Virginia outlasts Georgia in 65-55 victory
Virginia outlasts Georgia in 65-55 victory
Newark, New Jersey — Virginia used a strong second-half performance to outlast Georgia on Tuesday night en route to a 65-55 victory.
The Bulldogs controlled the tempo for most of the first half, despite only leading by three at halftime. Georgia an impressive 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the field and were led in scoring by graduate transfer Braelen Bridges with 12 points. However, the Bulldogs shot poorly from the 3-point line, only going 2-of-8 (25 percent) against the Cavaliers.
Virginia came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, which proved to be the difference towards the end. Georgia was competitive and took a one-point lead at the 9:23 mark as senior Jailyn Ingram hit a layup. However, the Cavaliers regained the lead on the next possession as guard Jayden Gardner nailed a jumper. Virginia never looked back and outscored the Bulldogs 18-9 in the last nine minutes of play.
Georgia had three consecutive possessions down the stretch when the score was tight where it couldn’t get anything going offensively. The Bulldogs had 16 total turnovers compared to the Cavaliers’ four. Virginia took advantage of Georgia’s miscues and scored 14 points off those turnovers. The Cavaliers also had seven steals with junior Armaan Franklin notching three.
Georgia turned a strong first-half offensive performance into a poor mark by the end of the game. The Bulldogs ended up shooting a disappointing 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field. Georgia also was horrific from the 3-point line, shooting 14 percent (3-of-21). Senior scoring leader Aaron Cook, who only totaled four points in the loss, was 2-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Bridges led all Bulldog scorers with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting while also grabbing four boards. Ingram had a double-double against Virginia, scoring 10 points and notching 12 rebounds. He also had two assists and one steal. Freshman Kario Oquendo added nine points and two rebounds. Junior Tyron McMillian had eight points and two boards off the bench.
The Cavaliers had three scorers in double digits. Franklin led with a game-high 23 points. He also had six rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals. Senior Kihei Clark followed with 12 points and notched one rebound. Gardner had 11 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Reece Beekman totaled seven points and had two assists coupled with three rebounds.
The Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow against either Northwestern or Providence.