Bulldogs cruise past Alabama A&M, 93-45

ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Bulldogs (5-0) defeated the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (3-2), 93-45, on Tuesday night at the Stegeman Coliseum. Four scorers reached double figures led by freshman forward Asa Newell’s 17 points paired with six boards.

Fast Facts
• After Newell’s 17-point effort, sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr. followed with 15 points while graduate guard Tyrin Lawrence and freshman center Somto Cyril finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
• The 45 points scored by Alabama A&M was Georgia’s fewest allowed by a Mike White team.
• The 48-point win was Georgia’s largest margin of victory since November 10, 2006, when it defeated Southern by 60 points (97-37).
• Somto Cyril produced his best night as a Bulldog, posting career highs of 11 points and nine rebounds while also tallying three blocks on the night.
• Tyrin Lawrence recorded a new career-high six steals, two more than his previous best and one shy from the program record (7 – last recorded by Billy Humphrey in 2007).
• Freshman guard Savo Drezgic posted a career-high six points, tacking on an assist and one steal in 11 minutes.
 
Key Quote
“We’re all trying to grow as programs and as teams,” head coach Mike White said. “That’s just something that stuck out to us here recently. We’ve been really good at times defensively, but have we put 40 together. That’s what the good teams do. That’s what the top of our league is going to do. It’s a process to get there, and I thought we took some steps there today where the detail is great. We know they touched the paint probably too many times off of the bounce, but fortunately, we have guys that are back there erasing some mistakes, as we’ve talked about a lot over the past few months. Our execution versus a lot of their changing disruptive defenses wasn’t pretty at times, but our effort was certainly there throughout, and as strong as it was all game in those last few minutes, which is growth.”
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will head to The Bahamas for the weekend when they face their first ranked opponent of the season in No. 15 Marquette on Saturday, Nov. 23 with tipoff set at 11 a.m. ET at the Imperial Arena at Atlantis.

POST-GAME NOTES

• Tonight’s game marks the fourth meeting between the two programs with Georgia now holding a 4-0 series lead.
• Starting Streak – The Bulldogs rolled out the same starting lineup for the fifth straight game with Cain, Demary Jr., Lawrence, Godfrey and Newell.
• First Half Force – Georgia held Alabama A&M to 25 first-half points, the squad’s lowest first half total this season.
• Nonstop in Non-Conference – Georgia extended its non-conference home winning streak to 22 games.
• Major Margins – The 48-point margin of victory tonight is the largest since 2006 when Georgia defeated Southern University 97-37.
• Sneaky Steals – Tyrin Lawrence posted a career-high 6 steals tonight. Interstingly, Lawrence’s 4 first-half steals would have also marked a career-high. While not leading the team, Silas Demary Jr.’s four steals is also a career-high for the sophomore guard.
• Surreal Cyril: Somto Cyril totaled season and career-highs in points (11) and boards (9) which marks his first career double-digit scoring performance.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Georgia Head Coach Mike White

On closing out games… 
“We referenced the end of the Tennessee Tech game and even the end of the Georgia Tech game where we just couldn’t get a stop down the stretch. Of course, we were just trading free throws for baskets the other day. We’re all trying to grow as programs and as teams. That’s just something that stuck out to us here recently. We’ve been really good at times defensively, but have we put 40 together? That’s what the good teams do. That’s what the top of our league is going to do. It’s a process to get there, and I thought we took some steps there today where the detail is great. We know they touched the paint probably too many times off of the bounce, but fortunately, we have guys that are back there erasing some mistakes, as we’ve talked about a lot over the past few months. Our execution versus a lot of their changing disruptive defenses wasn’t pretty at times, but our effort was certainly there throughout, and as strong as it was all game in those last few minutes, which is growth.”

On Somto Cyril and Justin Abson…
“Decision-making, passing, not turning the ball over, just being more secure with the ball in his [Cyril] hands. Ball screen defense has gotten better. Transition defense has gotten better. His footwork in the post, he’s a guy that’s kind of settled in. The game has slowed for him a little bit. He’s a little bit more poised with the ball in his hands close to the basket, not forcing as much, and he’s just scratching the surface. He’s a talented guy. I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the improvement with his motor too. You talk about some of those hustle plays. That’s growth for him. He’s playing hard. You heard him a couple of times too, communicating on the court, even calling out different things on the court during the game. He’s got presence, obviously, and so when he’s talking, you can hear him. He’s got to continue to be convicted in what he’s talking about, being decisive, being loud and early with some of his defensive communication. I thought Justin Abson did a good job of that with us tonight too. Justin has so much maturity offensively and defensively, just kind of anchoring some things and putting guys in the right spots. He’s got some quarterback in him as a big. You’ve got so many combinations you can use, or different guys on the court, at different times.”

On the depth of this team… 
“Confusing, but a luxury. We like our depth, but that said, Marquette and St. John’s have great depth. I haven’t studied those guys much at all. Honestly, I haven’t seen either team play. I’ve seen some of the teams in our league play and saw them last year. Depth is prevalent throughout the league – height and length, speed and quickness and a bunch of guys that can do damage to SEC opponents as starters or off the bench. We’ve got a roster that has a better chance to be more competitive against high-level competition. I really like our depth. I don’t know what we do moving forward. Who knows how many minutes some of these guys will play, how many our starters will play moving forward, but we’re open to continuing to evaluate it. As long as each one of these guys individually is getting better, and collectively as a team, we continue to make some improvements, everything will work itself out.”

On what he hopes to see from his team in the next two games… 
“Growth. You’d like to go 2-0. Beating one of these guys would be great, but most importantly, it’s a process. It’s a journey for this team. Can we continue to make strides? Can we continue to protect our culture? Because I really like what we’ve got going on right now. At the end of the day, wins and losses are    going to take care of themselves. We’ve just got to continue to improve and embrace the process and enjoy it. We’ve got a team right now playing with joy. Now we’re in high-level competition. Adversity is coming at some point. It might be the next one. Who knows what type of adversity, but how do we handle it? Can we continue to move forward together?”

#0 | Blue Cain | So. | Guard

On analyzing the team’s performance… 
“We just focus on ourselves and grow from each game. We just look at how well we executed and what we can do to get better. I think we did a good job. Last year we struggled to really close teams out.”

On defensive success in recent games… 
“You can control that every game. That’s what Coach White always says. Whether you’re making shots or missing shots, it’s just about playing hard. That is really what we focus on.”

On the last season’s trip to the Bahamas…
“It was a great bonding opportunity for the team. We grew really close together during that trip. Unfortunately, we went 0-2, but it was a great experience for us.”

#14 | Asa Newell | Fr. | Forward

On the key to maintaining control of the game…
“I would just say our approach to it. Alabama A&M, can’t take them for granted, so we just put the nail in the coffin.”

On what he saw from Somto Cyril…
“Somto is getting really good. Really, really good. He brings it every day in practice, and he showed it on the floor tonight.”

On facing a ranked opponent in Marquette on Saturday…
“We’re just really excited to showcase our abilities against a top team, so we just got to come out and just showcase what we can do.”