It’s hard to win when you cannot score, especially on the road.
That’s a lesson Georgia learned the hard way in Saturday’s SEC opener at No. 24 Ole Miss, who rolled past the Bulldogs, 63-51.
The numbers were not pretty.
Georgia shot a mere 29.3 percent from the field (17 of 58), including just 2 of 18 from three-point range.
Considering the Bulldogs (12-2, 0-1) are fifth in the SEC in field goal percentage (.507 from the field), this came as a surprise.
“We didn't shoot it like we wanted to. I think we were below 30 percent from the field,” Tyrin Lawrence said. “We still were in the game late, like we were down four, maybe three minutes to go.”
It was a little earlier than that.
After trailing by 12, Georgia rallied back midway through the second half, using a 9-0 run to draw within 45-43 with 7:30 to play.
But the Bulldogs would get no closer, as after a quick 5-0 spurt by the Rebels, Ole Miss outscored Georgia 18-8 over the final 5:58 to win going away.
“We're better than that, but 2 of 18 from three is not who we are. We'll shoot it better than that, but that was a great defensive performance by Ole Miss,” head coach Mike White said. “They played really, really hungry defensively. Offensively, I thought they hit some daggers late clock that was definitely a difference in the outcome. I liked our response. We're down 14 and cut it to 2 on the road, but we’ve just got be better offensively.”
The Rebels (12-2, 1-0) started slowly on the boards, but finished the strong, out-rebounding the Bulldogs in the second half 22-14 after Georgia held a 20-14 edge in the first.
A slow start to the second half did not help the Bulldogs’ cause after Ole Miss opened on an 18-4 run, turning a two-point halftime deficit into a 44-32 lead.
“They hit a couple of top-of-the-key threes, a couple of late clock threes. I know Jalen Murray hit a really tough off-the-glass left elbow on a jumper as the shot clock was winding down,” White said. “They just made plays. They made offensive plays early second half and they made us defend for long stretches and converted after some of those long possessions.”
Asa Newell was the only Bulldogs to finish in double figure.
The freshman accounted for his third double-double, scoring 13 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
But otherwise, he did not have a lot of offensive help as no other Bulldog scored more than Lawrence’s eight points.
“I feel like it was a great experience coming on the road for my first SEC game. The crowd atmosphere is amazing. But overall, it's really the same,” Newell said. “It’s more physical, obviously, a lot more intention in everything that we do. Everyone's playing harder, and it means something.”
The Bulldogs held a 20-14 edge on the glass, including an 8-4 advantage on the offensive end, with Newell accounting for 7 to go along with his seven-first half points.
Neither team was able to shoot particularly well.
Ole Miss made just nine of its first 28 shots (33 percent), with Georgia connecting on 10 of 29.
Still, the Bulldogs did not take their first lead until Dakota Leffew popped a three-pointer with 6:22 left in the half.
A three-pointer by Ole Miss’ Jake Brakefield put the Rebels back in front. But just a few seconds later, a steal and a dunk by Newell quickly regained the advantage for Georgia, which used a drive by Silas Demary Jr. to break a 26-all tie to give the Bulldogs their two-point lead at the break.
