Courtesy: UGA Athletics
ATHENS, Ga. —-The Georgia Bulldogs (13-8, 4-4 SEC) warded off the Texas Longhorns (8-13, 2-6 Big 12) in the waning seconds as Texas’ potential game-tying shot rimmed out to give Georgia the 59-57 victory Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
With a minute remaining in the game, Longhorns guard Andrew Jones sank a 3-pointer to cut the Georgia lead to one point, but on the subsequent possession Bulldogs forward Yaten Maten made a contested layup in the paint to extend the lead to three at 59-56. A Texas free throw shortened Georgia’s advantage to two points with 38 seconds remaining but it proved enough as the Bulldogs defense thwarted off the Longhorns in their last attempt.
“It really is a good win and we needed one,” Georgia head coach Mark Fox said. “I thought that Texas was obviously a team that was young and they are very, very talented. It just hasn’t clicked for them. So we felt that if we could just calm down in the second half and stay the course, that we could earn a victory. We are really proud of our team that we were able to do that.”
Maten’s 21 points and seven rebounds led the Bulldogs attack. The 20-point performance was his eighth of the year and his second consecutive such game of the season. Senior guard J.J. Frazier chipped in 14 points while redshirt junior guard Juwan Parker added nine of his own.
“We had so many good shots in the first half that just didn’t go in and we lost our rhythm a little bit but we just kept getting good shots at the basket,” Fox continued. “They kept saying to each other “We are getting good looks, the rhythm will come” and then eventually it did and we were able to tie the game. Then we go up to as much as seven. We calmed down more in the second half and played much better. We finished plays at a much higher rate in half two.”
At the break, the Bulldogs trailed the Longhorns 32-23 as Texas finished the first half on a 10-2 run. Maten led all scorers with nine points while Eric Davis Jr. spearheaded the Longhorns with eight points.
The Bulldogs came out of halftime on a tear as they went on an 8-0 run to make it a one-point game in less than three minutes. The Georgia duo of Maten and Frazier made two more baskets apiece to bring the score to 32-31 at the 17:13 mark.
Georgia obtained its first lead of the second half, 38-36, at the 13:13 mark when a driving Frazier dished it out to freshman guard Jordan Harris who knocked down the 3-pointer. After Texas retook the lead, Harris drained another trey minutes later to notch it at 41-all and Frazier followed with a jumper to recapture the Bulldogs’ lead at 43-41 with 9:10 left in the contest. Georgia stretched its lead out to as high as seven points before Texas fought back into the game but ultimately the Bulldogs held on for the win.
The Longhorns tallied five 3-pointers in the first half but were limited to one in the second half. Georgia shot a 41 percent clip from the floor.
Up next for the Bulldogs is a road game against the fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday in Lexington, Kentucky. The tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN.