Georgia falls to in-state rival Georgia Tech in basketball battle
Georgia Basketball’s edition of the Clean Old-Fashioned Hate rivalry took a sour turn this Friday night as the Georgia Tech defeated the Dawgs 88-78 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.
Georgia point guard Aaron Cook finished with 18 points and 6 assists on the night, however his performance was nothing compared to the Yellow Jackets’ Michael Devoe, who went off for 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Bulldogs couldn’t find an answer for the senior guard, who scored 19 points in the first half and 18 in the second.
Earlier in the week, Braelen Bridges and Jailyn Ingram spoke about the importance of Georgia’s rivalry against the Yellow Jackets, and the passion was clearly there for the Dawgs tonight. Ingram finished with his season-high 17 points and a team-high in plus-minus with +3. When Ingram was asked about the atmosphere of tonight’s game, he couldn’t help but give credit to the crowd.
“It’s definitely one to remember,” Ingram said. “The crowd helped us come back.”
Despite the impact of the crowd, Georgia Tech was too much to overcome. Between a combination of the Yellow Jackets finishing with a 61% FG percentage and the Bulldogs having a 50% free-throw percentage, the Dawgs couldn’t get anything going.
That free-throw shooting was a glaring weakness in Georgia’s game on the night. Despite being in the bonus for the majority of the game, the Dawgs shot under 50% from the line for the majority of the game, and ended up with exactly 50 percent, going 12-for-24.
The lead was slim for both teams throughout the game, and with 3:51 left in the game, the score was tied at 73. Both teams traded buckets throughout the second half, and it was just in the last few minutes that the Yellow Jackets finally gained a margin of lead and ran with it.
Aaron Cook, who led the team in points and assists, had an impressive night, but after the game, there were no smiles on the transfer’s face.
“As a leader of this team, I take full responsibility for the loss we had tonight,” Cook said.
Compared to the first three regular season games, the Bulldogs rotated a lot of their bench players throughout their matchup against the Yellow Jackets. In the first half alone, 10 different Bulldogs played more than four minutes, with only two of them (Bridges and Oquendo) playing more than 11 minutes.
Rodney Howard, the former Georgia center who currently plays for the Yellow Jackets, had an impressive performance, putting up 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in only 26 minutes of playing time.
Georgia Basketball , now 2-2 on the season, will be back in action next Monday when they take on the Virginia Cavaliers in Newark, N.J as a part of the Legends Classic. The game will be live on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. ET.
