Plagued by turnovers, Georgia avoids upset
Georgia somehow was forced to stave off a scare from a low-major opponent.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a close game in the closing minutes against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Stegeman Coliseum Sunday. Georgia notched a 68-65 victory over the Southland opponent, but had a tough time keeping the Islanders from taking the ball away.
Georgia turned the ball over a staggering 24 times in the win. Fourteen of those turnovers were committed in the first half. This will be something the Bulldogs will need to fix moving forward for when they play better competition. Entering the day, Georgia was tied for 275th in the nation in turnovers at 16 per game.
The Bulldogs committed three turnovers in the first two minutes of the second half.
Georgia held a 30-16 lead at the half and appeared poised for an easy victory. But the same turnover issues that persisted in the first half plagued the Bulldogs in the second half. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was finally able to take advantage and went on a 20-6 run to tie the game up at 36. Nicolas Claxton then put in a put-back and converted a free throw to give the Bulldogs a 39-36 lead at the 14:04 mark of the second half.
A little later, Georgia led 45-36 at the 11:27 mark. Even then, the Bulldogs couldn’t put their opponent away. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tied the game up at 49-49 with 7:14 to play and again at 53-53 with 5:25 remaining.
The Islanders (1-3) cut the game to 62-60 with less than a minute left to play. Guard Jordan Harris then drove the lane and hit a layup to put Georgia up 64-60 with 40 seconds left to play. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi wouldn’t go away and ultimately forced Harris to hit two free throws with 7.5 seconds left in the game to put the Bulldogs up by three. The Islanders were unable to convert on the final shot attempt to send the game to overtime.
In the second half, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outscored Georgia 49-38.
Four who mattered
Georgia forward Yante Maten: Maten posted another double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Georgia forward Rayshaun Hammonds: Hammonds put in 15 points, giving him three consecutive games in double figures.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi guard Kareem South: South brought the Islanders back from its large deficit with his shooting. He finished the game 4-of-6 from the 3-point line and scored 18 points.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi guard Joseph Kilgore: Kilgore led the Islanders in scoring with 22 points. His 3-pointer cut Georgia’s lead to only two points in the final minute.
Turning point
Looking like a blowout through 20 minutes, the game turned when Texas A&M-Corpus Christi came back to make it a close game in the second game. As it turned out, Georgia was fortunate to record a win.
Observations
Shouldn’t have ever gotten close: Much like Georgia’s game against USC-Upstate, the Bulldogs should have routed Sunday’s opponent. Up big in the first half, it appeared the Bulldogs started going through the motions and felt they could coast. It took the Islanders tying them up at 36 apiece for a sense of urgency to kick in. And by that point, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi played like it felt it could win the game. This contest, however, should have never been in doubt. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi hung around, gained confidence and started sinking some shots. It was a performance head coach Mark Fox certainly was not pleased with.
Defensive effort: The Islanders should receive a lot of credit for how aggressive they played on the defensive end. Texas A&M Corpus Christi pressured Georgia’s backcourt, rarely giving an inch of space whether on or off the ball. And the plan, like most teams will try to do, was to double down on Maten in the post. That frustrated the Bulldogs at times but still shouldn’t have contributed as much to the turnover total as it did.
Going cold from 3: Georgia opened the game 5-of-10 shooting from behind the 3-point line. From there, the Bulldogs proceeded to miss 11 consecutive 3-pointers. On Tuesday, Georgia made only five of 22 3-point attempts against USC-Upstate. This has not been a good start to the season for the Bulldogs when it comes to shooting from long range.
Worth mentioning
Islanders also turned the ball over: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi didn’t exactly protect the basketball either. While Georgia was borderline tragic with how it routinely gave up possession of the basketball, the Islanders committed 19 turnovers of their own.
Almost the wrong kind of history: Fox has actually coached a game where his team committed more turnovers than Sunday’s game and still won. That came against George Washington on Jan. 4, 2013. The Bulldogs committed 25 turnovers and won 52-41.
Last time: This isn’t the first time Texas A&M-Corpus Christi played Georgia tough. In 2008, the Islanders defeated the Bulldogs 80-79 in overtime.
They said it
Fox on anything positive Georgia can take away from Sunday’s game: “What I like about our tea is that we have a lot of guys who are learning new roles and I think that we have a fairly deep team. Hopefully, we can cut out some mistakes.”
Maten on Georgia’s turnovers: “It appeared the post was open a couple of times. They ended up sending somebody up from the baseline. It’s just knowing what they do after you see it one time, and being aware that person might be there, and then adjust it.”
Forward Derek Ogbeide on coming away with a closer-than-expected win: “The fact we won is probably the most positive. Of course, we’re learning a lot of things about ourselves and we’re still adjusting. It’s a great way to learn.”
What’s next?
Georgia will travel out west to take part in the Wooden Legacy, which begins on Thursday. The Bulldogs’ first opponent is Cal State Fullerton.
This story was originally published November 19, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Plagued by turnovers, Georgia avoids upset."