Georgia basketball shuts down Clemson

ATHENS -- Offensive fireworks there were not, but Georgia worked the floor and pulled out a 71-48 basketball victory over Clemson on Tuesday.

A good defensive effort from Georgia (6-3) had Clemson's offense sputtering in the first half. Clemson (7-5) went through a six-minute dry spell in the first half, opening up a 13-point run for Georgia to give the Bulldogs a 28-16 lead.

Georgia's offense came out strong in the second half. Guards Kenny Gaines and J.J. Frazier took turns adding to Georgia's lead on its first four trips to the basket. An emphatic dunk from Gaines was followed by a Frazier 3-pointer to lengthen Georgia's lead to 22 at the start of the second half.

Midway through the second half, Georgia went through nearly a five-minute scoring drought. Georgia, however, held Clemson to just five points during that span. The drought was snapped by a pair of Charles Mann free throws, who went 8-for-8 from the line.

Mann was Georgia's leading scorer with 18 points. Gaines scored 17 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Frazier shot 3-for-9; six of his nine points came off 3-pointers.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Gaines: Gaines picked up his 1,000th career point on his first basket, a 3-pointer about four minutes into the game. Gaines finished with 17 points, three 3-point buckets and five rebounds.

Mann: Mann was Georgia's leading scorer against Clemson, finishing with 18 points.

Derek Ogbeide: Ogbeide logged significant minutes for Georgia while forward Yante Maten suffered from foul trouble. Ogbeide logged 11 minutes, scored six points and pulled in four rebounds.

TURNING POINT

When Georgia led 28-16 with six minutes remaining in the first half, Gaines snagged an offensive rebound off a Mann jumper. Instead of breaking for the basket or pulling up immediately, Gaines darted for the corner and turned around to drain his third 3-pointer of the night.

OBSERVATIONS

Foul play: Several of Georgia's starters found themselves in foul trouble early. Gaines, Maten and Houston Kessler each tallied two fouls before halftime. Gaines made an enemy in Clemson's Ty Hudson, as the two got into it midway through the first half and were given offsetting flagrants. Hudson and Gaines exchanged words again after a physical play in the second half. Georgia finished with four players with at least three fouls, and three were starters (Gaines, Maten and Kessler).

Live at the line: Georgia shot 15-for-19 from the free-throw line, bolstered by Mann's 8-for-8 effort.

Dominate the defensive glass: Georgia tied Clemson in rebounds, with 35, but the Bulldogs dominated Clemson on the defensive glass. The Bulldogs pulled down 27 defensive rebounds to Clemson's 18 offensive rebounds.

WORTH MENTIONING

1,000 point club: Gaines became the 46th player to score more than 1,000 points in his career at Georgia. The senior guard has 1,014 points in his career. Mann is currently the leading active Georgia scorer with 1,141 career points.

SEC, meet ACC: While Clemson is Georgia's second straight win over an ACC foe -- the Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech on Saturday -- Georgia is Clemson's second consecutive loss to an SEC team. The Tigers came to Athens after losing to the SEC's No. 1 team, South Carolina.

Strong start: Georgia was tied with Clemson at 16 until there was 7:45 left in the first half. Georgia went on to score 39 points in the first 20 minutes, the best first-half scoring effort Georgia had all season. Georgia held Clemson to 24 first-half points, the second-lowest scoring total of any Georgia opponent this season.

THEY SAID IT

Maten on Georgia's defensive effort against Clemson: "We may have been too aggressive on the inside because we had a lot of calls against us in the paint. We had to set our foot down. We have people to come in if we get in foul trouble."

Maten on his matchup against Landry Nnoko: "I don't mind people who are physical, because that's what a post does. In the post, I sort of counter most physical moves with speed."

Head coach Mark Fox on contributions from Ogbeide: "His progress is great, he just needs experience. He missed a month. He didn't have the experiences a young player needs and he needs those, so (Tuesday) was good for him. He made a few mistakes, but he did a lot of good things, too."

Charles Mann on staying primed over the holiday: "We need some time to rest up and spend time with family. When we come back, we'll hit the grind and continue to get better."

WHAT'S NEXT

Georgia players will head home for the holidays and resume practice Dec. 26, according to Fox. Georgia's next game is at home against Robert Morris on Dec. 29, the final non-conference game before starting SEC play in January.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Georgia basketball shuts down Clemson ."