Georgia Basketball grinds one out because that's 'how they're built'

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia head coach Mike White told his team they were “built for this,” trailing South Carolina by as many as 12 points in the second half and down double-digits with 6:31 to go on Saturday. That’s when White decided it was time to turn to what his programs have been built on for years now – defensive pressure – to get back in the game.

“I just told the radio that I thought a couple of the biggest factors in the game were not only the guys I mentioned individually, but the press and the crowd and I thought they worked hand in hand,” White said. “When we got in press and it got really loud, it helps you with your press or your half court defense, which resulted in pressure in the half court … I thought our pressure in the full court was definitely a factor lead by Jusaun Holt at the point of it. Another factor was down the stretch, it seemed like we pressed for 15 minutes, we made pretty good decisions. I thought we played really really hard and we didn’t foul. Our foul discipline was pretty strong as well.” 

Holt earned a spot in the starting lineup for the first time in SEC play as White and his staff continued to go searching for answers to their recent struggles, especially on defense. The Bulldogs entered Saturday having lost three in a row. Playing 31 minutes, Holt drew the challenge of guarding South Carolina star GG Jackson for the majority of the contest and largely shut him down after halftime. Jackson was limited to scoring just six points in the second half and overtime while Holt ended the night with six rebounds, five steals and one block.

“I just played hard. Whatever comes to me, comes to me. I let the game come to me. My main focus is playing hard and playing defense,” Holt said.

“It was definitely key,” he added, speaking about the increase in defensive pressure. “We got a lot of stops, and I feel like we stepped them up and made them make turnovers and all types of stuff. That really changed our game, for sure.”

Meanwhile, Georgia got contributions on the offensive end from Mardrez McBride and Kario Oquendo. After starting nine games in a row, McBride was moved to the bench this week. Meanwhile, Oquendo struggled in the first half and was held scoreless. Both however stepped up when they were called up with McBride making five 3-pointers on the night and Oquendo going for 16 in the second half and overtime, including all eight Georgia points in the extra period.

“I thought we had some guys that haven’t at times played really big roles for us in my opinion, but were as big a factor in this one than anyone else,” White said. “Namely, Frank Anselem, Jusaun Holt and I thought Mardrez McBride played his best game as a Bulldog. Those guys were terrific.”

“We thought about not starting him in the second half as a staff,” White added on Oquendo. “He’s a guy whose confidence never wavers. He’s unique in that regard. He did the same thing at Ole Miss where he appears to not quite be as engaged offensively, maybe not quite as confident and then boom, he’s hit three shots in a row or drawn some fouls. Credit him and his mental toughness because he was huge for us offensively. We rode him down the stretch, and he was terrific.”

It doesn’t get any easier for Georgia from here. The Bulldogs, 14-7 on the season with a 4-4 record in the SEC, go on the road to Auburn and Texas A&M this week. Both teams are in the top four of the league with two or fewer league losses. The home schedule does offer opportunities against a few teams that find themselves in the middle of the pack, but White knows his team will have to continue to grind games out. Good news though, it’s what they’re built for.

“Really all year most of our wins, outside of a few inferior opponents – which is part of all of our scheduling inside of our league – have been grind it out games,” White said. “We haven’t really been overly pretty. It’s just kind of our identity with this team. We’ve got a bunch of guys that play hard, and we’ve got to play that way to have a chance. I thought we played the last 15 minutes of the game, I don’t know if we could have played any harder.”