North Florida will host the Bulldogs on Friday afternoon.
G. Bulldogs head coach have discovered 3 reasons to tras….
ATHENS, Georgia – In front of 6,045 fans at Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night, the Bulldogs trounced Mount St. Mary’s 94-82, scoring the most points of the Mike White era behind four double-figure scores, highlighted by a career-high 23 from Jabri Abdur-Rahim.
Abdur-Rahim set personal records in both made free throws (10) and steals (3) in addition to scoring 23 points, which was the second-highest point total by a Bulldog (8-3) this season. With 18 points, RJ Melendez tied his career high. He also added six rebounds and four assists. With his 17 points, Noah Thomasson scored at least 15 points for the sixth time this season, while Blue Cain scored 10 points, his fourth career double-digit total. Georgia scored the most points in a half this season with 49 in the second half against Mount St. Mary’s (4-7).
Following a sluggish offensive beginning for the squad, Abdur-Rahim scored 11 consecutive points for the Bulldogs at the close of the first half, including two 3-pointers and five free throws. With just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, Georgia took a 23-20 lead and maintained it for the duration of the game. With 21 points in the first half, Abdur-Rahim tied his career high in scoring, and Georgia led Mount St. Mary’s 43–32 going into the locker room. Thanks in large part to Melendez’s 16 points in the last 20 minutes, the Bulldogs offense started to click in the second half. Georgia scored the most points in a game since defeating Jacksonville, 98-65, on December 4, 2020, with a lead of up to 15 in the last quarter.
Georgia’s next game is against North Florida on December 22 at 3 p.m. ET. The SEC Network+ will provide live streaming for the team’s fifth game in a six-game homestand. The Bulldogs and Ospreys will clash for the first time ever on this occasion.
Five Quick Facts
• Jabri Abdur-Rahim finished with a personal-best 23 points, tying his career high in points (21), free throws made (10) and steals (3) in the first half alone.
• Georgia’s victory over Mount St. Mary’s, the program’s first-ever matchup, brings Coach White’s winning run with the Bulldogs to six games. As of right now, Coach White is 20-4 at home in Stegeman Coliseum.
• Georgia outscored its opponent in bench points, 43–27, for the tenth time in eleven games this season and the thirty-third time under Coach White.
• RJ Melendez scored 18 points in the game to finish with a record of five points or more in the previous seven games.
• The program’s highest point total in a game since Georgia’s 98-65 victory over Jacksonville in 2020 is 94. The Bulldogs scored 45 in the first half, their third-highest half total thus far this season, and 49 in the second, their highest half total this year.
Important Phrase
Mike White, head coach: “We had a good victory. Basketball-wise, Mount St. Mary’s is playing quite well. Of course, they have won their last two away games, and three games prior, they played very well at Ole Miss, who is undoubtedly a very excellent team. They are still winning. played and tweaked with skill. They have been playing excellent defense and amazing offense lately. They will have a great season, in my opinion, and we were lucky not to be able to rack up a lot of stops in this one.”
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“We won well. Basketball-wise, Mount St. Mary’s is playing quite well. Of course, they have won their last two away games, and three games prior, they played very well at Ole Miss, who is undoubtedly a very excellent team. They are still winning. played and tweaked with skill. They have been playing excellent defense and amazing offense lately. They will have a great season, in my opinion, and we were lucky not to be able to rack up a lot of stops in this one.”
Regarding the defensive lapses in tonight’s match…
“Of course, we need to get better at our transition defense and feeling of urgency in league play. It’s been very enjoyable. We were pleased with our defense’s performance going into this match. After this game, our numbers will suffer, but we have to give those men credit for their decline in the standings, particularly their guards at No. 1 and No. 2. Transitions, broken plays—they just appeared to wrap things up. Only a few paces faster than we were reaching the edge. They performed well. We really sold out to switching down the stretch in an attempt to try and get some stops, so I thought they did a pretty excellent job with changes in the second half as well.”
Regarding the return to rotation of RJ Sunahara and Jalen DeLoach together…
Of sure, it gives us additional possibilities, but overall, it also causes some confusion. Naturally, we have a diverse group of individuals with a range of skill sets that put in a lot of effort every day in an effort to gain minutes. Dylan James, who has been practicing quite well lately, and M.A. Moncrieffe are two of our men that didn’t get any opportunities tonight. You just try your hardest, even though you wish you could give a lot of guys chances. We might be playing North Florida in someone else’s afternoon or night. Who is to know?”
Regarding the free-throw percentage and bench points from the game tonight…
The overall field goal %, the 17–12 assist–turnover ratio, and J. Hill’s contribution to the game—just five shots, eight assists, and one turnover—will be our top priorities. His defense was excellent. He was pretty good, in my opinion. Perhaps R.J. Melendez had his finest performance as well.”
Regarding RJ Melendez tying his highest point total ever…
“We underwent a lot of change. He is sly. He moves quickly. He made wise choices. He was fouled a few times before making a 7-of-7 conversion at the foul line. Due to his ability to rebound and grab loose balls, he was able to start a few of those transitional possessions. I simply felt that he had a lot of energy when playing.”
Regarding the squad’s offensive performance’s advantages…
“Some of those shots are fun to see go in. And Noah Thomasson comes to mind—the way our guys confidently shot them in the closing minutes. The way he persisted in getting in there and making some of those shots that some other people might have thought were more tough. Similar to Leffew at [Mount St. Mary’s], those difficult twos kept coming at us. We were fortunate that they did because we had trouble getting stops once more. However, we will make some further references to this game in the future. Generally speaking, though, in order to compete in our league, we just need to improve our defense.”
Regarding his thoughts on the team as conference play draws near…
To be honest, it’s currently North Florida, but it will eventually shift to [Alabama] A&M. You know, we’ll be there for a few days with Alabama A&M. We’ll just prepare for those folks for the final few. When we return, we’ll tackle those initial few days. We’ll concentrate on ourselves, the SEC, and many of the small areas where we still need to improve, such as rebounding the ball with two hands, closing out, loading the ball, and transition defense, which we struggled tonight. But it’s about North Florida today, tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night, and the next morning. It centers on a squad that has enjoyed prolonged success in the standings. They have an excellent program. I would like to mention that attempts were made to lead the nation in threes. My support team gave me the rundown, which doesn’t surprise me because they’re always up there. They run good stuff, of course. They spread you out with a lot of talented guys. They’ll also be ready.”
#1 | SR. | G | JABRI ABDUR-RAHIM
Regarding Georgia’s development this year…
“I believe we performed well. I believe that many men are taking initiative. Our depth is evident, I believe. In the past, there were indications that certain guys could fit into certain roles, but at this point, everyone is sharing it and growing comfortable. Tonight we had the most assists of the season. We truly appreciate that, and it demonstrates how cooperatively and equally we are handling the ball. If we keep doing that, I believe the possibilities are endless.”
Regarding the return of Jalen DeLoach and RJ Sunahara…
“Those are two of our most resilient members. They imparted a great deal of hardness. Getting JJ and RJ back was a huge relief because they are two extremely tough, selfless people. It relieved us of a great deal of pressure. They undoubtedly assisted us in both directions.”
Regarding this team’s depth…
“I believe that tonight truly touched on our depths. We have several talented players. Almost everyone had the evening off tonight. That won’t be the case in every game. Every night, I have no doubt that someone will come up and make a great play.
Regarding his offensive contributions to the team…
“I believe that improving our defense should be our primary priority. We can’t lose by more than two points, especially at home, but they deserve credit for being a strong squad. I believe we need to maintain our confidence offensively. We also need to work on instilling confidence in the younger men. We try to instill confidence in all of the guys, even the ones that come off the bench. As the team’s leader, I believe that is my responsibility. When I’m feeling aggressive, I try to pour it out on other people as well and try not to think about it too much. After Blue got things moving, RJ managed to do the same in the second half. I think it’s helpful for me to simply try to remain upbeat and give other guys confidence.
#3 | GR. | G | NOAH THOMASSON
Regarding Jalen DeLoach and RJ Melendez being fit and active again…
“With various guys, we may do different things. Today, you witnessed it. The game can be accelerated for us by Jalen, which is a little different from when Russ is playing. Despite only being a veterinarian, Sunny [Sunahara] has achieved the highest level in the D-II rankings. He has achieved great success. He is aware of the requirements. We’ll need those guys when SEC play rolls around, so I’m happy to have them back.”
Based on his insights gained from this team over the past few weeks…
“We are able to protect. Credit to Mount St. Mary’s for their performance tonight, as we obviously didn’t demonstrate that, but we play defense, we compete, and we’re going to play hard.”
Regarding the bench’s contributions and the 43 bench points scored tonight…
“We possess depth. Many of the players in our program have the potential to start at other Power Five schools, but they have made sacrifices, recognized their positions, and are confident in their identities. RJ Melendez, for instance, is performing admirably. In addition to six rebounds, he scored 18 points. He is a Dawg. He plays the game pretty well.”
Regarding Noah Thomasson’s performance in the second half and Jabri Abdur-Rahim’s scorching hand in the first…
“Force in quantity. Several of the males were in their double digits. You know, we need more than one individual to receive + fifteen points. Tonight, we had seventeen assists. We will require that for the entire season, particularly when facing those strong defenders.”
Dan Engelstad is the head coach of Mount St. Mary.
About the game against Georgia tonight…
“Georgia deserves credit; I felt our defense played a pretty nice opening eight minutes of the game, and after they figured out a few things, they were able to get rolling. They had several players come up in the second half after Abdur-Rahim’s fantastic first-half ball play. Usually, we base our decisions on our defense. I believed that we needed to do better on that end. We have to tighten up a few things because a team like this can get downhill and apply a lot of heat to the basket, even though I felt our transition defense was strong. However, it was encouraging to witness Dakota enjoy a fantastic shooting night with his family and include the boys. George was very active, Shane made several huge plays, Dallas was on fire, and it was encouraging to see Jedy be aggressive around the basket as well. Thus, from an offensive perspective, there were certain advantages. However, we need to improve our defense because we have a game against Long Island on Saturday. We need to prepare for that game by making the necessary modifications.”
