ATHENS — The Georgia Bulldogs were defeated by the Ole Miss Rebels, 70-60, on Saturday night in front of a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum.
Senior Jordan Harris paced the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding, recording season-highs in both with 15 points and eight boards. Harris also tied a career high in blocks (2) and tied a season highs in steals (3). Joining Harris in double figures were freshmen Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler, who tacked on 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Georgia dominated on the glass. For the ninth time this season and the sixth time at home, the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle by a 38-28 margin. The majority of these rebounds came on the offensive glass with Georgia tallying 18 compared to five from Ole Miss. This marks the third time the Bulldogs have edged their opponent in offensive rebounds.
“We're not going to beat anybody shooting the way we shot,” Georgia Head Coach Tom Crean said. “Our defense at times was good, at times not, but the bottom line is our offense over a period of 40 minutes didn't give us enough chance to win the game. And some, we missed layups, we didn't finish with contact, we didn't finish sometimes without the contact. But we have just got to regroup in a hurry and not let a bunch of young guys lose confidence, which I'm certainly not. It's just a matter of we have just got to continue to get better.”
After Edwards tied the game 8-all on his second three-point basket, Georgia gained its first lead of the night, 11-10, thanks to an and-one from graduate transfer Donnell Gresham Jr. with 15:29 to play in the first half.
Following three lead changes in four minutes of play, Ole Miss went on a 9-0 run to regain the 21-13 advantage halfway through the opening period.
Domination on both ends of the court from Harris, including a block and a 3-pointer, cut Georgia’s deficit to three (21-18) prior to both teams encountering scoring droughts. Ole Miss ended its drought by going a perfect 3-of-3 to extend its lead to eight, 28-20.
The Rebels grabbed the first double-digit advantage of the night, 32-22, with 4:46 remaining. Five-straight points from Harris followed by a two-of-two performance at the line from Edwards chipped away at Georgia’s deficit to bring it down to three.
The Bulldogs ended the half on a 2:52 scoring drought to head into the locker room trailing, 35-29.
Out of the locker room, Ole Miss quickly regained the double-digit advantage of 11, tying its largest lead of the contest.
The combination of a 9-0 Georgia run, a 3:52 Rebels’ scoring drought and three Ole Miss turnovers brought the Bulldogs within two (40-38) with just under 14 minutes remaining.
Edwards drained a basket from behind the arc to mark Georgia’s first advantage, 43-42, since 13:39 to play in the first half. Less than a minute later the Rebels reclaimed a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the game. Despite the Bulldogs getting back within one on two different occasions, Georgia fell to Ole Miss 70-60
Up next, the Bulldogs are back on the road, traveling to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 8:30 p.m. The matchup will be televised on SEC Network. The Bulldogs will return home to another sold-out crowd when they host the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m.
