Georgia wins over Ole Miss in final game of season at Stegeman Coliseum
ATHENS, Ga. — Stegeman Coliseum’s been good to Georgia this season, and the home court treated the Bulldogs right once again on Tuesday night. Mike White’s squad beat Ole Miss in the regular-season home finale by a score of 69-66.
Noah Thomasson led Georgia in scoring as one of five UGA players to reach double-figures. Thomasson had 15 points and was joined by Russel Tchewa and Justin Hill with 11 each and Dylan James and RJ Melendez, both of whom scored 10. Tchewa also recorded double-digit rebounds with 10 including four offensive boards for his fourth double-double in a Georgia uniform.
For the freshman James, who made his first career start, both his 10 points and nine rebounds marked career-highs. It’s also of note that the Bulldogs were without their second-leading scorer on the season in Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who had a boot on his left foot on the bench.
As for the visiting Rebels of Ole Miss, the 19 points from both Jaemyn Brakefield and Jaylen Murray led all scorers in the game. Murray also led Ole Miss in rebounding on the night, while Allen Flanigan joined he and Brakefield in double figures with 11 points.
The win for the Bulldogs is just their second in the last 11 outings. Georgia had started 4-2 in SEC play prior to losing six straight and nine of the next 10. In coming away victorious on Tuesday however, the Bulldogs do guarantee themselves no worse than a .500 season and match their win totals both overall and in SEC play from last season.
How It Happened…
Noah Thomasson put together a strong first half with 12 points including 2-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. For the Bulldogs, Thomasson’s buckets from deep were the only two as UGA shot 25% (2-for-8) as a team from beyond the arc.
Thomasson wasn’t the only one to contribute though. Freshman Dylan James made his first career start and added eight on 3-of-5 shooting from the field in the first frame. He was 2-for-2 from the free throw stripe and pulled in a pair of offensive rebounds as well, trailing on Russel Tchewa in the overall rebounding category as the big man brought in six to lead all players.
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Georgia went into the locker room leading 35-32 after a back-and-forth first half that saw the Dawgs ahead by no more than eight. Ole Miss however took the lead, its first of the game, early in the second half with back to back buckets out of the break. Georgia regained the advantage on a 3-pointer from Thomasson, sparking a series of four lead changes in a matter of five minutes.
After a dunk by Tchewa with just under 14:00 to go, Georgia went on a 7-0 run that including a 3-pointer from Justin Hill and a layup by RJ Melendez followed by a later 6-0 run that put the Bulldogs ahead by double-digits for the first time on the night. A layup from Blue Cain, free throws from Hill and a put-back dunk by James contributed to the effort.
Ole Miss fought to get it back in the game but couldn’t quite take the lead, getting as close as two after a 9-0 run and a 3-pointer with 49 seconds to go. Back-to-back Tchewa baskets put Georgia up by 11 with 2:45 remaining, and it was his layup with 22 seconds left that helped seal the deal on the UGA win.
Georgia plays its finale of the regular season on Saturday as the Bulldogs hit the road to Auburn. Tip time at Neville Arena against the Tigers is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. After that, it’s a trip to Nashville, Tenn. for the SEC Tournament where the Bulldogs will likely be in action on opening night at Bridgestone Arena, currently sitting at 6-11 in SEC play and in 11th place in the league.
