Mann carries Georgia past Stony Brook

ATHENS -- Georgia wanted to start fast against Stony Brook on Tuesday night, but a second-half spurt put the game away for the Bulldogs.<br /> <br /> Charles Mann scored 16 points and had nine rebounds to lead five Georgia players in double figures in an 80-70 victory over the Seawolves in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.<br /> <br /> Kenny Gaines added 13 points, Nemanja Djurisic and Yante Maten added 11 points each, and Marcus Thornton scored 10 points and had nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (1-1), who have won every home opener since 2004.<br /> <br /> "We played with composure and poise, offensively," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "If we had played that way last week, we'd have won by 12, but we didn't. It took us a loss to get us to understand that we have to play that way. We really helped each other tonight and we were a good offensive team for most of the game."<br /> <br /> The Bulldogs led 52-46 with 15:42 left in the game after both teams struggled to start the second half.<br /> <br /> But Mann hit two free throws with 14:09 left to start a 19-4 surge that sent Georgia to a 71-50 advantage on Gaines' 3-pointer with 7:48 left.<br /> <br /> Mann made only three of his six field-goal attempts, but took 14 trips to the free-throw line, making 10.<br /> <br /> He scored only nine points in Georgia's season-opening 80-73 loss to Georgia Tech on Nov. 14.<br /> <br /> "I played a little bit better on both ends," he said. "I was able to get to the free-throw line."<br /> <br /> Carson Puriefoy's career-high 26 points led Stony Brook (1-1), but he scored only five points in the second half as Georgia's defense forced Stony Brook into shooting 25.8 percent from the field (8-of-31).<br /> <br /> "They put more size on him in the second half and we weren't really helping him much," Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said. "We weren't making shots. We have other good players, but Georgia's size really bothered (Carson) and us."<br /> <br /> Scott King and Jameel Warney added 12 points each for Stony Brook. Warney added 14 rebounds as the Seawolves out-rebounded Georgia 42-41.<br /> <br /> The Bulldogs made 48 trips to the free-throw line, making 33 (68.8 percent), compared to 26 with 20 makes for the Seawolves.<br /> <br /> "Since I have been here, we have never had more than 30 fouls in a game," Pikiell said. "Georgia forced us to foul them, and they did a great job, so all the credit goes to them."<br /> <br /> Georgia extended its lead to 23 points on Mann's two free throws with 5:10 remaining, before Stony Brook's last flurry cut the final score to 10.<br /> <br /> "Laying an egg against Georgia Tech, I didn't expect the crowd to be like it was tonight," Mann said. "It was pretty nice. They helped us. We feed off their energy, and I feel like we needed this win just to get our confidence back and play basketball."<br /> <br /> TIP-INS<br /> <br /> Stony Brook: Carson Puriefoy shot 8-of-11 from the field in the first half, but missed all four of his field-goal attempts in the second half. His only second-half points came on five free throws.<br /> <br /> Georgia: The Bulldogs had just three players in double figures in its opening loss to Georgia Tech, but five players reached double figures in the win over Stony Brook and Juwan Parker added nine points.<br /> <br /> FEELING BETTER<br /> <br /> Georgia's Kenny Gaines has missed much of preseason practice with what he said was mononucleosis, but is playing himself back into shape. "I'm still trying to get back to 100 (percent)," he said. "I feel like I'm somewhere around 80-85 percent. I'm feeling good. Coach (Mark) Fox pulled me aside during the game and said you have to play yourself into game shape."<br /> <br /> Gaines didn't start, but scored 13 points in 27 minutes.<br /> <br /> QUOTE OF THE NIGHT<br /> <br /> "Sometimes you just have those games where you feel it," Puriefoy said. "I was feeling it from 3 and definitely had a rhythm going. Also, I love playing big schools like this. I think we all do. Whenever I come into games against big schools like Georgia, I feel like a chip on my shoulder, and I think that is why I have games like this."<br /> <br /> WHAT'S NEXT<br /> <br /> Georgia will play host to Troy on Friday in a game that's not part of the NIT Season Tip-Off.