Georgia falls late against LSU, 67-66

BATON ROUGE, La. – Late game drama at the tail end of a back-and-forth battle in the second half saw the Georgia men’s basketball team’s comeback bid fall just short as it fell 67-66 on the road against LSU at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday.

Noah Thomasson led the Bulldogs’ (15-13, 5-10 SEC) scoring efforts with 16 points on the night followed by Justin Hill’s 11 points, all coming in the second half powered by three 3-pointers. Dylan James was heavily involved in the second half as he matched a career-high nine points on 18 minutes with a pair of rebounds while Silas Demary Jr. led the efforts on the glass with seven boards along with five points and four assists. Georgia was also efficient on the defensive end of the court, forcing 16 LSU (15-13, 7-8 SEC) turnovers and holding it to 67 points on the night after averaging 76.8 points per game on the season.

The game tipped-off to a high-scoring affair as the Bulldogs trailed 16-10 heading into under-16 media timeout. Despite trailing by 13 nearing the midway point of the half, Georgia sparked momentum as it hopped on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 23-19. Shooting woes created trouble for the Bulldogs late in the first half as they trailed 40-27 heading into the locker room.

Georgia came out firing to open the second half, as it produced a 9-2 run to cut the score to 42-36 and force an LSU timeout. After exchanging several possessions on both ends of the court, three straight 3-pointers from the Bulldogs closed the gap to 54-49 just over 10 minutes left. Georgia continued to battle back late, tacking on another 7-0 run in just over one minute to take its first lead of the second half at 58-57 with 5:35 left in game. The final minute of regulation saw three lead changes as a late Hill layup with 29 seconds left handed the Bulldogs a 66-65 lead. A foul at the other end of the court took LSU to the free throw line with 15 seconds left, where the Tigers would convert and regain the lead. Georgia created two scoring opportunities on its last possession but could not connect as time expired.

The Bulldogs’ next tilt will see them return to Athens where they will host Texas A&M on Saturday, Mar. 2 at 6 p.m. ET at the Stegeman Coliseum. The game will be broadcasted on the SEC Network. Georgia trails the all-time series 5-8, where it will look to snap a four-game losing streak against the Aggies.

Five Fast Facts
• Noah Thomasson has scored 15 or more points in each of his last four games.
• Blue Cain made his first career start, finishing with six points, two rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes.
• Dylan James matched a career-high nine points on 18 minutes with a pair of rebounds.
• Georgia outrebounded LSU 34-31 on the night while winning the bench points battle 29-21.
• Georgia forced 16 LSU turnovers (13 turnovers per game this season) while holding it to 67 points (76.8 points per game this season).

Key Quote
Head Coach Mike White: “I’m hurt for our guys. Tough environment in our locker room right now because our guys laid it on the line and played as hard as they’ve played all year. In many ways, I thought we deserved that win, but LSU did too. Those guys are playing their best basketball of the year, and they made a lot of plays. Tough loss for us. Good win for LSU.”

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