ATHENS — Georgia wasted little time in taking care of business on Thursday night. It raced out to a 23-0 lead over the visiting Buffalo Bulls in the opening stages of what proved to be a 100-49 win for the Bulldogs.
Georgia now moves to 10-1 on the season, with the lone loss coming against No. 9 Marquette in November.
While he did not contribute to the early run, the biggest story from the win was the return and play of transfer De’Shayne Montgomery. He missed Georgia’s first 10 games of the season as he was academically ineligible after transferring in from Mt. St. Mary’s.
Once checked into the game, Montgomery wasted little time in showing what he could do. He elevated to finish through contact on his first shot attempt for the game. He made his first 3-point attempt as well.
In the second half, Montgomery came up with a steal and cruised to the other end before throwing down an emphatic dunk. In addition to his 16 points, Montgomery added 2 steals to go along with an assist and 2 rebounds. Montgomery was 6-of-8 from the field, with his last bucket putting Georgia at an even 100 points on the night.
If he can continue to play as he did on Thursday, he adds a needed shooting and scoring punch to a Georgia team that has proven to be strong defensively.
The Bulldogs held Buffalo to just 34 percent shooting on the night, while forcing 19 turnovers. The Bulldogs finished the game with 15 steals, the second-most of the season. Somto Cyril also proved to be a force inside for Georgia as he finished with 5 blocks to go along with 10 points and 11 rebounds. This was his first career double-double. It was another strong game from the freshman, who is clearly improving as the season progresses.
In addition to Montgomery finishing in double figures, Asa Newell added 16 points to go along with 6 rebounds on the evening. Silas Demary finished with 13 points on the night, with much of his damage coming in the opening flurry that overwhelmed Buffalo.
Georgia knocked down 14 3-point attempts on the night, including 10 in the first half. By comparison, the Bulldogs have eight games this year where they did not hit that many 3-point attempts.
Perhaps the most encouraging development for Georgia was that the Bulldogs finished with only 5 turnovers on the night. This had been a concern of Mike White’s to this point in the season.
Georgia will next play on Saturday when it takes on Charleston Southern. The game is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET start.
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