University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Tony Walsh
A Stellar Stretch Powered Bulldogs Past Cincy
December 20, 2020 | Men's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
The Georgia men's basketball team, playing its toughest opponent yet this season Saturday night, was in a tight game with Cincinnati midway through the first half. And then, after maybe the most dominant stretch of play of the Tom Crean era, it wasn't a tight game anymore.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have anxiety and anguish leading into this game, in the sense of, 'OK, here's where the competition has really stepped up,'" Crean, in his third season in Athens, said following the Bulldogs' impressive 83-68 victory over the Bearcats at Stegeman Coliseum.
The teams had been trading baskets and leads for more than 12 minutes when Tyron McMillan hit a baseline jumper with 7:17 to play in the first half, putting the Bulldogs up 25-22. It was the beginning of a spectacular stretch of Bulldog basketball that ended with Georgia leading 49-26 at the half.
A Justin Kier basket inside made it 27-22, followed by a Tye Fagan jumper. A little later, a Sahvir Wheeler 3-pointer made it 32-24, followed 30 seconds later by a Fagan layup in transition, with 5:04 to play in the half. At that point, Georgia had hit five of its last six shots from the field while forcing the Bearcats into four turnovers in less than 3 minutes.
And the Bulldogs' surge was far from finished.
Toumani Camara, who had been out with a leg injury, showed that he was in fine form when the 6-foot-8 Belgian got the ball at half court and drove inside for a basket, drawing a foul. His three-point play put Georgia up 37-26 with 4:26 to play.
Wheeler got a steal on Cincy's next possession and took the ball in for a layup and a 39-26 lead. After a missed Bearcat 3 attempt, Camara got the rebound and hustled down the court, where Fagan found him for a dunk. A game that was 23-22 Georgia with 7:32 left in the half was now 41-26 Bulldogs with 3:48 to play.
After a scoreless 80 seconds of action, Wheeler delivered a perfect bounce pass to a cutting Kier for a layup. Fouled on the play, Kier converted the free throw to push Georgia's advantage to 44-26 with 2:28 to play.
And the fireworks continued: Camara hit a 3 from the top of the key, followed quickly by a putback of his own miss by Fagan. By the time the half ended, Georgia led 49-26 and had outscored Cincinnati 26-4 since it was a one-point game. Good defense and excellent offense, particularly in transition, fueled the game-changing surge.
Georgia ended the half on a 15-0 run, hit 55.6% of its shots in the first 20 minutes, to just 32.4 for Cincy, and the Bulldogs produced eight steals and forced the Bearcats into 13 turnovers.
"I think we learned how good we can be," Camara said. "By playing together and staying focused on the task and just trusting each other. It's just the beginning of us getting better."
Cincinnati raised its game in the second half and made things competitive for a while. But Georgia answered the Bearcats' push, which had cut the Bulldog lead to 12, 51-39, less than four minutes into the period, with composure and resolve. A Christian Brown layup with 9:55 to play put Georgia up 63-44.
"We knew that they were going to come after it. Our guys responded," Crean said.
The Bulldogs led by 25 a couple of times with less than four minutes remaining before Cincy scored some late baskets to cut the final margin to 15. Asked after the game if that was the best win in his three seasons at Georgia, Crean said it might have been.
"I would say so because we were doing it through our defense and we were getting out on that break and we were playing with great speed," he said, adding: "I would say based on the week of exams, based on Toumani not being healthy until just the last couple of days, and the way we came out, I would say yes."
At 6-0, the Bulldogs are off to the program's best start since the Final Four season of 1982-83. That was a veteran team that had lost a superstar, Dominique Wilkins, from the previous season. This Georgia team is a veteran group thanks to the addition of several graduate transfers, and the Bulldogs are playing with a different look following the departure of No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Edwards.
The Bulldogs have had a balanced offense all season and that continued Saturday, with four players scoring at least 12 points. Camara led the way with 19 points (hitting 7 of 10 shots). Kier scored 18, Fagan went 6 of 9 from the field and scored 17, and Wheeler added 12.
"Coach tells us every day that it might be a different person stepping up every single night. It's not just going to be one guy and we need everyone to contribute," Kier said. "We know how hard this league is and how hard it is to compete at this level, so we need everybody to step up. We need everyone to come ready to go every single day to protect home court. It's just different guys every single night so we all have to stay prepared and everybody has to be ready to go."
"We got tougher tonight, there's no doubt," Crean said. "I learned a long time ago, the win-and-advance mindset is OK, but if you want to be good, you're improving while you're winning and you're winning while you're improving.
The Bulldogs will aim to continue doing both on Tuesday, in the nightcap of a hoops doubleheader at the Steg. Georgia's undefeated women host Appalachian State at noon and the Bulldogs host Northeastern at 7 p.m.
Staff Writer
The Georgia men's basketball team, playing its toughest opponent yet this season Saturday night, was in a tight game with Cincinnati midway through the first half. And then, after maybe the most dominant stretch of play of the Tom Crean era, it wasn't a tight game anymore.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have anxiety and anguish leading into this game, in the sense of, 'OK, here's where the competition has really stepped up,'" Crean, in his third season in Athens, said following the Bulldogs' impressive 83-68 victory over the Bearcats at Stegeman Coliseum.
The teams had been trading baskets and leads for more than 12 minutes when Tyron McMillan hit a baseline jumper with 7:17 to play in the first half, putting the Bulldogs up 25-22. It was the beginning of a spectacular stretch of Bulldog basketball that ended with Georgia leading 49-26 at the half.
A Justin Kier basket inside made it 27-22, followed by a Tye Fagan jumper. A little later, a Sahvir Wheeler 3-pointer made it 32-24, followed 30 seconds later by a Fagan layup in transition, with 5:04 to play in the half. At that point, Georgia had hit five of its last six shots from the field while forcing the Bearcats into four turnovers in less than 3 minutes.
And the Bulldogs' surge was far from finished.
Toumani Camara, who had been out with a leg injury, showed that he was in fine form when the 6-foot-8 Belgian got the ball at half court and drove inside for a basket, drawing a foul. His three-point play put Georgia up 37-26 with 4:26 to play.
Wheeler got a steal on Cincy's next possession and took the ball in for a layup and a 39-26 lead. After a missed Bearcat 3 attempt, Camara got the rebound and hustled down the court, where Fagan found him for a dunk. A game that was 23-22 Georgia with 7:32 left in the half was now 41-26 Bulldogs with 3:48 to play.
After a scoreless 80 seconds of action, Wheeler delivered a perfect bounce pass to a cutting Kier for a layup. Fouled on the play, Kier converted the free throw to push Georgia's advantage to 44-26 with 2:28 to play.
And the fireworks continued: Camara hit a 3 from the top of the key, followed quickly by a putback of his own miss by Fagan. By the time the half ended, Georgia led 49-26 and had outscored Cincinnati 26-4 since it was a one-point game. Good defense and excellent offense, particularly in transition, fueled the game-changing surge.
Georgia ended the half on a 15-0 run, hit 55.6% of its shots in the first 20 minutes, to just 32.4 for Cincy, and the Bulldogs produced eight steals and forced the Bearcats into 13 turnovers.
"I think we learned how good we can be," Camara said. "By playing together and staying focused on the task and just trusting each other. It's just the beginning of us getting better."
Cincinnati raised its game in the second half and made things competitive for a while. But Georgia answered the Bearcats' push, which had cut the Bulldog lead to 12, 51-39, less than four minutes into the period, with composure and resolve. A Christian Brown layup with 9:55 to play put Georgia up 63-44.
"We knew that they were going to come after it. Our guys responded," Crean said.
The Bulldogs led by 25 a couple of times with less than four minutes remaining before Cincy scored some late baskets to cut the final margin to 15. Asked after the game if that was the best win in his three seasons at Georgia, Crean said it might have been.
"I would say so because we were doing it through our defense and we were getting out on that break and we were playing with great speed," he said, adding: "I would say based on the week of exams, based on Toumani not being healthy until just the last couple of days, and the way we came out, I would say yes."
At 6-0, the Bulldogs are off to the program's best start since the Final Four season of 1982-83. That was a veteran team that had lost a superstar, Dominique Wilkins, from the previous season. This Georgia team is a veteran group thanks to the addition of several graduate transfers, and the Bulldogs are playing with a different look following the departure of No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Edwards.
The Bulldogs have had a balanced offense all season and that continued Saturday, with four players scoring at least 12 points. Camara led the way with 19 points (hitting 7 of 10 shots). Kier scored 18, Fagan went 6 of 9 from the field and scored 17, and Wheeler added 12.
"Coach tells us every day that it might be a different person stepping up every single night. It's not just going to be one guy and we need everyone to contribute," Kier said. "We know how hard this league is and how hard it is to compete at this level, so we need everybody to step up. We need everyone to come ready to go every single day to protect home court. It's just different guys every single night so we all have to stay prepared and everybody has to be ready to go."
"We got tougher tonight, there's no doubt," Crean said. "I learned a long time ago, the win-and-advance mindset is OK, but if you want to be good, you're improving while you're winning and you're winning while you're improving.
The Bulldogs will aim to continue doing both on Tuesday, in the nightcap of a hoops doubleheader at the Steg. Georgia's undefeated women host Appalachian State at noon and the Bulldogs host Northeastern at 7 p.m.
Assistant Sports Communications Director 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: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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