Georgia cruises past North Georgia 84-62

ATHENS- This basketball season has been a roller coaster for the Georgia Bulldogs through just one week of play, and it is not because of how the team is performing on the court. 

Last Sunday’s game against Gardner-Webb was cancelled due to some positive COVID cases within their program. Georgia was able to reschedule a game against Florida A&M on Sunday and secured a victory in their first game of the season.

Georgia defeated North Georgia in an in-state matchup 84-62 Wednesday night to move to 2-0 on the season. 

Georgia was originally supposed to open the 2020 season against Columbus State on Nov. 25, but that game was also removed due to COVID cases. This game against North Georgia served as a replacement for the cancelled contest. 

No game is promised this season, and there is a lot going on in the world that is bigger than basketball, which has made this year in college sports terribly difficult to predict. The game was quickly scheduled just a few days ago, and third-year head coach Tom Crean is just happy that his players get to compete.

“We need to play. The bottom line is we need to play. It doesn’t matter if it’s against North Georgia or North Carolina,” Crean said on Tuesday. 

Crean has been consistent all year in saying the most important thing is getting to play basketball in the safest way possible. 

Georgia did get to compete on Wednesday, but it did not start out pretty. The Bulldogs were sluggish coming out of the gate, missing their first seven shots of the game. 

After an offensive spark from Andrew Garcia off the bench, Georgia slowly pulled away to cement a 46-26 halftime lead.

The two teams traded buckets for the better part of the second half. Georgia’s lead was never less than 17 points after halftime. 

Garcia led the Bulldogs in scoring against Florida A&M, but Toumani Camara held that honor against the Nighthawks. He finished with 19 points and knocked down two 3-pointers. He played very physical, throwing down a few dunks along the way. 

“One day it might be my day. Last game it was Tye Fagan,” Camara said.

Anthony Edwards is no longer in Athens. There is no escaping that. One of the biggest impacts his departure has had is on scoring. 

The top-two leading scorers for the Bulldogs in the first two games has featured four different players. There is no clear leading scorer for this team through two contests. 

“If we’re going to have any success at all, we’re going to have a lot of guys scoring,” Crean said.

The game came down to physicality. Georgia outrebounded the Nighthawks 48-27, but the Bulldogs were sloppy, turning the ball over 22 times. 

Sophomore guard Sahvir Wheeler shined again for Georgia. He notched his second double-double in as many games. His game totals were 16 points and 10 assists. 

“Most of that double-double stuff is accredited to my teammates,” Wheeler said. 

Wheeler was crafty in getting to the paint and led Georgia with six free throw attempts. He has truly begun to grow into a leadership role for this basketball program. 

The start was sloppy, but Georgia improved as the game went on. This is a team with a lot of new faces, and they aim to mesh more and more as the season goes on.

Georgia will look to keep it rolling and remain undefeated against Jacksonville on Friday night in Stegeman Coliseum. If the game holds, it will be Georgia’s third game in five days. That is one of the harsh realities of the season.

“I think it’s a great test. It’s not optimal, but it is probable,” Crean said.