ATLANTA - The biggest win of Mike White's brief tenure came thanks to a strong finish.
Georgia (8-3) used an 11-0 run in the second half to take control of the game and ultimately defeat Notre Dame (7-4) by a final score of 77-62 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Sunday night.
"Obviously a really good win for our program, for this current team," White said after the game. "Really happy for our guys. Our guys have been through a lot in this past month or so. We’ve got a healthy team that’s worked really hard in its improvements. Who knows where this thing will lead? Hopefully, we can build upon it."
The lead had been cut to just three points, thanks to a Notre Dame 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Georgia guard Justin Hill knocked down a triple of his own off an offensive rebound by Kario Oquendo to push the lead back to 61-55.
Hill had been in a slump of late, shooting just 2-of-16 from the field over his last three games. But he made arguably the biggest shot of the night for the Bulldogs on Sunday.
Braelen Bridges and MA Moncrieffe stepped up after that. They scored the next eight points to complete the 11-0 run and make the advantage 69-55 Bulldogs with 4:25 left to play.
"Mental toughness, responses to adversity, poise, swagger. I thought we did a better job of staying in the moment, not getting rattled, next play mentality," White said of the run.
The two starting forwards keyed Georgia's offensive effort on the night.
Bridges shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field to record 18 points. Moncrieffe chipped in 15 points on a flawless 6-of-6 from the field.
"When we’re both playing like that, locked in, the ball’s falling for us," Bridges said. "I feel like it’s hard to beat us. You don’t know which one to guard, which one you can double team. I feel like if we continue to play like that, we’ll be hard to beat."
In the first half, Bridges and Moncrieffe combined for 18 points. But Notre Dame held the lead for much of the first half thanks to stellar outside shooting.
The Fighting Irish made seven of their 13 3-point attempts in the first half. This came against a Georgia team that allowed its opponents to shoot just under 30 percent from deep on the season.
But the Bulldogs closed the first half strong to take a 41-36 lead into the break. In the second half, the momentum slowed. Notre Dame went 4-of-10 on 3-pointers after halftime.
Through it all, the Bulldogs made sure to stay calm.
"Our main goal is just to stay composed," Moncrieffe said. "They’re going to make shots. That’s a really good team and they shoot the ball really well. Our goal is just no matter what, if they hit some shots, just regroup and compose ourselves and bounce back."
The 15-point victory is clearly the biggest of White's tenure at Georgia so far. With two more contests remaining in the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Bulldog head coach hopes his team continues its upward trajectory.
"It beats the alternative, right? It beats learning from a loss, we’ve done that a couple of times already," White said. "It’s a really good win for us because we continue to build. But probably just as important, we got better. We preach every day growth, growth, growth, and development. I liked a lot of what I saw out there. We’re continuing to improve, which will give us a chance to be more competitive in the best league in college basketball."
Other Notes
- Notre Dame coach Mike Brey had some very kind words for White after the game.
"I've got the utmost respect for Mike," Brey said. "I think he's the next generation of coaches for us and can be a leader for coaches. He is a great role model. He does it the right way. He's a positive guy. I'd want my son to play for him. Certainly his father took care of me and hired me 22 years ago at Notre Dame. So a special spot in my heart for the White family. The man can really coach. I think it was a great hire by Georgia. It kind of came out of left field. You don't pay attention. When I saw that back in the spring, I was like, wow. That's a grand slam, just a great hire."
- Bulldog Jabri Abdur-Rahim notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. That's Abdur-Rahim's first career double-double as well as a career-high in rebounds.
- Next up for Georgia is a home game with Chattanooga. Tip-off is set for this Wednesday at 3:00 at Stegeman Coliseum.
