Georgia Falls to South Carolina, 80-68

Saturday, February 12

Athens, Ga.

2:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

6-19,1-11SEC

South Carolina

14-10,5-7SEC

South Carolina

Georgia

February 12, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEOS

Coach Crean

J. Abdur-Rahim

ATHENS, Ga. – Despite a strong opening surge, the University of Georgia men's basketball team dropped an 80-68 contest to South Carolina Saturday afternoon before 6,806 spectators at Stegeman Coliseum.

Sophomore Kario Oquendo led Georgia (6-19, 1-11 SEC) with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including a season-high three 3-pointers. Senior Braelen Bridges tallied 16 points with five rebounds and four assists, while sophomore Jabri Abdur-Rahim notched 12 points. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 42.1 percent from the field.

"Bottom line, we didn't make enough shots," said Georgia head coach Tom Crean following the game. "We still had chances to bring it back it those shots go in, and unfortunately, the disappointment of missing shots affected our defense. That's just a continued area of growth that we've got to get better at."

The opening sequence of the game featured an offensive flurry as both teams racked up baskets in the early minutes. Powered by Oquendo and graduate Aaron Cook in the paint, Georgia built a 16-8 lead by the first media break.

South Carolina (14-10, 5-7 SEC) ate into the deficit as the half wore on, led by six straight points from senior forward Keyshawn Bryant, eventually moving in front on a three-point play. The run ultimately extended to 19-3 and gave the Gamecocks a 29-21 lead by the under-eight timeout.

Now trailing by 13, Oquendo brought the Bulldogs back into the game with consecutive 3-pointers, but the Gamecocks answered with back-to-back layups. After nearly three minutes without a basket, Abdur-Rahim broke the drought with a corner three, followed by a transition lay-in from Oquendo to make it a six-point game. A layup from Bridges with seven seconds left sent the teams to the locker room with South Carolina leading 42-38.

Georgia opened the second half with seven consecutive points, briefly retaking the lead with a Jaxon Etter layup. With every Georgia score, South Carolina quickly answered to keep the lead hovering around five points. The Bulldogs then used a 7-2 run to bring the score to 60-58 at the halfway mark of the period, but the Gamecocks would counter with a 9-1 run of their own.

With just over four minutes to play, senior Noah Baumann made it a seven-point game with a 3-pointer, but South Carolina again responded with a three on the other end as it took control of the contest. In the final minutes, the Gamecocks sealed the victory at the line as both teams entered the bonus.

Georgia returns to the road this week as it travels to Baton Rouge to take on LSU on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.