By: Audrey Pfitzner
ATHENS, GEORGIA – The University of Georgia men’s basketball team earned an 80-77 win in their home game against Wake Forest led by Noah Thomasson’s 21 points. After kicking off the season by playing back-to-back power conference teams, the Bulldog’s record improves to 1-1 on the season.
Five Georgia players reached double-digits in points in this game including Jabri Abdur-Rahim who put up 17. This marks his 20th double-digit point game in his career. The 6-foot-8-inch senior guard credits his teammates for the success that he has had on the court during his time at Georgia.
“That [milestone is] nice. I mean, credit to my teammates, the point guards, Silas [Demary Jr.], Noah [Thomasson], Justin [Hill], Blue [Cain] finding the open shots. I’m sure we had a lot of assists tonight, so credit to them for putting me in positions to score,” Abdur-Rahim said.
After Thomasson, a transfer from Niagara University, opened the scoring for the Bulldogs, both teams struggled to put up points during the opening minutes.
A string of 3-pointers gave Wake Forest a 22-14 lead, but Georgia responded with a ten-point run of their own to take the lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. During this run Thomasson put up four points and freshman Silas Demary Jr. tied the game with a dunk.
“They’re gonna make a run, now it’s our time to make a run. So that was our mindset throughout the whole game. You know, they’re gonna hit shots. We’re gonna hit shots. Now we got to do the little things to get the win,” Thomasson said.
With the offensive production for the Demon Deacons faltering, Georgia capitalized and headed into the locker room leading 40-36.
The second half opened with multiple lead changes before Georgia gained momentum. The Bulldogs put together another 10-0 scoring run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Abdur-Rahim to take a nine-point advantage.
Georgia expanded their lead to as many as 13 during the second half, but Wake Forest responded to get the deficit down to two with under five minutes remaining. The Bulldogs were able to hold off the Demon Deacons in the final minutes, earning their first win of the season.
As the season progresses head coach Mike White expects better from his squad in the final minutes.
“To make sure that you hold onto leads like that down the stretch, we’re gonna have to fix that level of urgency. We’re gonna have to learn to play 40 [minutes],” White said.
Georgia remains at home to host the North Carolina Central Eagles in a non-conference matchup on Sunday, Nov. 12 in Stegeman Coliseum. Tip-off is set at 5 p.m., as the Bulldogs look to build off of this victory.