ATHENS – Dakota Leffew’s explosive first half helped Georgia basketball put Texas Southern behind early in a breezy Sunday win, 92-64.
The 28-point difference is UGA’s largest margin of victory in the Mike White era.
Leffew recorded 16 of his 23 points in the first half to take a lead that the Bulldogs never surrendered at Stegeman Coliseum. The Hampton native tied Asa Newell for Georgia’s highest-scoring half this season.
Leffew, a Mount St. Mary’s transfer, is Georgia’s leading scorer despite coming off the bench in both games this season.
Leffew was particularly impressive from 3-point range, where he shot 5-of-10, with 3 assists, 3 rebounds, a block and a steal.
Three other guards scored double digits in the win. Silas Demary Jr. (17), Tyrin Lawrence (13) and Blue Cain (12) contributed from all three levels.
Physical performances from RJ Godfrey, Cain, and Demary Jr. helped the Bulldogs out-rebound the Tigers 53-23. Cain pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds for the first double-double of his career.
Freshman Asa Newell, whose collegiate debut made UGA history, added 14 more points with 4 rebounds and an assist.
Newell also physically dominated on defense with four blocks, while Somto Cyril added four of his own. Newell leads UGA with seven blocks through two games.
“He’s at the line of scrimmage with ball screen coverage, and then we’ve got him double-teaming the point guard in press,” UGA coach Mike White said. “He shows versatility a lot, he can really move. His wind is off the charts.”
Rebounding appeared to be a point of emphasis for White’s recruiting after Georgia averaged just 35.6 last season. Towering forces like Newell (6-foot-11, 220 lbs.), Cyril (6-foot-11, 260 lbs.), Justin Abson (6-foot-9, 245 lbs.) and Godfrey (6-foot-8, 230 lbs.) should be key in improving that number this season.
Godfrey and Newell led the team in rebounds with 16 and 15, respectively.
But having guards like Cain and Demary Jr. that can scrap for rebounds is surely an encouraging sign for the Bulldogs, too.
“I think the bigs work so hard in pushing the guys in that guards can slip in and get those rebounds, so I think it’s definitely a big case of us going in there and getting those second-chance points,” Demary Jr. said.
Georgia shot 77 percent from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs quickly earned the bonus in both halves, running up Texas Southern’s foul count to get to the free throw line early and often. Georgia had nearly 12 minutes of time in the bonus in the first half.
“It’s a race to seven fouls,” Demary Jr. said. “Drawing fouls and getting downhill is definitely a big emphasis in our offense.”
Both offenses struggled through the first nine minutes of the game before Leffew sparked Georgia’s attack en route to a 47-29 halftime lead.
Leffew drained his second 3-pointer of the day at the 10:29 mark to break a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought and take a 23-17 lead.
Leffew followed with another 3-pointer, and the Bulldogs made five of their next seven shots from the field. Leffew, Godfrey, Cain and Demary Jr. all added to the 19-7 run before Newell converted a three-point play with 5:46 before halftime.
About the Author
