ATHENS (AP) — In Georgia's victory over Georgia Tech last Saturday, Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines played secondary offensive roles, scoring four and eight points, respectively, while junior J.J. Frazier lit up the gym with 35 points.
In the Bulldogs' 71-48 victory over Clemson Tuesday, the roles were flipped as Mann tallied a game-high 18 points and Gaines added 17 in the Tigers' most lopsided loss of the season.
"That's the importance of having a team," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "J.J. doesn't have to score every night for us to win. Yante (Maten) doesn't have to score every night for us to win. Tonight, Kenny and Charles scored, and Charles was back to his old self and I thought he played terrific."
It was Georgia's third consecutive victory and its second straight against an Atlantic Coast Conference foe. It was the first time Georgia has won consecutive games against the ACC since December 2000, when the Bulldogs defeated Georgia Tech and NC State.
The Bulldogs (6-3) have leaned heavily on Mann and Gaines over the last several seasons. The two seniors account for about 20 of Georgia's points each night. But the emergence of Frazier on the perimeter and Maten inside has taken a bit of the scoring responsibility of the two seniors.
Gaines became the 46th player in Georgia basketball history to score 1,000 points for his career. He needed just three points to reach the plateau and passed the mark on a 3-pointer with 7:40 left in the first half as part of a 15-6 Georgia run.
"Kenny has been great for us all year, just being Kenny Gaines," Mann said. "He's been pretty consistent throughout the whole season and we depend on him a lot."
The 48 points scored by Clemson (7-5) represented the Tigers' lowest output of the season. Clemson shot 27.1 percent (16 of 59) from the field while the Bulldogs shot 52.1 percent (25 of 48).
After trailing 13-5 in the first half, Georgia went on a 29-7 run that saw Clemson suffer a pair of three-minute scoring droughts. The Tigers shot 27 percent from the field while the Bulldogs were successful on 52 percent of their attempts.
"We're just struggling right now because we don't have a great perimeter driver to break teams down," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of his team, which has dropped three of its last four games. "It makes it hard for us."
Clemson, which made one of its last 21 field goals in the first half, tallied four points in the final 3:43, with Landry Nnoko and Avry Holmes hitting two free throws apiece and Gabe DeVoe scoring a jumper off a blocked shot at the buzzer to pull the Tigers to within 39-24.
Georgia, which led by as many as 26 points, opened the second half on a 9-2 run and never let Clemson get within 20 points after that.
Frazier scored nine points, Maten contributed eight and Derek Ogbeide added six points for Georgia.
The Tigers were led by Nnoko with 11 points. Holmes added eight points and DeVoe had seven for the Tigers.
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TIP-INS
Georgia: J.J. Frazier scored a season-high 35 points on Saturday against Georgia Tech, but finished with just nine points on Tuesday, including 2 of 7 from the 3-point arc.
UP NEXT
Georgia hosts Robert Morris on Dec. 29.
Clemson faces No. 7 North Carolina on Dec. 30.
PIVOTAL MOMENT
After Clemson took a 13-5 lead in the first five minutes of the game, Georgia freshman William "Turtle" Jackson hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to set off a 7-0 run that put the Bulldogs in the driver's seat. They took the lead at 7:40 on a 3 by Gaines and never trailed again.
GETTING CATTY
Georgia's Gaines and Clemson's Ty Hudson were both assessed Flagrant 1 fouls in the first half after a floor dustup on Clemson's end. Gaines also challenged Legend Robertin after a loose ball with 13:56 left in the second, but officials called a technical on Robertin.
FOR THE DEFENSE
Georgia held Clemson to less than 50 points for the first time in Athens since the 1950-51 season. Tuesday's 23-point spread was Georgia largest margin of victory over a Power Five opponent since defeating Missouri 68-44 last season.
