ATHENS — Coach Mike White’s first season at Georgia got off to a strong start, as the Bulldogs defeated Western Carolina 68-55 on Monday night.
Junior Kario Oquendo led Georgia with 18 points, three blocks and a steal.
Oquendo, a 6-foot-4 guard, knifed his way to the basket and got to the free-throw line. He also hit two 3-pointers.
“I got some good looks,” Oquendo said. “Most of them were falling, so it was a fresh start for me (after I missed that first shot).”
The Bulldogs jumped to an early lead and led 37-22, but the Catamounts mounted a strong second-half comeback. Western Carolina went on a 16-5 run, bringing the score as close as two points with about 13 minutes remaining.
“When we came out of halftime, we took a step back – in terms of them taking the energy. They took the momentum,” Oquendo said.
Oquendo catalyzed Georgia’s offense late to seal the win, scoring five consecutive points to extend the lead to 11, and the Bulldogs never looked back.
Junior center Frank Anselem added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
Both teams were cold during the first four minutes of the game. The Bulldogs eventually grabbed a 15-5 lead.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim provided a spark off the bench with a 3-pointer. He finished with eight points and five rebounds.
Georgia’s defense forced 14 turnovers, but the Bulldogs had 21 turnovers.
“We were trying to do too much,” Oquendo said of the team’s turnovers. “We just needed to make certain plays. Coach White always stresses to us to make the easy play, but we were trying to make the hard plays.”
Besides forcing turnovers, the Bulldogs held the Catamounts to 26% shooting in the first half and 35% overall.
“We weren’t allowing any 3s, so we got them out of their rhythm,” Oquendo said of Georgia’s defensive focus.
Georgia finished with 38 points in the paint and also outrebounded the Catamounts 42-26.
Georgia will travel to Wake Forest on Friday in its first road game of the season.
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