ATHENS — Despite a tightly contested first half, the University of Georgia men's basketball team fell to Ole Miss 85-68 Saturday afternoon before 7,380 spectators at Stegeman Coliseum.
Redshirt-senior Braelen Bridges led Georgia (6-21, 1-13 SEC) with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. This marked Bridges' fourth consecutive game shooting 66-percent or better. Sophomore Kario Oquendo notched his 18th double-digit performance of the season with 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting and five boards on the afternoon – his 11th double-digit game in conference play, while sophomore Jabri Abdur-Rahim tallied 11 points. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 48.0 percent from the field.
“Well, we didn't win, so that was – it wasn't from lack of work, attention to detail, preparation, or anything like that,” said Georgia head coach Tom Crean following the game. “We just didn't play very well today, especially defensively in the second half. And upon that, we've been missing some shots, missing some close shots. That hurt us, and unfortunately, we did not defend the way that we needed to defend.”
After a scoreless opening minute and a half, Ole Miss (13-14, 4-10 SEC) took the game’s first basket on a straightaway 3-pointer. Afterward, the two squads entered a defensive battle with the Rebels taking an 8-4 lead into the first media timeout. The teams continue to trade baskets over the next five minutes of play, with Georgia emphasizing points in the paint. At the midway mark, the Bulldogs trailed by three, 22-19.
Georgia cut the Ole Miss lead down to one entering the under-eight media and with 7:08 junior Dalen Ridgnal drained a corner three to tie things up at 26 apiece. Moments later, redshirt-senior Noah Baumann gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game after completing a four-point play. The team went back-and-forth in the final minutes of the half before Jaemyn Brakefield hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Ole Miss a 42-38 lead heading into the locker room.
Coming out of the half Ole Miss quickly built its lead to eight. After trading a couple of buckets, the Bulldogs narrowed the margin to five at the first media break. The Rebels responded, extending the lead to nine thanks to the deep ball. Georgia continued to fight, as they continued to pound the paint. With eight minutes remaining, Bridges used a nifty hook shot to draw the Bulldogs within six, but Ole Miss’ Tye Fagan combined for nine of the final 19 points for the Rebels as they went on to an 85-68 victory.
Georgia returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 22 when they travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M.
