Bulldogs fall to No. 22 Mississippi State, 76-75

ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Bulldogs (16-8, 4-7 SEC) fell to the No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-6, 5-5 SEC), 76-75, on Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Four scorers reached double figures headlined by a career-high 23 points from Silas Demary Jr. on the night.

Fast Facts
• After Demary Jr.’s 23 points on the night, freshman forward Asa Newell followed with 16 points while graduate guard Dakota Leffew and junior forward RJ Godfrey finished 12 and 10 points.
• Demary Jr. became the first Bulldog to record 20+ points and 7+ assists since Aaron Cook on Nov. 16, 2021.
• Newell has reached double figure scoring in 22 out of 24 games this season.
• Newell recorded a career-high three 3-pointers made on the night, marking his third game in SEC play with multiple threes made.
• Godfrey has now scored 10 or more points in three-consecutive games, having only four double-digit scoring outings in his first 21 games this season.

Key Quote
“This was a tough loss,” head coach Mike White said. “It could have gone either way. Mississippi State’s really good. They did a lot of really good things offensively. They really hurt us in transition offense after our makes, especially, really unfortunate we can’t get those possessions back. We did enough offensively. Our defense let us down tonight. Great opportunity, but not enough urgency in transition defense. Our ball screen coverage was just okay. Our loading to the ball wasn’t good enough. Our communication on a couple of screens really cost us. [Josh] Hubbard was phenomenal, especially in transition and space. He’s really, really fast and puts a lot of pressure on you in a lot of different ways, but they’re a good team. We had some chances, of course. Hats off to those guys. We’re going back to work tomorrow.”

Up Next
The Bulldogs will head to the Lone Star State where they will face No. 10 Texas A&M on Tuesday, Feb. 11 with tipoff set at 9 p.m. ET at Reed Arena. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

POST-GAME NOTES

• With tonight’s result, Georgia slides to 59-60 in the all-time series with Mississippi, still maintaining a 30-22 edge in Stegeman Coliseum.
• Starting Streak – The Bulldogs rolled out with the same starting lineup for the fourth straight game (Cain, Leffew, Demary Jr., Godfrey and Newell).
• Super Silas – Silas Demary Jr. posted a career-high 23 points in the loss, will also adding on seven assists – a team high – and six boards marking the first time that a Bulldog finished a game with at least 20 points and seven assists since Aaron Cook vs. S.C. State on Nov. 16, 2021.
• Amazing Asa – Asa Newell finished with a career-high three made three-pointers. The freshman center is only the second Georgia player that is 6’11 or taller to have made three made three-pointers in a game (Nic Claxton vs. LSU on Jan. 23, 2019).
• Get Em’ Godfrey – RJ Godfrey recorded his third straight game scoring in double figures while also setting a season-high in SEC play with seven rebounds.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Georgia Head Coach Mike White

Opening Statement…
“This was a tough loss. It could have gone either way. Mississippi State’s really good. They did a lot of really good things offensively. They really hurt us in transition offense after our makes, especially, really unfortunate we can’t get those possessions back. We did enough offensively. Our defense let us down tonight. Great opportunity, but not enough urgency in transition defense. Our ball screen coverage was just okay. Our loading to the ball wasn’t good enough. Our communication on a couple of screens really cost us. [Josh] Hubbard was phenomenal, especially in transition and space. He’s really, really fast and puts a lot of pressure on you in a lot of different ways, but they’re a good team. We had some chances, of course. Hats off to those guys. We’re going back to work tomorrow.”

On Silas Demary Jr…
“I thought it was one of his best games. It could have been his best game as a Georgia Bulldog. Unfortunately, we came up short. He had a late turnover against an elite defense. He had one turnover. He had a heck of a game. He continues to get better. There were 100 plays that we could have made that were a lot easier to control than trying to score on one of the stingiest defenses down late in that game. We’ll address those things tomorrow. We’ll get back to work.”

On Dakota Leffew…
“I thought he was off to a really good start. We probably could have helped him a little bit more in the second half, get cleaner looks, get going, get looks, period. Those guys, Mississippi State, again, one of the better defensive programs in the country the last two and a half years, since Chris Jans has been there.”

On his message to the team after the game…
“Some of the defensive breakdowns we just immediately talked about. It’s on to the next one. Our guys are great with taking messages. They understand some of those things that we could have done a little bit better. They’re down, though, obviously, at the same time. It was a great opportunity. These guys, we got a group that will have the right approach. They’ll show up tomorrow ready to work and continue to grow.”

#5 | Silas Demary Jr. | So. | Guard

On the last possession…
“I just saw an open lane. Coach said attack. I think one of those dead balls, I think after Dylan [James] fouled out said just attack, he was going to miss it. But I think that’s just the way the ball rolls. Can’t win them all, can’t dwell about turnovers. We just have to move on. Plays happen, things happen, it’s just about my response, and I’m going to respond on Tuesday.”

On Coach White’s message to the team after the game…
“Kind of just saying, we got a quick turnaround. Played Texas A&M on Tuesday, another game we can go in knowing that we can win. We have to play hard, just have to respond, and get back after it tomorrow.”

On coming up just short…
“I would say it’s tough. You want to win every game, you want to put your best foot forward, but sometimes you’re not going to win the ball. So, I think we just have to keep going into games, playing hard, cause obviously we see we can be in these big-time games. We just have to be able to win them at the end, we keep coming up short, but I feel like we’re getting closer and closer to winning those big-time games.”

#14 | Asa Newell | Fr. | Forward

On Mississippi State’s response to Georgia scoring runs…
“Every time Mississippi State scored, we didn’t get back on defense. We had to just hustle back. Mississippi State is a hard-playing team, so we just didn’t get back on defense and they took advantage of that.”

On the Mississippi State offense…
“They just read our head well. In our switching, they hit the pocket, and they played 2-on-1 basketball”

On the defensive performance…
“Our details weren’t up to par. They were just reading our defensive coverage and taking advantage of it”