Georgia Hoops takes down Hampton to match last year's win total
Georgia Basketball defeated Hampton Wednesday night in Athens 73-54 to move to 6-2 on the season, matching last year’s season win total just a quarter of the way into the 2022-23 campaign. The win also leaves head coach Mike White just one shy of 250 on his career, a mark that he could meet on Friday when the Bulldogs are next in action.
Braelen Bridges led the way for the Bulldogs with 21 points, just the third game that Georgia has had a scorer with 20+ points. He also had 13 rebounds to lead the way there and record his first double-double of the season in his first start.
Georgia got off to a strong start with a new-look starting lineup, due in part to absences from Kario Oquendo and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe. Both usual starters were banged up coming into the contest and got a night off. In their place though started Jusaun Holt and Braelen Bridges, along with a switch up to get Justin Hill in the starting five over Mardrez McBride, and both Holt and Bridges contributed early. The big man Bridges scored the first points of the game and picked up some strong rebounds while Holt hit a 3-pointer, something he’s become known for, less than two minutes in. That gave Georgia an 8-0 lead right out of the gate.
Hampton fought to get back within three before a 14-4 run to extend the lead to 13 less than halfway into the first period. That lead was extended even more by the break with the Bulldogs ahead by as many as 17 and holding a 15-point advantage headed into the locker room behind Jailyn Ingram‘s 11 points, nine of which came on 3-pointers, and Terry Roberts‘ nine, six of which came on 3-pointers. In total, Georgia hit 8-of-14 attempts from deep (57.1%) to hold a 41-26 advantage.
The second half saw much less of a dominant showing with the Bulldogs only winning the second frame by four. No run for Georgia was more than six points, eventually extending the lead to more than 20 points with 6:27 to go on a Holt 3-pointer. That was the largest it got though, ultimately winning by 19.
As mentioned before, Georgia is back in action later this week with a home game on Friday night against Florida A&M. It’s the third in a three-game home stretch for the Bulldogs who close out a 10-day span that includes four games next Tuesday at Georgia Tech. Then there will be an extended break for final exams before three more non-conference games to close out the calendar year. Tipoff time for Friday’s game is set for 7:00 p.m. ET with SEC Network+ broadcasting the contest.
