ATHENS, Ga. – Freddie Dilione V scored 14 points lead a balanced offensive attack as Georgia defeated Georgia State, 94-61, in a preseason contest at Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night.
FIVE FAST FACTS
• Four Bulldogs scored in double figures and 12 players scored for Georgia. In addition to Dilione, Blue Cain and Kanon Catchings both added 13 points and Kareem Stagg chipped in 10.
• Additional leaders for Georgia included Cain with seven rebounds, Marcus “Smurf” Millender with five assists, Millender and Donovan Williams Jr. with three steals each and James Scott with three blocks.
• Georgia quickly raced to a 12-2 lead in less than four minutes into the game with five different Bulldogs scoring during the surge.
• The first-half lead topped out a 24 points at 48-24 on Cain’s three-quarter court, buzzer-beating jumper to end the period.
• Georgia’s lead eventually bulged to 36 points with 3:27 remaining in the game on an alley-oop from freshman Williams to classmate Hakeem Weems.
KEY QUOTES
Georgia Head Coach Mike White
Opening statement…
“(I’m) thankful, to the NCAA, to have an additional exhibition game, and this is the first one that I’ve ever been a part of that was this early. I think it’ll positively impact practices moving forward, maybe a little bit more so than if we hadn’t played in early ones. I hope to be better in the next one and even better in the third one and then better in the opener. Georgia State runs good stuff and is a really physical, big, strong team at a bunch of different positions. I wish them well in their league, of course. I think they’ll have a good year. We did some good things. I liked our level of unselfishness. I thought our culture was pretty good. We got fouled on a three late in the game with [Hakeem] Weems in the corner. He’s laying down, it’s a sizable lead and we’ve got four guys sprint over to help him up. (There’s) some good signs there. A lot of extra passes, not a lot of shot hunting for the most part, probably three or four, that you wish you could get back. (We were) pretty connected at times. Defensively, we didn’t do a very good job on the defensive glass, something that we’ve talked about over the summer and fall. We’re better than that, but the guards have got to get involved. Again, I thought their physicality upfront was pretty good. We’re going to see a lot of that on our schedule.”
On the energy from the opening tip to the final horn…
“It was pretty good. Again, guys flying around late in the game. Our guys, begrudgingly got out of press. Our guys continued to want to press and leave all their energy out there and just continue to exert themselves with belief, which is a great sign, as opposed to begging guys to play hard in a game like this. I’m glad you mentioned Kareem [Stagg] because he might have been the brightest spot. I’m looking at it now +27. That doesn’t mean everything, of course, but I loved some of the plays that he made downhill with a live bounce. He was aggressive, he was confident, and he locked them defensively. He is getting better and better. He’s had a hell of a month of practice.”
#4 | Marcus “Smurf” Millender | Guard | Sr.
On being the facilitator…
“I take pride in it. It gets my teammates going, gives them energy. Keeping the ball hot is something that coach preaches, so it’s good for the team to have somebody like that because it helps the team stay connected. Everybody wants to score, but you have got to have somebody on the team that would have the ability to facilitate.”
#5 | Freddie Dilione V | Guard | Sr.
On the defensive side of the game…
“Coach really emphasizes pressuring the ball, being able to read guys, handling the ball, being able to pick pockets and stuff like that. It’s exciting for fans to watch and being able to go down, play defense, and score the ball.”
UP NEXT
Georgia will play its second of three preseason contests a week from Friday when the Bulldogs host Charlotte at Stegeman Coliseum on Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the game are $5 available via georgiadogs.com here.