University of Georgia Athletics
Dog Notes: Maten 'Unguardable' In Win
March 16, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
There was an upside, at least for those of us inside Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night, to the Georgia men's basketball team missing out on the NCAA tournament and playing in the NIT instead. The Bulldogs got to play at home and we got to see Yante Maten put on a show, live and in person.
The Bulldogs hosted a first-round matchup against Belmont, which had absolutely no answers for the 6-foot-8 sophomore forward. He scored a career-high 33 points, going 14-for-17 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds in Georgia's 93-84 win.
"Everything was difficult with him," Belmont forward Evan Bradds said, adding that Maten was "unguardable for a while."
Maten scored inside and he scored outside, more than ever, in fact. And in his signature moment, he drove the length of the court, with just over five minutes left in a tight game, and threw down the most powerful and emphatic dunk of his career. The jam sparked a a 5-0 run for Georgia (20-13), which was able to go from up two to a 76-69 lead with 4:32 remaining.
The rim-rocker was surely worthy of a top play on "SportsCenter," not that Maten will be able to look for the highlight on ESPN.
"I don't have cable in my room [laughter throughout the interview room], so probably not," he said with a laugh and a smile.
One of the SEC's, and all of college basketball's, breakout stars this season, Maten entered the game with career highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds. He easily got one and almost matched the other. Maten had 12 points and five rebounds after less than 10 minutes. He had 20 points after making his third 3-pointer of the game, with 6:24 to play in the first half.
Maten entered the game with five career 3-pointers, all this season and all from the top of the key. He was 3-for-3 from that very spot in the first 14 minutes.
As a freshman last season, Maten showed flashes of the impact player her could be during his minutes off the bench, playing behind Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic. Maten averaged 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game. After Wednesday's performance, he's averaging 16.7 points and 8.0 rebounds this season.
"We felt like he could be a dominant player," Georgia coach Mark Fox said, "and we've tried to push him to be that dominant player. It was a little uncomfortable for him as a sophomore, to really accept that and thrive in that role.
"Tonight I think you saw just how good he can be."
Maten's jumper has been solid all season and his range has continued to expand, but three 3s was something new.
"They were backing off of me [around the 3-point line] and I kind of felt my shot going in before the game, so why not?" Maten said.
Had he ever, in his life, hit three 3s in a game before?
"No, sir," he said, again smiling. "I hit one in high school, I think. Or two."
"He's never taken three 3s in practice," added Fox.
Fox said that in jest, later saying that Maten has put in a ton of work on all phases of his game, including that 3-point shot, which wasn't part of his arsenal even in December.
"He does work on it. At the end of every shootaround he goes out there and shoots a few, so he's trying to expand his game," Fox said. "He's been working on it for probably the last two months, but I don't think he had confidence in shooting it and we don't let him shoot it a lot because it's something he's trying to develop.
"Obviously tonight's a big step forward for him and you might see more of those. But his bread is buttered in the paint."
Many, Many 3s
Maten's three 3s were a small fraction of the long-range shots made in the game. Belmont connected on 14 3s, on 37 attempts, and the Bulldogs went 11-for-21. Senior Charles Mann matched his career high with four 3s and junior J.J. Frazier hit a pair.
Fox said that Frazier wasn't expected to play as of Wednesday morning because of a foot injury, and didn't participate in the pre-game shootaround. Frazier, who made the SEC tournament's All-Tournament team with some dazzling play late in games, did the same against the Bruins (20-12).
Quiet for most of the game, as Maten, Mann (23 points) and senior Kenny Gaines (12) did most of the scoring, Frazier's scoring output came late. With less than two minutes remain, the shot clock winding down and the Dogs up 80-76, Frazier hit a long 3 with a big Bruin in his face.
"He made the shot of the game," Belmont coach Rick Byrd said, later adding, "He's one fun player to watch play.
After that 3, Frazier hit two free throws, got a steal, and then made six more free throws in the final 53 seconds to seal the win. Frazier finished with 16 points and eight assists.
Another 20
Not only did Georgia keep its season alive with the win, it also earned win No. 20 of the season. That's the 14th 20-win season in the program's history, which dates back to the 1905-06 season. Of those 14, four have come in Fox's seven seasons as coach, including the past three seasons — a feat that's only been achieved once before.
The Dogs will go for a third 21-win season under Fox on Sunday in the second round, at St. Mary's.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: http://www.georgiadogs.com/ot/frierson-files.html. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
