Silas Demary Jr. scored a season-high 18 points, freshman Asa Newell had 14 points and seven rebounds and undefeated Georgia pulled away in the second half to beat Georgia Tech 77-69 on Friday at Atlanta in the 200th meeting of the in-state rivals.
Georgia, which defeated the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta for the first time since the 2018-19 season, won for the seventh time in the past nine meetings. The Bulldogs (4-0) emerged victorious for the 93rd time in the series.
Freshman center Doryan Onwuchekwa’s first career 3-pointer gave the Yellow Jackets a 34-33 lead with 14:35 remaining. However, Newell put Georgia ahead for good, 40-39, with a putback dunk at the 10:32 mark, and he added a trey just under two minutes later — after the Bulldogs missed their first 14 attempts from behind the arc — as part of a 14-0 run.
Demary also had seven rebounds and three assists in Georgia’s first road game of the season. Dakota Leffew totaled 11 points and five rebounds, Blue Cain notched 10 points and six boards and freshman reserve center Somto Cyril had career highs of nine points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.
On a night when former Georgia Tech sharpshooter Dennis Scott had his No. 4 officially retired at halftime, the Yellow Jackets (2-2) finally found some offensive rhythm in the second half after making only seven baskets during the opening 20 minutes.
Lance Terry scored all 20 of his points in the second half for Georgia Tech, which shot 36.5 percent (23 of 63) from the field. Baye Ndongo finished with 14 points, going 6 of 6 at the foul line, Javian McCollum had 13 points and Onwuchekwa posted career highs of seven points and 11 rebounds.
The teams combined to shoot 20 percent (3 of 15) and score six total points prior to the first media timeout. Points remained at a premium throughout the half. Georgia performed slightly better in its half-court sets for a 27-19 lead at the break despite missing all 10 of its 3-point shots. The Yellow Jackets were 1-for-9 from long distance in the first 20 minutes.
–Field Level Media
