Here are five things we learned from Georgia’s dominant win over NC Central

Back in Athens, back in the win column.

Georgia enjoyed its first game back in Stegeman Coliseum in two weeks on Wednesday night, as the team took the court for the first time since returning from the Maui Invitational last week. The Bulldogs (6-2) enjoyed their homecoming, notching their second straight win by taking down the North Carolina Central Eagles (2-7) by a final score of 95-59.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re 19 or 79, you’re body clock is going to be different when you come from a trip like that, especially as long as we were over there,” head coach Tom Crean said. “To get that win is fantastic.”

The Bulldogs took a 10-9 lead on a layup from Rayshaun Hammonds and never looked back, holding the advantage for the rest of the game. The lead swelled to as much as 21 in the first half and ultimately rested at 50-35 heading into halftime.

Georgia didn’t let up coming out of the break, starting on a 14-2 run to extend the lead to 63-37 before the run was halted by a timeout. The Bulldogs were then able to cruise to the victory, earning their fifth win in five tries in Athens this season.

Here are five observations from Georgia’s win:

No Ngumezi, Rodney Howard steps in to start

Georgia announced prior to the game that sophomore Amanze Ngumezi, who had started every game this season, is suspended indefinitely from all team activities.

“There are a combination of factors involved in this decision, all of which are associated with his lack of personal awareness and the attitude expected of a Georgia Bulldog basketball player,” Crean said in a statement before the game.

Freshman Rodney Howard took Ngumezi’s place, earning the first start of his collegiate career. He didn’t do much offensively, notching just four points, but he did provide good interior defense with four blocks and four rebounds.

Two other freshman bigs, Mike Peake and Toumani Camara, combined for 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench. This trio will shoulder a much heavier load in the coming weeks with Ngumezi not available.

Battle in paint

Even without one of their starting big men, the Bulldogs clearly won the battle in the paint.

They won the rebounding battle for the sixth time in eight games, pulling down 54 boards to N.C. Central’s 25. This includes 22 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second chance points.

“That’s one of our top things we do (in practice), get offensive rebounds and keep possessions alive,” Hammonds said. “When we do that, it’s kind of hard to guard us because everybody can get an offensive rebound, throw it back out and you’ve got to chase a 3-pointer.”

Overall, Georgia doubled up the Eagles 52-26 in paint points. It’s true the Eagles didn’t feature a rotation player taller than 6-foot-7, but these are still encouraging signs for a Bulldog team that will be even smaller than usual without Ngumezi.

Edwards starts hot, slows in second half

Anthony Edwards finally got off to a hot start.

After several early cold spells followed by strong second halves in his first seven college games, Edwards came out and registered seven points in the first 6:24 of the game. He ended the first half with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers and a pair of highlight reel slams.

Edwards said in interviews Monday that he wanted to come out and be more aggressive, which Crean said is a big step forward for the star freshman.

“Anthony, as young as he is, as talented as he is, there is so much room for growth,” Crean said. “The guy that knows it is him. That’s what excites me because we can just push and push at what he’s got to get better at, and he buys into knowing that he’s got to get better.”

But in the second half, the switch flipped back the other way. He missed his first three shots of the second half and put up just two points after the intermission. Still, his hot first half was enough to help carry the Bulldogs to the easy win.

Bulldogs get back to moving the ball

Georgia’s assist totals took a dip out in Maui. In three games, the Bulldogs’ highest assist total for a game was 12 against Michigan State.

But against the Eagles, the team got back to some of the ball movement that led to the 4-0 pre-Maui start. Georgia notched 11 assists on 19 made field goals in the first half, and it ended the game with 19, the team’s most since collecting 30 against Delaware State on Nov. 15.

The schedule intensifies after the finals break, with contests against Arizona State, SMU and Memphis looming before conference play. In order to be competitive against those squads, the ball movement will need to continue.

Hammonds continues to shine

One of the oldest players on the team, the junior from Norcross continues to show Georgia isn’t just the Anthony Edwards show.

Hammonds put together a pair of solid halves, putting up 10 points in the first 20 minutes and nine after the break to finish second on the team with 19 on an efficient 7-of-12 shooting.

“The main thing is you come out and be aggressive, play your game, don’t think about things,” Hammonds said. “It’ll make it way easier for you.”

This gives Hammonds six double-figure scoring outputs on the season, tying him with Edwards for most on the team. His emergence as a reliable scoring option has been key already this season, and the uptick in the upcoming schedule means he’ll be looked to even more to take some offensive pressure off of Edwards.

This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 9:44 PM.