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Hoop Dawgs fall to Southern Miss 62-60 in Overtime

SicEmDawgs.com

UGA BasketballThe Georgia Bulldogs lost their second consecutive game of the Legends Classic, this one 62-60 in overtime at the hands of Southern Miss. The Dawgs are now 1-2 overall.

Georgia again got off to a slow start, falling behind 15-3 in the first eight minutes. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope helped keep the deficit around 12 until late in the half. A Sherrard Brantley three-point shot from half court at the buzzer closed the margin to 31-27 at half.

The Bulldogs closed USM’s lead to two, but then the Golden Eagles pushed their lead back to as many as nine. It wasn’t until the final minute of the game that a Nemanja Djurisic jumper tied the game at 55 each. Neither team could convert in the final seconds which led to overtime.

With the game tied at 60, Southern Miss’ Michael Craig stole the ball from Vincent Williams and then fed Dwayne Davis for a layup. Georgia had the final possession of the game, and two three-point attempts from Caldwell-Pope were off the mark.

“It was a hard-fought game, and I want to congratulate Southern Miss because they made the plays to win and they deserve credit for that,” said head coach Mark Fox. “What we have to recognize is that you can’t leave 10 points at the foul line and get outrebounded like we did in the second half and win basketball games. I thought those were the two keys – second-half rebounding and our poor performance at the foul line.”

Caldwell-Pope led the Bulldogs with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Nemanja Djurisic added 12 points and Vincent Williams scored 9 in the losing effort.

Although Georgia lost both regional games of the Progressive Legends Classic, they still advance to the semifinals in Brooklyn. They will face Indiana on Monday, Nov. 19 (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

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