University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
11-10,5-4
LSU
14-7,5-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSU | 30 | 48 | 78 |
| Georgia | 43 | 48 | 91 |
Thornton Leads Bulldogs to 91-78 Win Over LSU
February 06, 2014 | Men's Basketball
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Feb. 6, 2014
ATHENS, Ga.--Georgia junior Marcus Thornton notched his second career double-double as Georgia outmatched LSU 91-78 Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum. The win snaps a three-game losing skid for the Bulldogs.
Thornton scored a career-high 15 points and had 10 rebounds.
Nemanja Djurisic led Georgia (11-10, 5-4) in scoring with 17 points. Charles Mann and Brandon Morris also scored 16 and 11 points, respectively.
"That's a heck of a win for our young people," said head coach Mark Fox. "As we build our team and our program, you have to have believe in yourself and you have to have belief through adversity. We had a tough ten days where we didn't play very well, and we stuck it out and hung together and kept getting better. We went back to work this week and we beat a terrific basketball team here tonight. I'm proud of our win because we beat a very good team in an absolute battle. It feels good to win tonight. We don't have long to enjoy it but I'm certainly proud of our team at the moment."
The Bulldogs used a strong first half to take a 43-30 lead into the halftime break. With eight minutes left in the first half, Djurisic started an 11-0 run that was capped off by a pair of free throws by Juwan Parker to give Georgia a 34-22 lead. After trading baskets on the next few possessions, Djurisic scored the half's final two points from the charity stripe to give the Bulldogs a 13-point halftime advantage over the Tigers (14-7, 5-4).
In the second half, an early LSU run cut the Georgia lead to just three points with 15 minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs used a 9-3 run, capped by a Djurisic three-pointer, to bolster its lead back to nine, 57-48. With four minutes remaining the Tigers pulled to within just six, but Georgia's resiliency showed again as they started on a 12-3 run which gave the Bulldogs an insurmountable 15-point lead with under a minute remaining.
The Tigers were led offensively by Jordan Mickey and Andre Stringer, who had 19 points apiece. LSU was hampered by foul trouble for most of the second half, having two players foul out and three others with four fouls each.
The Bulldogs will return to Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday to host Texas A&M (13-9, 4-5). The game is scheduled to tip-off at 8:00 p.m. and will be televised on CSS. For ticket information, go to Georgiadogs.com.
Worth Noting...
• Georgia's starting lineup was Marcus Thornton (47th career start), Brandon Morris (32nd), Charles Mann (27th), Kenny Gaines (19th), and Donte' Williams (79th)
• Georgia's 13-point halftime advantage is its largest during conference play this season. The Bulldogs led by 11 points at halftime in its wins over Alabama and South Carolina.
• Marcus Thornton picked up his second career double-double (and second of the season) with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds in Georgia's win over Arkansas earlier this season.
• Georgia is now 11-3 when it outrebounds its opponent.
• Georgia shot a season-high 60 percent from the field (previously 55.8 percent vs. Davidson)
• Tonight, the Bulldogs had four players score in double-figures for the seventh time this season.
Career-Highs...
• Marcus Thornton scored a career-high 15 points (13 vs. Nebraska on 11/24/13)
• J.J. Frazier had a career-high eight points (6, three times)
The Series: Georgia still trails LSU in the all-time series, 43-62, but improves to 27-21 when the game is held in Athens.
Up Next: The Bulldogs remain in Athens to host Texas A&M on Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on CSS. Georgia is 2-0 all-time versus the Aggies with both wins coming last season.
