Asa Newell scored a team-high 18 points, helping Georgia upset No. 22 St. John’s 66-63 on Sunday at the Bahamas Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.
Silas Demary Jr. added 15 points for the Bulldogs (6-1), who won despite 24 turnovers. Tyrin Lawrence chipped in 11 points along with a game-high nine rebounds and five assists as Georgia shot 49 percent (24-for-49) from the floor and 41.7 percent (5-for-12) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Zuby Ejiofor led St. John’s (5-2) with 22 points and eight rebounds, followed by Aaron Scott’s 14 points. RJ Luis Jr. scored 13 for the Red Storm, who shot just 2-for-19 (10.5 percent) on 3-point attempts and 19-for-61 (31.1 percent) overall from the floor.
After holding a four-point halftime advantage, Georgia extended its lead to nine early in the second half, thanks to Lawrence’s layup and Blue Cain’s 3-pointer.
St. John’s answered with a 10-3 run, including eight from Ejiofor, trimming its deficit to 40-38 at the 14:07 mark. After Dakota Leffew’s layup put Georgia ahead 44-40, Luis’ layup stamped a 7-0 run, swinging the lead back to the Red Storm with 9:58 remaining.
From there, Newell’s five straight points jump-started a 10-0 Georgia run, before St. John’s tied the score with a 7-0 stretch. Trailing 57-56, Georgia took the lead on Demary’s layup, followed by Dylan James’ three-point play with 1:03 remaining.
After Demary and Kadary Richmond each split a pair of free throws, Simeon Wilcher’s layup for St. John’s snapped a five-minute field-goal drought, cutting Georgia’s lead to two with 41.9 seconds remaining.
Demary then knocked down two free throws before Scott’s triple with 12 seconds left cut Georgia’s lead to one. Lawrence hit a pair of free throws with 9.1 seconds left, then Demary stole the ball to secure the win for Georgia.
In a tightly contested first half, Leffew’s layup stamped an 8-0 Georgia run, giving the Bulldogs a 22-17 advantage with 5:23 left.
After Newell’s layup extended Georgia’s lead to 29-25 at the 1:35 mark, St. John’s pulled within one after Scott knocked down a pair of technical foul free throws after Demary’s technical.
Newell closed the first-half scoring with just his third 3-pointer of the season, giving Georgia a 32-28 halftime lead. Newell led Georgia with 11 points, while Ejiofor’s nine points paced St. John’s, which shot 0-for-9 on 3-pointers in the opening half.
–Field Level Media
