Georgia gets “can’t miss” hoops win

“I thought their team deserved to win that game more than ours did,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “We did not play well, we did not shoot free throws well. And at the end, when we tried to miss a free throw, we make the son of a gun.”

The Bulldogs (6-4) won all five games on their five-game homestand heading into their Christmas break, but struggled against the Catamounts (6-8).

They trailed 57-47 with 7:13 remaining before turning up their defensive intensity and holding Western Carolina without a field goal for the next 6 minutes.

The score was tied at 63 when Georgia spread the court to allow Mann to penetrate. He drove the lane and was fouled by Western Carolina’s Trey Sumler.

Mann entered the game shooting 74.1 percent from the line, but had been miserable at the line against the Catamounts, missing six of his first nine attempts.

Fox wanted him to make the first and miss the second, but the plan went awry when Mann promptly hit both for a 65-63 lead.

“There’s 2.5 seconds to go. If we go up by 2, a 3 beats you either way,” Fox said. “So when they get the rebound, there’s going to be time that expires.”

Instead, Western Carolina set up an inbounds play and threw a pass to midcourt, but Tom Tankelewicz missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

“I kind of knew (Fox) wanted me to miss,” Mann said. “When I made it, I was like, ‘Ah, we need a stop now.’ I was just praying he didn’t make that shot at the end.

“I was very relieved. It was just a blessing.”

Georgia struggled in all areas until the final 7 minutes.

Western Carolina outplayed, out-rebounded and outshot the Bulldogs through the first 33 minutes. The Catamounts continually beat them to loose balls and hit big shots to shut down small runs until the Bulldogs’ defense brought them back.

“Coach Fox told me at the end of the ballgame that we more than deserved to win the ball game, and I’d have to agree with him on that. Give them credit,” Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. “They fought back on us, and we had some opportunities to take advantage, but I just can’t understand how (the referees) determined this kind of ball game with a free throw right there at the end. That’s the ball game right there. Make them earn it. They may have beaten us, but make them earn it.”

Kenny Gaines led Georgia with 17 points and Mann, who was 5-of-11 from the line, finished with 13 points and six assists.

Nemanja Djurisic had nine points, including a 3-pointer from about 30 feet to give the Bulldogs a 61-58 lead with 1:25 left, and a driving layup for a 63-61 advantage with 50 seconds to play.

Georgia, which was shooting 67.5 percent from the line entering the game, shot 63.2 percent (24-of-38).

“We were never down, even though we were down throughout the game,” Gaines said. “We just kept believing and fighting back. We needed this game to see that we can win the close games. It was a good confidence booster.”