Diamond Dawgs Drop Home Opener

BASEBALL

Kennesaw State’s Andy Almonte scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning on a two-out fielder’s choice to edge Georgia 2-1 Wednesday at Foley Field in the Dawgs home opener.

Kyle Farmer went 1-4 with an RBI and a double, while Hunter Cole, Sean McLaughlin and J.T. Phillips each recorded a hit apiece for the Dawgs. Cole also added a double and a walk on the evening.

With the loss, Georgia drops to 1-3 on season while Kennesaw State improves to 4-0. Justin McCalvin earned the win for the Owls after allowing just one hit, no runs and three strikeouts through two innings of work. Sophomore Jared Walsh took the loss for the Dawgs, giving up one hit and one run over 1.1 innings.

“We need to get some confidence, and we’ll be in good shape because we’re still working the kinks out,” said coach David Perno. “That’s why you play 56 games, and I’m confident it will come together. I give credit to Kennesaw State, they threw strikes and played well. We just have to create some more scoring opportunities. I thought our pitchers did a good job, and I liked how David Gonzalez did in his debut.”

Gonzalez made the start for Georgia, the first of his career, and he opened the game by recording a strikeout against Jacob Bruce. Neither team scored through the first two innings, and it wasn’t until the third inning that the Dawgs finally placed a runner on base. Justin Bryan reached first in the bottom of the third with one out on an error by the third baseman, but the Dawgs were unable to push any runs across.

In the fourth inning, Gonzalez issued a lead-off walk to Bo Way, and the next batter grounded out to third, allowing Way to advance to second. Max Pentecost then singled to center to score Way, giving Kennesaw State a 1-0 lead. Senior Blake Dieterich entered the game to relieve Gonzalez and forced the next two batters to pop out and strike out, respectively.

Cole recorded Georgia’s first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth, ripping a two-out double down the left field line, but a fly out to left ended the inning without any runs scored.

Neither team scored in the fifth inning, but Georgia third baseman Curt Powell had a strong defensive effort in the top half of the inning, diving across his body to stop a hard-hit ball down the line that prevented a base hit. Bryan Benzor entered the game to pitch for the Dawgs in the sixth inning, and he surrendered a leadoff single up the middle to Way before Georgia quickly turned a 6-4-3 double play on the ensuing batter to get out of the jam.

The Dawgs finally pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth inning that began when Phillips recorded a lead-off single up the middle. A sacrifice bunt down the first-base line by Nelson Ward moved Phillips to second with just one out. Two batters later, Farmer dropped the ball in just fair down the left-field line for a two-out double that scored Phillips and tied the game at one run apiece.

The Dawgs retired the Owls in order to start the seventh before threatening to score in the bottom of the inning. Freshman Sean McLaughlin sent a two-out single to center and then advanced to second on a wild throw by the pitcher over to first, but a strikeout ended the inning for the Dawgs.

Georgia brought in reliever Jarrett Brown in the eighth inning, and Brown hit the first batter of the inning, Kal Simmons, to place a runner on first. A sac bunt by the next batter allowed Simmons to move into scoring position at second with just one out. The Dawgs committed an error two batters later that placed runners on the corners with two outs, but Walsh entered the game at this point and came up with a huge strikeout against Pentecost to end the inning

Georgia was unable to score in the bottom of the inning, and in the top of the ninth, Walsh issued a lead-off walk to Almonte to put the go-ahead run on base. A sacrifice bunt down the first base line by Chris McGowan allowed Almonte to move down to second, and an infield base hit by Kody Belcher put runners on the corners with just one out. Walsh then struck out Anthony Duran, but a fielder’s choice on the next play allowed Almonte to score the go-ahead run for the Owls.

Cole drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth as Georgia attempted to rally for the tying run, but two back-to-back fly outs to center field sealed the 2-1 victory for Kennesaw State.

The Dawgs return to action this Saturday in a doubleheader against Belmont. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Foley Field. This is a slight change to the schedule as the series with the Bruins was set to begin on Friday. Fans with tickets for Friday’s game can exchange them for a ticket to Saturday’s game at the Foley Field ticket window or to a future game. They can also exchange that ticket to a future home game this year at the UGA Ticket Office. Tickets for Saturday’s game will be good for both games that day.

Belue, McCormick Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

FOOTBALL / GYMNASTICS

Former University of Georgia all-star quarterback Buck Belue and national champion gymnast Heather Stepp McCormick will be inducted into the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Saturday evening during annual ceremonies held in the Macon City Auditorium.

Belue led the Dawgs to the 1980 SEC and national championships while Stepp led the Gym Dawgs to the 1993 national title.

Belue was a winner, leading Georgia to a record of 27-3 in games he started. He came from the high school football hotbed of Valdosta. Dawg fans got their first taste of Belue in 1978. As a true freshman, he came off the bench late in the game to lead Georgia to a dramatic 29-28 come-from-behind victory over arch-rival Georgia Tech on national television.

Over the next three seasons, he led Georgia to two SEC championships (1980 and '81), a national championship in 1980, and earned first team All-SEC honors twice (1980, ‘81).

Belue was probably the most productive quarterback to play under Vince Dooley who coached the Dawgs for 25 years. Following his senior season, Belue was prominent in the Georgia record books. He was second in career pass completions (264), second in career passing yards (3,864), second in career completion percentage (54.6%), and second in career TD passes (32).

While his career was exemplary, he is still most remembered for a single game in his junior season. Dawg fans will certainly never forget November 8, 1980, against Florida in Jacksonville. Georgia, ranked second nationally in the polls and undefeated, had been carried all day by Herschel Walker and a stingy defense, but the Dawgs found themselves down 21-20 with less than two minutes to play. Even worse, the Dawgs were backed up inside their own ten, and Belue was suffering through one of the worst games of his career.

But late in the game on a third and seven from Georgia's own seven-yard line, Belue scrambled out of the pocket, found wide receiver Lindsay Scott going across the middle, and completed what has become a legendary 93-yard TD pass. The improbable touchdown with 1:04 left in the game kept Georgia's undefeated season intact and elevated the Dawgs to the nation's number one ranking over Notre Dame which had been tied earlier the same day. Georgia then defeated Auburn and Georgia Tech to close out the regular season 11-0 and defeated Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to claim the undisputed national title.

He was also an all-star college baseball player being named All-SEC first team as a freshman. That year, he hit .373 and set a Georgia record with 13 home runs. He continued his college baseball career and, as a senior, hit .328 with six home runs and 31 runs-batted-in.

Stepp’s gymnastics career couldn’t have ended any sweeter. In 1993 the native of Mt. Clements, Michigan, led the Gym Dawgs to their third NCAA national team title and the next day she added two more individual NCAA championships to her already impressive resume.

In all, Stepp was one of Georgia’s most decorated gymnasts, winning three individual national titles and two individual SEC titles. At the time of her graduation, she held the school record on every event including the all-around. She was named an All-American a total of nine times.

But it wasn’t the titles that defined Stepp’s career at Georgia. In 1991 she suffered a season-ending elbow injury while warming up on the vault at a meet in Utah. Suzanne Yoculan called it the most serious injury in her first eight years as head coach.

Doctors said Stepp had just a 10 percent chance of regaining normal use in her arm – much less attempting any more gymnastics. It seemed as though her Georgia career was over.

But Stepp proved the doubters wrong. She immediately began the rehabilitation process that lasted all day, every day, for the entire summer of 1991. What started as mobilization and range-of-motion exercises eventually turned into strength and flexibility drills. Somehow it looked as though she would compete again.

As a junior she had arguably her best season. Stepp won the all-around competition in Georgia’s first meet of the year, but that was just the beginning. She was the national vault champion and the national runner-up in the all-around. She was a first-team All-American on three events, won two SEC titles and two NCAA regional titles and was the team MVP. The Honda Sports Awards Program honored Stepp with a unanimous selection for the Inspiration Award, which is presented to a female athlete who shows courage, perseverance and determination in overcoming obstacles to compete athletically.

Toby Johnson Signs With Dawgs

FOOTBALL

Defensive lineman Toby Johnson of Hutchinson Community Community College has signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Georgia according to an announcement Tuesday by coach Mark Richt.

Johnson is a native of College Park and a graduate of Banneker High School. At 6-4, 310 pounds, Johnson was rated as the number two junior college defensive end prospect in the country.

“We are thrilled that Toby has decided to become a Dawg,” said Richt. “We’re looking forward to watching him compete for playing time this upcoming season.”

Johnson is the 33rd signee for the Dawgs, he is currently rehabbing from a torn MCL/ACL injury suffered last November and has the option of a redshirt year if necessary. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Dribble Dawgs Fall In Overtime

BASKETBALL

Ole Miss’ Marshall Henderson scored 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half and overtime, to hand Georgia an 84-74 overtime loss Saturday night at C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum.

Georgia was led by sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell Pope, who picked up his 4th double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

“That’s a tough loss,” said coach Mark Fox. “I am really proud of our team, proud of how they competed, how hard they played and how they laid it all out there. It’s a game that we should have won in regulation.

“I thought we played really, really hard. I thought we competed hard, I thought we were unselfish and I thought that we defended pretty well throughout the whole game. We just couldn’t keep them off the foul line and that’s so hard to overcome, but I was really pleased with a lot of things…We had a lot of guys play well and I thought our team played well we just didn’t finish the job.”

After leading nearly the entire second half, Ole Miss took a 66-64 lead with under three minutes remaining, eventually forcing the game into overtime after junior forward Donte’ Williams nearly ended the game with a tip-in as the buzzer sounded.

Georgia trailed early in the first half, down by as many as five but closed the half on a 15-4 run, holding the Rebels scoreless in the half’s final four minutes to take a 41-35 halftime lead.

The Rebels fought back in the second half, taking the lead 51-49 off of a Nick Williams jumper, but Georgia went on a 10-0 run to grab back the lead 59-51.

With just 3:36 remaining and the Dawgs up 64-56, the Rebels’ Henderson, who was limited to just 25 minutes in the game due to foul trouble, went on a 10-0 run to put Ole Miss 66-64, and eventually force the game to overtime.

Ole Miss outscored Georgia 14-4 in overtime, including six from the free throw stripe. In the game, Ole Miss went 30-for-36 from the free throw line, while Georgia shot 13-for-19. The game was physical from the start, with four players fouling out and 48 total fouls being called.

Georgia outrebounded the Rebels 45-30, and shot nearly 50 percent from the field. Ole Miss capitalized on points off turnovers, scoring 24 to Georgia’s 10.

Worth Noting...

• The starting line-up was V. Williams, Caldwell-Pope, Morris, Florveus and D. Williams. They’re now 5-2.

• With the loss, Georgia is now 0-3 in overtime games.

• Georgia scored its 39th point with three minutes remaining in the first half off of a Kenny Gaines 3-pointer. In Tuesday’s loss, the Dawgs didn’t score its 39th point until the 3:20 mark in the second half.

• Georgia outrebounded Ole Miss, 45-30, and drops to 9-4 when outrebounding its opponent.

• Georgia had a 2-1 (10 assists, 5 turnovers) assist-to-turnover ratio in the first half, but finished the game with an even ration (18 assists, 18 turnovers).

• With his 19 points tonight, Caldwell-Pope has still scored in double figures in every game this season. He also picked up his fourth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds.

• Caldwell-Pope remains one of just 11 players in all of NCAA Division I that have scored in double figures in each of their team's games. He's the only SEC player to accomplish this feat and one of just five from the "BCS" leagues to do so.

• In Georgia basketball alumni news, former Georgia forward Travis Leslie was named MVP in the NBA D-League All-Star game. Leslie had 19 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes of play, leading the “Prospects” to a 139-125 over the “Futures.” Leslie was drafted with the 47th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He is currently a member of the Santa Cruz Warriors (affiliate of the Golden State Warriors). Leslie is averaging 16.2 PPG and 7.1 RPG in 21 games this season.

Career Highs:

• Vincent Williams set a career high with seven assists (Previously… 6 vs. Jacksonville (11/9/12).

• Kenny Gaines set a career high with 13 points (Previously… 12 vs. Tennessee (2/6/13). Gaines has set a new career high in points three different times in February.

• Tim Dixon set a career high with three assists (Previously… 1 vs. Multiple)

The Series: Georgia still leads the all-time series 66-40, but Ole Miss now leads in Oxford, 25-24. Ole Miss’ victory marks the first time since 2009 in the series that the home team has won a game.

Next Up: Georgia travels to Fayetteville to play Arkansas on Thursday. The Razorbacks lead the all-time series 16-13, including 6-3 in Fayetteville. The Dawgs have won the previous three match-ups.

Diamond Dawgs Win Opener

BASEBALL

Sophomore Jared Walsh made his pitching debut in the ninth and struck out the side plus added a home run Friday to lead Georgia to a 6-5 win over Georgia Southern.

A near-record crowd of 3,103 at JI Clements Stadium were treated to a thriller in the season opener and first meeting between the in-state rivals since 2005.

The Dawgs (1-0) loaded the bases with two outs in the first but came up empty. The Eagles (0-1) used the momentum to build a 2-0 lead in their first at bat. Scooter Williams reached on a leadoff walk and Ben Morgan followed with a base hit. A wild pitch moved both Eagles in to scoring position. On a 3-2 pitch, catcher Chase Griffin delivered a two-run single. He would move to second on a passed ball and then scored on a base hit by Garren Palmer for a 3-0 advantage.

Georgia stormed back in the second, sending 10 men to the plate and surging ahead 5-3. Walsh, who started the game in right field, got the rally started by blasting the first pitch of the frame in to the trees in right field. It was his second career home run. Freshman J.T. Phillips collected an infield single in his debut and came around on an RBI-triple by sophomore Nelson Ward (4-for-5). Senior Curt Powell (3-for-5) tied the game with a run-scoring single. Later in the frame, sophomore Hunter Cole made it 4-3 with an RBI-single and freshman Daniel Nichols capped the scoring with a fielder’s choice. The Dawgs took advantage of a two-out miscue by the Eagles to add a run in the third for a 6-3 lead. The Eagles cut it to 6-5 with a two-out, two-run single by Hunter Thomas off senior Blake Dieterich in the fifth.

Georgia starter Sean McLaughlin tossed four innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts in his debut. He became the first freshman pitcher in Dawg history to start a season opener, and he wound up with a victory too. GSU starter Justin Hess got the loss after surrendering six runs on eight hits in three innings. The Eagles got exceptional relief from Josh Stevenson, who blanked the Dawgs for 4.1 innings with no walks and eight strikeouts. He left with two on and one out in the eighth. Chris Myers came on and got senior shortstop Kyle Farmer to hit into a double play to keep it a one-run contest.

Georgia turned to its bullpen again in the bottom of the eighth in sophomore Ross Ripple, and he hit the first two Eagles of the inning. Ripple got Tyler Avera to pop out on a 3-2 offering for the first out. Then with a 1-1 count to Kyle Streicher, the Dawgs lifted Ripple in favor of redshirt sophomore Grant Earls. It was the Dawg debut for Earls who was redshirted in 2011 and was injured and didn’t pitch in 2012. Streicher swung at Earls’ first pitch and bounced one to third for a fielder’s choice as the Dawgs got the runner at second while Eagle left fielder Hunter Thomas made it to third. Pinch-hitter Stryker Brown reached on a four-pitch walk to load the bases for Ben Morgan. He got him to ground out to first to protect the one-run advantage.

In the ninth, Georgia looked to Walsh who was limited to a designated hitter role a year ago while recovering from elbow surgery. This season, he is projected as the closer, and he passed his first test. Entering the game with a 6-5 lead and facing the middle of the Eagle order, Walsh struck out the first two hitters in Griffin and T.D. Davis before allowing an infield hit to Palmer. Then, he battled back to strikeout Thomas to clinch the victory and his first career save.

“This was a good win, a hard-fought game, and it was Jared Walsh day, he did a bit of everything for us,” said coach David Perno. “The top of the order in Nelson Ward and Curt Powell had a very productive day too. Grant Earls came through, and it was the first time he got to pitch as a Dawg, and it was a tough spot in a tight game. This was good atmosphere, great crowd and a good start for us. We need to play better, and we’ve got two more games here. Overall, I was pleased with how we responded.”

Ward set a career-high with a four-hit game including an RBI-triple in Georgia’s five-run outburst. Walsh became the first pitcher since Josh Fields in 2008 to hit a home run and register a save in the same game. Incidentally, Fields did it in the season opener, a 9-7 win over top-ranked Arizona.

The series continues Saturday with first pitch slated for 2:30 p.m.

Dribble Dawgs Win Streak Snapped

BASKETBALL

Alabama closed the game on a 12-4 run, overcoming a late surge by Georgia, to beat the Dawgs 52-45 Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

The loss snaps Georgia’s (12-12, 6-5) five-game conference win streak.

Georgia was led by sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who had 22 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Nemanja Djurisic also tallied 12 points.

“ We made too many errors to win the game, just made too many errors to win,” said coach Mark Fox. “Give Alabama credit, both teams defended well. At the moment of truth, they made a couple baskets, and it comes down to their offense was just better than our defense late in the game when they took the lead.”

In the first half, Georgia got the early momentum, building a 15-6 lead ten minutes into the half. Alabama (16-8, 8-3), however, responded with an 11-0 run in a three-minute span to snatch the lead, and eventually take a 25-22 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Alabama led until the 2:36 minute mark, when junior forward Donte’ Williams capped an 11-2 run with a put-back dunk to give Georgia a 41-40 lead.

Alabama responded with back-to-back three-pointers to take back the lead 46-41 with 1:36 to play. From that mark until the final horn, Georgia went one of five from the field, losing its 12th of the season.

Alabama was led by Rodney Cooper who scored 14 points.

Georgia outrebounded the Crimson Tide 41-33, but couldn’t overcome shooting just 31 percent (16-52) from the field, including 23 percent (5-22) from behind the three point arc.

Postgame Notes

Worth Noting...

• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Vincent Williams, Donte' Williams, Brandon Morris, and John Florveus started today's game. It’s their first loss of the season (5-1).

• Georgia’s winning streak was snapped at five games.

• With his 19 points tonight, Caldwell-Pope has still scored in double figures in every game this season.

• Caldwell-Pope is one of only 11 players to score at least 10 points in every one of their team's games this season. He's the only SEC player and only one of five players from "BCS" conference schools to accomplish the feat.

•Caldwell-Pope scored 19 of Georgia’s 52 points tonight (36.5%) Caldwell-Pope ranks sixth in the nation in percentage of team's points scored. The Greenville native has scored 421 of Georgia's 1,424.

The Series: Alabama improves to 92-47 in the all-time series, including 31-27 in Athens. Georgia has now lost four straight to the Crimson Tide.

Next Up: Georgia travels to Oxford, Mississippi to play Ole Miss on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The game is televised on ESPN2. Georgia leads the all-time series 66-39, and the series is tied 24-24 when the game is held in Oxford.

Richt Contract Extended

FOOTBALL

A one-year contract extension and increase in total compensation for coach Mark Richt were approved Tuesday highlighting the February meeting of the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors.

The contract, which will soon be finalized, will include an increase in total compensation from $2.81 million to $3.2 million per year, as well as add an additional year to the contract, now set to run through 2017.

“He’s done a tremendous job leading our program,” said Director of Athletics Greg McGarity. “Twelve wins and the manner in which he’s done it, it’s just something we felt like we needed to do.”

Richt will be entering his 13th season as head football coach next fall.

"I'm honored and very thankful to Dr. Adams, Greg McGarity, and the Athletic Board for their support in what we are working daily to accomplish," said Richt. "I look forward along with our staff to preparing this team for the challenges of another season. From what I've heard, our team is working hard in the off-season conditioning program and paying the price necessary to be successful in the Fall. I do want to express my gratitude to Dr. Adams for his support and continuing confidence in our program over the years. He's been a special supporter who has always been in our corner. And we look forward to working with President-select Jere Morehead. He's been in several roles in the University administration, including a former Faculty Athletics Representative, and always supported our program in every respect."

The board also approved the Young Alumni Ticket Program. The program will enable recent graduates to be awarded season tickets without initially making a contribution to the Hartman Fund.

Academics were also highlighted at the quarterly meeting. Faculty Athletic Board representative David Shipley reported that all student athletes combined for a cumulative fall semester grade point average (GPA) of 2.96, and that UGA’s graduation success rate of 81 percent was the highest the school has had since the system was implemented.

Dribble Dawgs Defeat Aggies

BASKETBALL

Georgia survived a late 8-0 run by Texas A&M to secure its fifth straight win, beating the Aggies 52-46 Saturday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia’s current five game winning streak is its longest since the 2001 season.

Sophomore Nemanja Djurisic led Georgia (12-11, 6-4) with 13 points. Sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 10 points, all from the free throw line.

“Well that was a slugfest, really a physical game, a hard fought game, both teams really defending,” said coach Mark Fox. We had a lot of respect for Texas A&M’s defense coming into the game. They guarded us very well, and I thought our defense was pretty solid from start to finish. Our kids were hungry and made enough plays to win it, but give A&M credit for playing super hard.”

Georgia raced out to a 12-3 lead, holding the Aggies (14-9, 4-6) without a field goal until the 12-minute mark. Despite Caldwell-Pope being held to just two first-half points, Georgia took a 25-16 lead into halftime after holding Texas A&M to 18 percent shooting in the half.

After leading by as many as nine in the second half, the Aggies pulled to within three, 35-32, with an 8-3 run that ended with nine minutes left in the game. Georgia responded with an 8-0 run, capped off by a Sherrard Brantley three-pointer, to go up 43-32 with six minutes remaining.

With the Dawgs up 50-40 with a minute remaining, Texas A&M scored eight straight points, but Caldwell-Pope hit two free throws with 17 seconds to secure the win.

Nine different players scored for Georgia.

“We’ve just found more guys that score the ball,” Fox said, when asked what has changed over the last five games. “We don’t have a designated second gun, but we had a lot of guys scoring tonight. We’ve become a pretty solid team on the offensive end when we play together and every one does their job.”

Georgia outrebounded the Aggies 37-33 and outscored Texas A&M 23-8 off the bench.

Georgia returns to action Tuesday night against Alabama at 9:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Postgame Notes

Worth Noting...

• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Vincent Williams, Donte’ Williams, Brandon Morris, and John Florveus started today’s game. It’s the same group that started in Georgia’s win versus Texas A&M last month. The lineup is 5-0 this season.

• Georgia has won five straight games for the first time since 2001.

• Georgia made 25 free throws—a season-high.

• Texas A&M’s 46 points is the fewest a Georgia team has allowed since 2/19/05 vs. Auburn (UGA won 57-45).

• Caldwell-Pope has scored in double figures in every game this season. Interestingly enough, tonight he scored 10 points without making a field goal, going 10-for-10 from the free throw line. It’s the first game of his career that he hasn’t scored from the field.

• Caldwell-Pope is one of only 11 players to score at least 10 points in every one of their team's games this season. He's the only SEC player and only one of five players from "BCS" conference schools to accomplish the feat.

•Caldwell-Pope ranks sixth in the nation in percentage of team’s points scored. The Greenville native has scored 402 of Georgia’s 1,372.

• Nemanja Djurisic led the team with 13 points. It’s the third time in his career that he has led the team in scoring.

• With an attendance of 7,380, today’s game was the highest-attended of any this season.

The Series: Georgia improves to 2-0 all-time against the Aggies. Today was only the second meeting between the two schools with Georgia winning the first matchup on January 26th 59-52 in College Station.

Next Up: Georgia will square off at home with Alabama Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. Alabama leads the all-time series 91-47, including 30-27 in Athens. Georgia’s last win in the series came in 2010 at home, 76-70.

National Signing Day Summary

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs signed the largest recruiting class in the Mark Richt era today. A total of 32 high school and junior college players officially became Dawgs after faxing their national letters of intent to the coaching staff.

The link to each players biography is located to the right. (2013 Recruits)

The Dawgs are still awaiting the decision of defensive lineman Toby Johnson and he stated today that he is planning to announce on February 19th.

Nationally today’s class ranked 12th on the 247.com composite list.

Dribble Dawgs Win In Knoxville

BASKETBALL

Georgia used 11 three-pointers to beat Tennessee 68-62 Wednesday night at Thompson-Bowling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Georgia (11-11, 5-4) win marks the first time since the 2003 that the Dawgs have won four straight SEC games.

“It was a really hard fought game,” said coach Mark Fox. “Our kids were so tired that they didn’t even celebrate and that shows you how hard fought of a game it was. When you can win here, it’s a good win because this is a hard place to play.”

Sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Georgia with 24 points, 15 of which came from behind the three-point arc. Freshman guard Kenny Gaines and senior guard Vincent Williams score 12 and 10 points, respectively.

After leading by as many as 10 in the first half, the Volunteers cut the Georgia lead to just four with three minutes remaining, but three-pointers from Caldwell-Pope, V. Williams and Nemi Djurisic gave Georgia a 35-26 halftime advantage over Tennessee (11-10, 3-6). The Dawgs shot 45 percent from the field in the half, including nearly 55 percent from distance.

In the second half, Tennessee tied the game 43-43 when Jordan McRae converted a three-point play with 13 minutes remaining, but Georgia responded with a 9-0 run. A short time later, the Volunteers went on a run over their own to pull to within one point, 54-53, with just five minutes left. However, Caldwell-Pope scored nine of Georgia’s final 14 points in the remaining minutes, including a deep three-pointer with 51 ticks left, to secure Georgia’s 11th win of the season.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games and lost some of them,” Fox said. “We lost a close game to UCLA and lost a couple of overtime games. Those experiences have helped us have a little more poise now.”

In the game, Georgia’s defense held Tennessee to shooting just 28 percent from three-point range.

The Dawgs return to Athens for a two-game home stand starting Saturday afternoon against Texas A&M. The game tips-off at 5:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.

Worth Noting...

• Georgia has won its last four conference games for the first time since 2003.

• Georgia’s 11 three-pointers are a season-high (10 – Missouri)

• Caldwell-Pope led Georgia in scoring for 20th time this season. The sophomore has scored in double figures in every game this season.

Career Highs…

Kenny Gaines scored a career-high 12 points. He has now scored a career high in the last two games.

The Series: Tennessee still leads the series 92-55, including 55-15 in Knoxville. Georgia’s win in Knoxville is only its sixth in its previous 21 meetings. With tonight’s win, head coach Mark Fox is now 4-3 against the Volunteers. These two teams will meet again when Tennessee visits Stegeman Coliseum on March 2nd.

Next Up: Georgia returns home to face Texas A&M on Saturday. It will be only the second meeting between the two schools with Georgia winning the first match-up on January 26th 59-52 in College Station.

Dribble Dawgs Have Three Game Win Streak

BASKETBALL

Three Dawgs scored in double figures to lead Georgia to its third win in a row, a 67-56 win over South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina Saturday afternoon.

Georgia (10-11, 4-4) was led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who had 19 points and seven rebounds.

“I thought the second half we played a very complete basketball game,” said coach Mark Fox. “Offensively, we were really sound. We finished plays and got a lot of good shots. On defense, outside of fouling a little too much, it was pretty good. Kenny Gaines and John Cannon were a big force in the second half, and it’s a really good win.”

The first half featured 12 lead changes and five ties, with neither team ever holding more than a four-point advantage.

With South Carolina (12-9, 2-6) holding a 30-29 advantage to begin the second half, Georgia opened the half on a 6-1 run to take a 35-31 lead. With just under 10 minutes remaining, the Dawgs increased their lead to 51-44 off a Vincent Williams 3-pointer.

With under two minutes remaining, South Carolina pulled to within five points after Brian Richardson hit a three-pointer from the corner, but Brantley and Caldwell-Pope responded with a pair of three-point baskets to go up 59-49 and secure the Georgia win.

Kenny Gaines scored 11 points and John Cannon scored six of his eight points in the second half.

Today’s game marks the first time since late December that more than two Georgia players have tallied double figures. Eight different Dawgs contributed points offensively in the Georgia win.

“We had a lot of guys contribute,” Fox continued. “This is starting to become a team and that’s how you win some games.”

Georgia shot nearly 60 percent for the game, and limited the Gamecocks to 35 percent shooting from the field

South Carolina was led by Michael Carrera who had 16 points and seven rebounds.

NOTES

Worth Noting...

• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Sherrard Brantley, Vincent Williams, Donte’ Williams and John Florveus were the starters in today’s game. It’s the 12th different starting lineup that Georgia has used this year.

• Today’s win marks the first time that Georgia has had three straight SEC wins since Feb. 2-11, 2011 (excludes non-conference game versus Xavier).

• Caldwell-Pope led Georgia in scoring for 19th time this season. The sophomore has scored in double figures in every game this season.

• Georgia is now 5-2 versus South Carolina under head coach Mark Fox.

• The Dawgs outscored South Carolina 34-21 off the bench and score more points off turnovers than the Gamecocks (16-9).

Career-highs…

• Kenny Gaines set a career-high with 11 points.

• Charles Mann tied a career-high with six assists

The Series: Georgia improves to 51-48 all-time versus the Gamecocks. South Carolina still leads the series in Columbia, 30-17

Next Up: Georgia travels to Knoxville to take on Tennessee on Wednesday. Tennessee leads the all-time series 92-54, including 55-14 in those games played in Knoxville. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.