9-seed Bulldogs fall to 8-seed Gonzaga, 89-68, in NCAA Tournament Round of 64

WICHITA, Kan. — The 9-seed Georgia Bulldogs (20-13, 8-10 SEC) fell to the 8-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-8, 14-4 WCC), 89-68, in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 on Thursday afternoon at INTRUST Bank Arena. Four scorers reached double figures headlined by freshman forward Asa Newell’s 20 points on the day.

Fast Facts
• After Newell’s 20-point performance, sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr. followed with 15 points while sophomore guard Blue Cain and freshman center Somto Cyril each finished with 10 each.
• Newell recorded his sixth 20+ point performance of the season, marking his 30th in double figures and 20th leading the team in scoring.
• Demary Jr. recorded 15+ points in each of the last 10 games of the season, finishing that stretch averaging 19.3 points per game.
• Cain notched three steals on the afternoon, marking his seventh-career performance with three or more picks in a game and his 21st career multi-steal outing.
• Cyril reached double-figures for the fifth time this season with eight of his ten points coming in the second half.

Key Quote
“At the end of the day, I just told our guys, this is my favorite group that I’ve been around as a whole in terms of people,” head coach Mike White said. “We’ve just got a really special thing going with our culture, with our connectivity. These guys have really strong relationships with one another. These guys got it done. And I hate it for them that it’s over. These two guys next to me accomplished a lot, and they got Georgia to the NCAA Tournament. We got the highest seed that we’ve gotten in a long, long time. Broke some records, ended some streaks, started some streaks, you name it. I mean, you could put together 10 or 12 bullets on a page that these guys accomplished this year. Our net, our KenPom, our offense, our defense. These guys have accomplished a ton, and they should be proud. And they’ve laid a foundation.”