ATHENS – With it’s narrow 83-78 victory over Tennessee Tech in Monday night’s season opener, Georgia will now begin trying to make sense of what might be the most nonsensical sport of all.
Six days after making mincemeat out of a respected power conference opponent in a 114-76 exhibition win over Central Florida, the Bulldogs welcomed teeny, tiny Tennessee Tech for what was supposed to be a soft, warm-up toss into the 2024-25 campaign. What coach Mike White and his team encountered instead was clinging to a four-point lead in the final seconds against an incredibly tenacious Ohio Valley Conference team coached by a former Kentucky basketball star.
That Georgia withstood and prevailed might ultimately prove advantageous on what will be at least a 32-game journey. And there is the added bonus of not being South Carolina, which lost to North Florida in its season debut, or No. 13-ranked Texas A&M, which lost 64-61 to that same UCF team the Bulldogs just bested by 38 points.
“College basketball, that says it,” said White, who’s off and running on his third season with the Bulldogs. “It’s just wild. There were some other odd ones in our league. … Anything can happen. Couple of those late shots go and we miss some free throws, who knows what happens with us. But I did like our poise down the stretch.”
Poise, perhaps, but not necessarily execution. The Bulldogs missed three of their last six free throws over the final 53 seconds and made just one field goal over the last 5:18 of play. But there was way more good than bad, starting with the “W.”
Here are a few more takeaways from Game 1:
Move over Dominique?
While he played for Georgia 42 years ago, freshman Asa Newell is well aware of Dominique Wilkins and has met the basketball legend. But he knows Wilkins’ son Jacob better. The two have met on the AAU circuit and Jacob Wilkins has committed to play for the Bulldogs next year.
Newell, Georgia’s prized 5-star signee, lived up to his billing and almost eclipsed one of “Nique’s” records in the process. His 26 points Monday tied Wilkins’ UGA record for points scored in a UGA freshman’s debut.
Newell tied the record with a layup with 5:19 to play. He attempted one more shot at the 3:17 mark but missed that 3-point try.
“I had no idea,” Newell said when asked if he knew the record was there for the taking. “But I know the ‘Human Highlight Reel,’ for sure. I got a jersey from Dominique back at the crib.”
For the night, he was 13-of-22 from the floor, missed four shots from behind the arc and did not have a foul shot. He recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds.
“I just felt like the game came to me,” Newell said. “I’m not worried about headlines or anything like that. I’m just here to get better.”
Leffew comes through
Foul trouble kept point guard Silas Demary Jr. in a bind and on the bench for most of the night and Georgia struggled from behind the arc all night, finishing 4-of-18. But that’s why it was so important for Dakota Leffew to do what he did.
The graduate guard from Hampton who came to UGA from Mount St. Mary’s made the Bulldogs’ only 3s, going 4-for-6 from deep and finishing with 18 points, three assists, three steals and three rebounds.
“Not surprising,” White said. “I’ve said this a few times: He’s coming off the bench for us right now, but who knows who will start Sunday? There’s been a lot of practices where he’s the best guard on the floor.”
Demary played only 23½ minutes due to foul trouble. Meanwhile, starting guard Blue Cain also struggled from long-range, going 0-for-5 after making 5-of-6 in the last exhibition game.
Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey also recorded his first career double-double despite missing “a couple of bunnies” and playing only 25 minutes while saddled with foul trouble. He had three assists but had a team-high four turnovers.
Peach State Classic is next
Next up for the 1-0 Bulldogs is Texas Southern (Sunday) and North Florida (Tuesday) at Stegeman in the opening games of the Peach State Classic that Georgia is co-hosting along with Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets, who open their season at home against West Georgia Wednesday, will play the same two teams on opposite nights. Then Tech and the Bulldogs will resume their “Clean Old Fashioned Hate” series on Nov. 15 in Atlanta (8 p.m., ACC Network).
Both teams will be well-wary of North Florida, which just knocked off South Carolina in Columbia. The Ospreys trailed 64-59 with 4:07 to go, but guard Jaylen Smith scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half – including a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining – and Nate Lliteras hit both ends of a one-and-one to secure the victory.
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