In the Bulldogs’ final game before conference play gets underway, Georgia (9-3) extended its winning streak to six games, the most consecutive wins since the 2011 season.
Decked out in silver uniforms in honor of the football team’s 37-14 win over Louisville in the Belk Bowl on Tuesday, the Bulldogs kicked off the New Year with a 63-50 win over visiting Norfolk State (9-7).
Coach Mark Fox looked to his bench early, rotating 10 of his players into the lineup by the 7:43 mark in the first half. By halftime, J.J. Frazier led the Bulldogs in points, with eight off the bench.
Georgia never relinquished the lead after the 17:56 mark in the first half, increasing the point differential to as much as 13 on three separate occasions.
With a couple of seconds left in the half, Charles Mann pulled up from the top of the key and sent a final 3-point attempt as time expired before halftime. The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced high above the net. It hung in the air for a moment, and the crowd in Stegeman Coliseum roared as it dropped through the net to push the lead to 36-23 heading into the locker room.
After shooting only 41.4 percent from the field in the first half, the Bulldogs tried to regroup. That effort was led entirely by Frazier. Georgia’s win over Norfolk State was the first game this season in which the sophomore led the team in points, and he set a career high with 20. He had matched his previous career high of 15 on Dec. 7 against Colorado.
Without the stellar 3-point shooter, who made four of his five attempts from three, the Bulldogs may have been in hot water against the Spartans. Georgia’s largest lead of the game first came at halftime. Afterward, Norfolk State managed to get within four points at the 13:32 mark in the second half.
At that point Frazier surged, helping Georgia go on a 12-7 run and accounting for eight of those points during those six minutes before Mann subbed in for him. The Spartans tried to keep it close, but allowed the Bulldogs to stretch the lead again to 13 with 43 seconds left to play.
Mann was the only other Bulldog to shoot in the double digits, but it was Frazier’s willingness to carry the load for his team that saved the Bulldogs from a loss just before the SEC schedule begins.
The team and its fellow students return to the classroom Monday. The Bulldogs’ first conference game will be played the next day against Arkansas. The Razorbacks are tied with LSU for the second-best record in the SEC, only behind undefeated Kentucky.
