For much of the day the kids in the crowd at Stegeman Coliseum seemed more excited about the game than the Georgia Bulldogs.
Georgia was sluggish for long stretches against Gardner-Webb but made enough plays late for a 58-49 victory Thursday. Since losing to Davidson, Temple and Nebraska at the Charleston Classic, Georgia (5-4) has won four games in a row against lesser competition.
The game against Gardner-Webb (6-7) started at 11:30 a.m. and was attended by thousands of students from Athens-Clarke County schools. The early, weekday game seemed to throw off Georgia’s rhythm — even coach Mark Fox kept referring to the game “tonight” in his comments after the contest.
The morning start and an arena full of kids created a unique atmosphere. Bulldogs forward Marcus Thornton said the schoolchildren’s exuberance gave the team a boost.
“It’s definitely a different kind of noise,” Thornton said, smiling. “More of a high-pitched sound. But we really appreciate them coming out and enjoying it.”
Georgia guard Juwan Parker, a freshman from Tulsa, made his first start and responded with team-highs of 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals in 27 minutes. He had a key three-point play and made two free throws to help hold off Gardner-Webb’s late rally.
“He was terrific tonight,” Fox said. “He rebounded the ball well, he defended, he finished plays offensively. He’s starting to get comfortable. He stuck his nose in there.”
Charles Mann, Georgia’s leader in points and assists, returned to the lineup after missing the game against Lipscomb last week with a bruised knee. Mann suffered the injury against Chattanooga on Dec. 2.
Mann had eight points, two assists and six turnovers in 32 minutes. Fox said he left Mann on the court to play through his struggles and get a rhythm.
“It wasn’t the prettiest,” Mann said. “It was nice being out there. I didn’t play as good as I wanted to. I had a lot of rust. But we got the win and that’s the only thing that matters.”
With their offense stalled amid a season-high 19 turnovers, the Bulldogs had to win with defense and rebounding. Georgia held Gardner-Webb to 32 percent shooting and posted a 46-27 advantage in rebounds.
The Bulldogs allowed Gardner-Webb to collect just nine of its 37 missed field goals.
“That’s been a big focus in practice lately is finishing out defensive possessions with good, strong rebounds so we can push and get our offense going,” Parker said.
The kids shrieked in joy at most every play from the start but the Bulldogs didn’t have the same enthusiasm.
Georgia missed six shots and committed two turnovers in their first eight possessions. Bulldogs players twice threw the ball out of bounds while trying to make simple, uncontested passes from the top of the key.
“I thought our team had a little zombie look to them,” Fox said. “Couldn’t even pass and catch it cleanly to start the game.”
Georgia led 21-12 at halftime but Gardner-Webb quickly trimmed the advantage to 24-22. The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 34-24 with Thornton scoring six points during the 10-2 run on a layup, tip-in and a dunk.
Gardner-Webb stuck around, though. Consecutive 3-pointers by Tyler Strange and Naji Hibbert’s 3-point play cut Georgia’s lead to 38-37 with 6:32 to play.
With a chance for its first lead since 4-2, Gardner-Webb missed two close-range shots and Georgia regained control with a quick 7-0 run. Mann scored on a 3-point play and made two free throws after he was fouled on a breakaway, and then Parker added another three-point play for a 45-37 Georgia lead.
Gardner-Webb closed to within 45-39 on Hibbert’s score but that’s as close as the Runnin’ Bulldogs could get in the final three minutes.
“I guess the early game got to us a little but we finally calmed down and pulled it out,” Parker said.
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