Georgia Basketball gets Mike White era underway with win over Western Carolina
ATHENS, Ga. — The Mike White era of Georgia Basketball got off to a good start on Monday night with a 68-55 win over Western Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum. Kario Oquendo led the way for the Bulldogs with 18 points while Syracuse transfer Frank Anselem joined him in double-figures with 11 points. Western Carolina’s Tyzhaun Claude tied Oquendo for the game-high with 18 points of his own while Tre Jackson was close behind with 17.
After the first few minutes of the game weren’t filled with much action, scoring picked up quickly and Georgia led 15-5 at the under-12 media timeout in the first half. That 10-point lead was extended to 18 in a little more than five minutes as Oquendo, Georgia’s leading scorer last season, got things going from the field. He hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half, one to make it an 18-point game and another on one of Georgia’s final possessions of the first half, and led all players going into the locker room with 12 points, double the next closest player on either team. Oquendo also had a pair of impressive blocks for the Bulldogs.
Western Carolina came out in the second half and made things interesting with a 12-3 advantage in the first five minutes, including an 8-0 run. The Catamounts made that an 11-0 run and cut their deficit just three with 14:14 to go in the second half on a 3-pointer by Tre Jackson, his fourth on six attempts to that point in the game. Georgia traded a basket for another Western Carolina 3-pointer that made it a two point game with 13:00 to play before going on a little bit of its own run to extend its lead to a more comfortable margin.
Georgia went on another run after the Catamounts cut the lead to just four, this time an 11-4 one that included a stretch where the Bulldogs scored seven straight. Oquendo hit a layup and followed it up with another, an and-one to put Georgia back ahead by double-digits. The Bulldogs would close the game out by outscoring Western Carolina 16-9 over the course of the final eight minutes to pull away for the 11-point win.
Georgia’s women’s team, also under a first-year head coach in Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, played beforehand at Stegeman Coliseum as a part of the opening night double header with the Lady Dawgs winning 78-61 over Coastal Carolina.
Georgia goes on the road later this week for a tough test against Wake Forest in Winston Salem, N.C. The Demon Deacons made the NIT last season, advancing to the quarterfinals where they fell to eventual runner up Texas A&M. Tipoff time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
