points scored in 43 minutes of action through two games this season, having scored 20+ points in eight of his last nine games dating back to last season with Mount St. Mary’s.
• Asa Newell has now scored 10 or more points in 11 of 12 games this season including each of his last six games.
• The Bulldogs hounded the Buccaneers in bench points 51-5 on the night, marking the largest margin of the season.
• The Bulldogs’ 11-1 record marks the best start since the 2001-02 season. With another victory, Georgia would be off to its best start since the 1930-31 season.

Key Quote
“We got off to a pretty good start on the very front end and then I thought it was somewhat clean there the rest of the half.” Head coach Mike White said. “We missed some, and they made some. [Taje] Kelly’s a very, very difficult matchup and played his butt off. I thought number 22, their all-conference point guard, I thought he was really good with his decisions. We tried to pressure him the entire game, and he continued to be really solid. They executed well. Their physicality was a big factor early on, and our aura, our level of confidence changed a little bit. It was almost, and we prepared our guys for a dogfight, we really did, but credit Charleston Southern for, although our guys knew what was coming in terms of the block outs and the wall ups, the wrestling matches near the rim. Their physicality level was similar to the power teams that we’ve played to this point, and again, despite that preparation, it still was a factor.”

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will remain in Athens to close out their final non-conference game where they will face South Carolina State on Sunday, Dec. 29 with tipoff set at 2 p.m. ET at Stegeman Coliseum. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.