University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
5-4
Gardner-Webb
6-7
Bulldogs Top Gardner-Webb, 58-49
December 19, 2013 | Men's Basketball
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Dec. 19, 2013
ATHENS, Ga.--With over 4,000 Athens-area students, teachers and staff in attendance, the Georgia men's basketball team picked up its fourth win in a row, beating Gardner Webb 58-49 Thursday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia (5-4) was led by Juwan Parker who had a career-high 12 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Thornton also contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
"I thought both teams had a tough time with the morning start," said head coach Mark Fox. "I thought our team had a little zombie look to them--couldn't even pass and catch it cleanly to start the game. Nemi [Djurisic] gave us a nice lift offensively in the first half. We just never quite found a rhythm--give their defense credit for that too. But our defensive rebounding was something that we've been focusing on, and it was key this afternoon to winning the game."
After a slow start offensively, Georgia closed the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 21-12 halftime lead. Djurisic came off the bench to lead Georgia with eight points in the half.
In the second half, the Runnin' Bulldogs (6-7) slowly cut into the Georgia lead, shrinking it to just one with 6:30 left in the game, but Kenny Gaines made a bucket plus a free throw which catapulted Georgia on a 7-0 run to regain a 45-37 advantage securing its fifth win of the season.
The Bulldogs limited Gardner-Webb to its lowest point output of the season and just 31 percent shooting from the field
Naji Hibbert and Tyler Strange led Gardner-Webb with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Georgia will return to action on Saturday with a 2 p.m. tipoff against Western Carolina (6-7). The game will be televised on CSS. For ticket information, go to Georgiadogs.com.
Georgia vs. Gardner Webb Notes
Worth Noting....
• Georgia's starting lineup was Marcus Thornton (34th career start), Juwan Parker (1st), Taylor Echols (1st), Kenny Gaines (9th) and Donte' Williams (67th).
• Both Taylor Echols and Juwan Parker made their first career starts. On Saturday, Echols scored nine points in 23 minutes, both career highs.
• Charles Mann returned after missing last game because of an injury. He had eight points and six rebounds in 32 minutes.
• Donte' Williams hit his first career three-pointer early in the first half. He had one prior attempt (Temple, 11/22/13).
• Even with the new rules which have led to an increase in fouls, only one free-throw was shot in the first half, by Georgia.
• In the Mark Fox era, Georgia is undefeated when holding its opponent to fewer than 50 points.
• Georgia remains undefeated when out-rebounding its opponent.
Career-Highs...
• Juwan Parker set a career-high with 12 points (11 vs. Chattanooga, 12/2/13) and nine rebounds (6 vs. Ga. Tech, Davidson)
• Marcus Thornton had a career-high four blocks (3 vs. Kentucky, 3/1/12)
The Series: Georgia improves to 3-0 in its series with Gardner-Webb.
Next Up: The Bulldogs have a day off before returning to action on Saturday against Western Carolina at 2 p.m. Georgia leads the all-time series with the Catamounts 5-0, including most recently an 89-65 win in 2005.
