Georgia’s Anthony Edwards got busy early on Wednesday, and that meant an early night for both him and the Bulldogs against North Carolina Central.
“Ant Man” got loose for 19 points in 17 minutes in the first half to stake the Bulldogs to a 50-35 lead, then mostly let his teammates take them home from there in what ended as a 95-59 Georgia victory.
Edwards added only two more points in the second half, then sat the final 7:38 of the game while cheering his teammates from the bench. Turns out he missed all but 20 minutes of Georgia’s last practice with a lower-body injury and remains banged up.
Bulldogs coach Tom Crean was glad to give his star player a little rest.
“I thought Anthony came out and responded well,” Crean said. “We weren’t totally sure about him today. So a lot of credit to our trainer and our physical therapist and our doctors for the work they did in helping get him cleared up and ready to go. We had a lot of good activity from a lot of people tonight.”
In addition to Edwards' 21 points and four assists, the Bulldogs (6-2) also got 19 points and nine rebounds from Rayshaun Hammonds. Tyree Crump made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points and freshman Christian Brown came off the bench to give Georgia 11.
It was the fourth time this year that the Bulldogs scored more than 90 points. They are averaging 86.1 points a game.
N.C. Central falls to 2-7. Jibri Blount led the Eagles with 19 points.
Edwards will have a chance to heal up as the Bulldogs enter a 10-day break for final exams. But the competition will increase considerably upon their return. Next up is Arizona State in Tempe on Dec. 14. Georgia also faces SMU, Georgia Southern, Austin Peay and Memphis before opening SEC play at home against Kentucky on Jan. 7.
“That's why we have to continue to get better,” Crean said.
The victory came on a night that Georgia learned it is going to be without Amanze Ngumezi for a while. Crean announced before tipoff that the 6-foot-9 sophomore is indefinitely suspended.
“There was no one thing,” Crean said of the decision. “There were a number of factors and instances that were involved in the decision. I didn’t make it lightly. … I want what’s best for him but I want what’s best for our program as well.”
Ngumezi started the Bulldogs’ first seven games and was averaging 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds.
An announced crowd of 7,738 got an impressive show from Edwards in the opening 20 minutes. He made four 3-pointers, dished out three assists, and grabbed two steals which led to two breakaway dunks. The first one, coming at the 13:14 mark, was a one-handed windmill variety reminiscent of former Bulldog Dominique Wilkins.
In one stretch, Edwards and Crump scored consecutive baskets for 14 points. Georgia surged ahead by 20, then led 50-35 at the half.
Staked to a lead, the Bulldogs got busy with their defense. They limited the Eagles to 9.1 percent shooting from 3-point range and 23.7 percent in the second half.
“For the week we’ve had, for the travel we’ve had coming back from Maui, for them to bear down and give us that lead in the first half and play like that says a lot,” Crean said. “I’m proud of the way the guys played.”
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