ATHENS — The Georgia Bulldogs basketball team (10-3, 1-1) beat the Ole Miss Rebels 71-60 in their SEC home opener on Wednesday night in Stegeman Coliseum.
Senior guard Juwan Parker had his first career double-double, leading the team with career-high points (18) and career-tying rebounds (11). The native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Parker shot a perfect 3-point game (4-for-4), which is also a career-high, bringing his season average to 36.8 percent.
“Our bench was really good to us tonight, Juwan and Jordan came in and were terrific,” said head coach Mark Fox. "It can't always be just Yante so it's nice to win a game when he doesn't have to do all the work. Our bench is the key to winning. I thought Turtle didn't play necessarily well and Yante didn't get the looks in the second half, we needed some guys off the bench. Our bench was key for us, it's one of the things we feel is a strength of our team and Juwan obviously was very good tonight."
Senior forward Yante Maten posted his 13th consecutive double-digit game with 15, while both junior forward Derek Ogbeide and sophomore guard Jordan Harris bested their season-highs in points with 14 and 12 respectively.
Ogbeide put the first points on the board which were answered by an Ole Miss (8-6, 1-1) 3-pointer. The Rebels had the advantage until Ogbeide countered with a jam in the 14th minute, tying the score at eight. Ole Miss fought back for the 11-10 lead but were cut short by a jumper from Harris. Followed by a tipin from Maten, the Bulldogs surged ahead, claiming an eight point lead from an Ogbeide jumper and free throw.
Ole Miss regained the lead, but Maten answered with a tipin and a free throw bringing the Bulldogs back on top 26-24. Georgia closed out the first half with a 16-7 run, featuring a jam from junior forward E’Torrion Wildrige, a three from Harris and 11 Maten points, securing the 39-31 lead going into halftime.
Georgia kept the momentum going in the second half with a three from junior guard William Turtle Jackson II and did not allow the Rebels to come within six points of the Bulldog lead. With 13:26 remaining in the game, Parker went on a tear, scoring 12 of the next 14 Georgia points to record a season high in points. The Bulldogs had a 10-point plus advantage on the Rebels for larger part of the half.
A free throw from Maten gave the Bulldogs their largest margin of 16 points with less than five minutes remaining. Parker banked a three in the last minute to bring the game to 71-60 and secured his career-high in points, as well as the 71-60 Georgia win.
Defensively, Georgia held Ole Miss to 60 total points, their second lowest of the season.
The Bulldogs return to action in Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday, January 6, at 12 p.m. against Alabama.
