Sahvir Wheeler’s heroics propel Georgia to another win, plus 4 more observations

Sahvir saved the day.

Late in the second overtime on Friday night, Georgia’s diminutive point guard drove left against an SMU defender. He got to the basket and layed it in with 1.9 seconds left, sending the Stegeman Coliseum crowd into hysterics and giving Georgia (7-3) an 87-85 victory over the SMU Mustangs (8-2).

“We’ve got nine freshmen over there, and we’ve got some upperclassmen that haven’t won a lot of consistent games or won games like that,” head coach Tom Crean said after the game. “Like (athletic director) Greg McGarity said, it’s been a very long time since Georgia’s won a game like that. It’s a huge win because we had to learn how to believe.”

The game was back and forth early, but an extended quiet stretch from the offense late in the first half allowed SMU to take a 28-25 halftime lead. The stretch was broken by a pair of late first half baskets by Jordan Harris, who gave the Bulldogs momentum heading into halftime in his first game back from a nine-game suspension.

Both teams had a chance to win in the final minute. But SMU missed a pair of shots and both teams turned it over, sending the game to overtime.

Wheeler’s first huge shot of the night came in the first extra session, as he hit a driving layup for Georgia to tie the game at 77 with four seconds left and force a second extra period.

Then came the second overtime, when the freshman made the biggest play of his young Georgia career. He came up with another signature driving layup to take the lead, and a final heave from SMU was off the mark to seal the victory.

Here are five observations from the game:

Sahvir to the rescue

The buckets in the overtimes were critical. But Wheeler steadied the Bulldog offense throughout the course of the game.

Wheeler started the second half in place of Donnell Gresham after recording three points and one assist in the first 20 minutes. In the big moments, the little guy rose to the occasion.

He tied a career high with eight assists, dishing out dimes to teammates all night long. When it came time for him to score in overtime he did just that, forcing one overtime and ending another.

Wheeler said in interviews Thursday he always believes he’s faster than the player guarding him. That showed at the end of the first overtime, as he blew to the basket to tie the game.

The play at the end of the second overtime was more of a designed one, a set Crean has run dating back to his days at Marquette. It was a double-high pick and roll with Wheeler, with Anthony Edwards and Toumani Camara in the corners prepared to cut and receive a pass.

“All we needed was a bucket,” Crean said. “He’s been there hundreds of times in those situations because of his DNA and the way he’s been raised as a person and as a player. We’re very comfortable with him making a decision.”

Wheeler said this goes as the best endgame moment of his basketball career. He did say he’s had plays like that before, at which point he was interrupted by Hammonds who said, “Y’all should know that. Y’all have seen the man’s highlights, he’s been doing that for a long time.”

That confidence aided Wheeler in those moments. He knew he had the upper hand in both situations, and he took advantage.

“Being a confident kid, you just know that there’s certain times where you’re going to be able to do what you do best,” Wheeler said.

Jordan Harris provides a boost

In the first game of his senior season, Harris announced his presence in a big way.

His two baskets at the end of the first half sent Georgia into the locker room with momentum, one a two-point jumper and the other a thunderous putback slam to beat the buzzer.

His contributions continued after halftime. Harris first hit a pull-up 3-pointer in the midst of a 7-0 run to cut the SMU lead to one. Later, he engineered a steal and slam to give the Bulldogs a temporary lead. He finished the night with nine points and four rebounds.

“The last three years I’ve been playing with Jordan, he’s always been a spark no matter what,” junior Rayshaun Hammonds said. “Even if things aren’t going his way on defense, he’s going to be a problem. Having him is a blessing.”

The spark Harris provided was unmistakable in a close game. As one of only two seniors, he will need to keep that energy up as the schedule turns to conference play.

“Getting him integrated back in is important, not trying to make things happen that aren’t there, but using that burst, getting his defensive ability,” Crean said. “Like I said to him yesterday, ‘You’ve never really been that good a rebounder, you’ve also never really been a senior.’ Let’s go put them all together this year.”

Missed opportunities for SMU

In a game that was this close, the Mustangs will spend much of the flight back to Dallas shaking their heads.

The Mustangs had an excess of missed opportunities, particularly in the first half. They missed all but one of their 14 3-point attempts, many of them open, and had just eight second chance points despite 10 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Even as some threes started to go down, chances to win went by the boards. SMU missed two shots to win in the final 30 seconds of regulation, and then got called for a 5-second violation trying to inbound under the Georgia basket with 1.8 seconds left.

It’s not quite a Christmas miracle Georgia prevailed, but it’s pretty close.

Slow start again for Anthony Edwards

It was another sluggish start for the nation’s highest-scoring freshman.

In the first half, Edwards recorded just two points on 1-for-5 shooting. He did play just nine minutes due to foul trouble, but still couldn’t get much going offensively.

But as he’s shown a knack to do, he turned things on a bit after halftime. He scored 14 points in the second half and the overtimes, hitting a big 3-pointer in the second overtime to give the Bulldogs a temporary three point lead.

That Jekyll and Hyde performance was good enough for a win tonight. But going forward, the Bulldogs at some point will need Edwards to start putting together more complete performances as the schedule gets tougher.

Bulldogs pounded on the glass

They won anyway, but the Bulldogs got annihilated in the rebounding battle.

Over the course of the 50 minutes of play, SMU outrebounded Georgia 55-44. This is even more striking considering at one point in the first half, the Bulldogs had 12 rebounds to the Mustangs’ six.

SMU also pulled down 26 offensive rebounds compared to just 14 for Georgia. But the Mustangs converted that into just 19 second chance points, further leaving room for frustration in a game that came down to the final moments.

The young Bulldogs grow up

This game could wind up being critical for Georgia, and not just because it’s another check in the win column.

Crean said the team struggled at points against SMU with believing the game was still within reach. He said young players sometimes have a hard time grasping what it takes to pull out a close game, factors such as not settling for threes when down late and taking close games possession by possession.

But the Bulldogs found that belief tonight. They found a way to win against a talented SMU team, an experience that is sure to pay dividends during the tight battles the SEC has to offer.

“You’ve got to recruit competitors, recruit guys that have won,” Crean said. “Guys that have a belief, because when you get to college, it’s a whole other level of what you’ve got to do because they’re over there trying to do whatever they can to win, too. It just takes time. It’s a great feeling for them to see them come back mentally to win the game.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 10:16 PM.