ATHENS – Georgia picked up a crucial conference win while most of the SEC was asleep Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs (16-7, 4-6 SEC) beat LSU 81-62 without the benefit of a full Stegeman Coliseum, likely due to the 9 p.m. weeknight tipoff.
The win seemed vital for a team fighting to maintain its fringe NCAA Tournament status, considering the Tigers (12-10, 1-9) represented UGA’s only unranked opponent in February. Georgia figures to have a much stronger home crowd on Saturday when it fights for a more impressive SEC win over No. 22 Mississippi State at 6 p.m.
“We don’t have a day off this week, so we’re just going to have to recover and get as physically rested as possible,” guard Blue Cain said. “What we control is how we approach today, win or loss.”
The Bulldogs expanded on a six-point halftime lead with a 9-0 run in the second half, taking firm control for good.
The physically superior Bulldogs flexed their muscles all night, adding to their eye-popping season total of 102 dunks. Somto Cyril flushed one of those dunks to spark the run with 12:13 left, claiming a double-digit lead that Georgia never surrendered.
RJ Godfrey added a layup and after UGA three free throws, added a dunk of his own for a 67-50 lead. Georgia rolled to the 19-point win, its most lopsided since beating Buffalo 100-49 on December 19.
Georgia’s bigs owned the paint to the tune of a 47-26 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, outscoring LSU 44-14 in the paint.
“It gives you a chance, night in and night out,” UGA coach Mike White said. “I just thought we were flying around, playing with reckless abandon on the interior.”
Projected top-10 NBA draft pick Asa Newell led Georgia again with 17 points. The 6-foot-11 freshman added four rebounds, a block and a steal.
But it was Cain who got the most love after the win, fans chanting his name off the court after the sophomore nearly finished with a triple double. Cain totaled 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while providing some of Georgia’s tightest perimeter defense.
He was close to the second triple-double in school history, the only other coming from Sahvir Wheeler against LSU in 2021.
“Man, he was real big,” guard De’Shayne Montgomery said. “I looked up at the scoreboard and he was at 8, 8 and 8, and I was like, ‘Man, he’s got to get that triple-double tonight.’ He did some real good things today.”
The Bulldogs’ offense also logged an SEC season-high with 23 assists while sinking 38% of their 3-point attempts.
Both offenses appeared to settle in early, Georgia finding shots all over the floor while LSU was red-hot from 3-point range. The same Tigers who entered Athens with the worst 3-point percentage in the SEC (30.6) sank nine of their first 15 shots from deep.
Georgia was excellent from 3-point range when it needed to be, shooting 7 of 11 from beyond the arc.
The Tigers’ shooters finally cooled off near the end of the half, finishing 0 of 6 from three in the last seven minutes. Georgia took advantage, building a multi-possession lead it took into the locker room.
Tyrin Lawrence sparked a 13-3 first half run with his first 3-pointer of the night. De’Shayne Montgomery and Dylan James followed with a pair of five-point outbursts to take a 35-27 lead with 2:54 left.
UGA is back in action hosting a well-rested Mississippi State team on Saturday (TV: SEC Network). The maroon Bulldogs (16-6, 4-5) lost home games to Alabama and Missouri last week before taking the midweek off.
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