Georgia tops Ospreys for seventh straight win
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia knocked down a season-high 11 3-pointers including all of its first eight attempts from beyond the arc in its 78-60 victory over North Florida before 6,603 spectators inside Stegeman Coliseum on Friday afternoon.
The win now marks the seventh in a row for the Bulldogs (9-3), the longest streak of the Mike White era. Jabri Abdur-Rahim led the team in scoring for the fourth time this season with 18 points paired with four rebounds while Noah Thomasson added 10 points and Silas Demary Jr. contributed a team-high six assists with no turnovers. Georgia finished with a season-best 21 assists on 27 made field goals. The Bulldogs held the Ospreys (7-7), who led the nation with 46.2 percent of their points coming from 3-pointers, to below their season average from deep, converting on just 28.6 percent of their 42 attempts.
Georgia struggled to get its offense going in the early portion of the game but managed to rattle off four-consecutive buckets to gain its first lead of the day with just over eight minutes remaining in the half. The Bulldogs pulled ahead by nine after a 17-0 run over the course of four and a half minutes. The team made all of its first eight 3-point attempts, led by Abdur-Rahim's hot start from beyond the arc by going five-for-five in the first half. After carrying a 16-point advantage into the locker room, Georgia's offense continued humming, recording 11 assists on 13 made field goals. The Bulldogs have now reached at least 75 points for the fourth time in their last five outings.
Georgia's next game will come on Dec. 30 at 2:30 p.m. ET against Alabama A&M. This will mark both the final contest of the team's six-game homestand and the final tilt of the Bulldogs' non-conference schedule. The third all-time meeting between the programs will be live streamed on SEC Network+.
Five Fast Facts
• The Bulldogs recorded a season-high 21 assists on 27 made field goals. Georgia's 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio is its best of the season.
• Georgia connected on all its first eight attempts from 3-point range in the game.
• For the 11th time in 12 games this season and the 33rd time under Coach White, Georgia outscored its opponent in bench points, 35-18.
• The Bulldogs held the Ospreys to just 60 points, their lowest scoring total of the season.
• Jabri Abdur-Rahim tied his career best of five 3-pointers for the third time, connecting on all of his first five attempts.
Key Quote
Head Coach Mike White: "It speaks rather to the culture that they have there and the buy-in to the fact that when they play teams, all they talk about it negating the three and the three-point attempts. And that's all you talk about for 48 hours - drilling it, talking about it, watching it on film, and then they still get 42 attempts off. They're really good at it. They space you. They run great stuff. They also pass it well, one through five, to get each other those looks. Thank God they missed a few for us, but they're good. We've got a lot of respect for their program, and they're going to be a really tough out in their league."