MBB: Bulldogs gut out win over Notre Dame, improve to 8-3
MBB: Bulldogs gut out win over Notre Dame, improve to 8-3
ATLANTA — Georgia (8-3) made a statement on Sunday night with a dominant 77-62 victory over Notre Dame (7-4) in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event held at State Farm Arena.
Two Bulldogs - Braelen Bridges and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe - were perfect from the field as they went 15-of-15. The duo also combined for 33 points in Georgia’s win.
Bridges scored 18 points and Moncrieffe added 15 points, respectively. Jabri Abdur-Rahim also registered a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Terry Roberts was the other Bulldogs player in double-digits with 10 points.
Georgia head coach Mike White was impressed with his team’s ability to gut out the win.
"This is by far the best that we have played (this season)," White said in his post-game press conference. "We did some really good things in the last one at Georgia Tech. (We had) had 11-12 really good days of practice between games. Our preparation has been really good. We had some days off where we could focus on academics, but most importantly we had 14 guys healthy for the first time since practice started. We got contributions from everyone who stepped out there, whether it was offensively or defensively.”
Georgia and Notre Dame competed in a back-and-forth contest in the first half. The Bulldogs held a 41-36 lead over the Fighting Irish, despite only shooting 25 percent from the 3-point line. However, they shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from the field in the first half.
The punches from both teams continued in the second half until Georgia got up by 10 points with 9:47 remaining. The Fighting Irish then got a couple of baskets from JJ Starling and Nate Laszewski, which cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three points with 7:43 left.
Georgia held its ground and dominated the final few minutes of the contest. The Bulldogs limited Notre Dame to only one field goal in the last seven minutes of the game. They went on to outscore the Fighting Irish 19-5 down the stretch to secure the win.
White credited his team’s bench, which contributed 27 points against Notre Dame on Sunday.
“(We got) a lot of positivity on the bench. I like the culture and aura. We settled in a little bit offensively, playing interior basketball,” White said after the game. “Braelen Bridges and MA Moncrieffe go 15-of-15 from the field. You can win a lot of games by doing that."
Georgia is back in action at home on Wednesday against Chattanooga (8-4). Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.