Dawgs win exhibition opener

Georgia opened the 2012-13 campaign with a 86-52 exhibition win over Young Harris College Friday night. Freshman guard Kenny Gaines led the way for Georgia scoring 16 points in just 18 minutes.

Sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and forward Nemanja Djurisic also scored in double figures, each scoring 11 points. Junior forward Marcus Thornton paced Georgia on the glass with nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Tim Dixon also pulled down eight rebounds.

"I thought our depth and our size were a big factor in this game," said head coach Mark Fox. "[Young Harris] has a really good basketball team, but a team that obviously plays at a different level. We have a tremendous amount of respect for their team and their coach, and it was a great first outing for us.

"I think we're going to see a little more pressure this year that we'll be able to apply. The front was very good to us tonight. We turned the ball over a little more than I would have liked, which I think is to be expected with a bunch of new guys, but I think our team is more athletic this year and we have more depth which will benefit us moving forward."

After getting off to a slow start, Georgia extended its lead to 42-30 to enter the locker rooms on the back of ten first half points from Gaines.

In the first five minutes of the second half, Georgia went on a 16-3 run, capped off by a three-pointer from sophomore Nemanja Djurisic, to extend its lead to an insurmountable 22.

Georgia outrebounded the Mountain Lions 50-25, and scored 44 points in the paint.

The Bulldogs open the 2012-13 regular season next Friday, Nov. 9, vs. Jacksonville. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.