Georgia Basketball wins exhibition over Georgia College
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball was back in action on Tuesday night for the first exhibition of the Mike White era in Athens as the Bulldogs defeated NCAA Division II opponent Georgia College 66-52. Oklahoma State transfer Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, one of nine newcomers for the Bulldogs this season, tied for the team-high in scoring with 15 points alongside Georgia’s leading scorer from last season, Kario Oquendo. Ultimately, Georgia’s offseason additions made up 39 of the Bulldogs’ 66 points against the Bobcats.
After the game, Oquendo spoke about how different the roster is compared to last season, and the challenges they face in overcoming some obstacles.
“It’s different, just cause every guy came from a different school so they had a different role at each school. So it’s like everyone coming together to play as one, we just gotta get used to that, with everybody knowing what their roles are,” Oquendo said.
No matter who the opponent is or what the situation is, holding your opponent to 52 points in a 40 minute basketball game is impressive. It’s especially impressive for the Bulldogs, who gave up more than 84 points on average in SEC play last season. Following the win, Moncrieffe explained that defense was something that was regularly preached and focused on under the Mike White regime.
“That’s what the coaches preach to us everyday, defense. You know, keeping guys on the side, and we want to be a defensive team first. Those are usually the best teams in the country,” he said. “That’s definitely a focal point for us, and that’s what we stress everyday, keeping guys on the side, keeping guys in front, boxing out, stuff like that. Just get back in the lab and adjust some things.”
Despite being on the plus side of the outcome, something Georgia fans weren’t accustomed to seeing last season winning just six games, White explained that the Bulldogs were not planning on celebrating anything yet, but using their win over the Bobcats as a launching point into the 2022-23 basketball season.
“As we told our guys, heck, we’re zero-and-zero. I mean, it’s so early in this season, who knows who’ll play the most minus next game, who’ll have the best plus/minus, who’ll finish the game, heck, who’ll even start the game,” White said. “We’ve got a lot of parity on this roster. We’ve got a bunch of guys that can do different things, compete everyday. We’ve got some different pieces to take our five…”
Georgia officially opens the season next Monday as it hosts Western Carolina at 8:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. The game follows a women’s basketball game as well that day, creating a season-opening doubleheader for fans at Stegeman Coliseum.
