Georgia shoots lights out in New Orleans for SEC tourney win
NEW ORLEANS – Dustin Ware didn’t get the 16 points he needed to reach 1,000 for his career. But he got something more important – a chance to play again.
Ware did manage 13 points, however, and along with the 23 of fellow guard Gerald Robinson, the veteran back court was a big reason Georgia was able to defeat Mississippi State 71-61 and advance to the second round of the SEC Tournament.
“Dustin’s had a tough year but he shot it well tonight,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “I thought he and Gerald played like experienced players, like seniors should play. We had a lot of guys make plays to win tonight. I thought they all felt good about seeing a teammate chip in.”
It was particularly uplifting for Ware, who has been mired in a long shooting slump.
“I wanted to be aggressive,” said Ware, who was scoreless at the half. “Teammates, coaches, they all kept a lot of confidence in me and really kept me going. I saw a few go down and it really felt good.”
Ware was 3-of-6 from behind the arc as Georgia shot 51 percent from the field and 36.8 (7-for-19) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs had five players score in double figures for just the second time this season. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 13 and Donte Williams and Nemanja Djurisic had 11 apiece. Djurisic, a freshman from Montenegro, also had 11 rebounds to give UGA its first double-double from a post player this season.
The Bulldogs (15-16) will now face Vanderbilt for a third time this season. The Commodores (21-10), who had a first-round bye, defeated Georgia in their two regular-season meetings. Tip off is 10 p.m.
“Vandy’s a great shooting team,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “We can’t play them the same way we’ve been playing because it hasn’t worked. We’ve got to do something different.”
The Commodores got 28 points on 6-of-8 3-point shooting from guard John Jenkins when they last met Georgia and won 61-52 on Feb. 19 in Athens. They beat the Bulldogs 77-66 on Jan. 14 in Nashville.
It was the second time this season the Bulldogs knocked off Mississippi State (21-11, 8-8). The Maroon Dogs were ranked 20th when Georgia beat them in overtime 70-68 on Feb. 11. The latest loss likely will eliminate MSU from NCAA tournament consideration.
The Bulldogs dominated State in the second half Thursday, outscoring it 40-32 and leading by as many as 13 points. But State’s Jalen Steele scored 11 of his team-best 19 points in a two-minute stretch that saw the Maroons close to within 60-57 with 3:46 to go.
However, Georgia answered every challenge from then until the final buzzer. Williams missed a 15-foot jump shot as the shot-clock wound down, but Djurisic was there to bail him out with a rebound and put-back to get the lead back to five. Georgia’s defense forced a pair of State turnovers and Djurisic made two free throws to expand the lead to seven with 1:38 to go.
Then Robinson made the play of the game. With the lead back down to five and the shot-clock again running out, he pulled up off the drive and buried a 12-foot jump shot on the right side of the lane that made it 68-59 with 58 seconds to play.
“It was good to see that one go down,” Robinson said. “I missed a couple of midrange, east shots earlier in the game. I felt like everybody was shooting the ball very well other than me.”
Georgia was able to make foul shots the rest of the way to salt away the victory.
“I give Georgia credit; I thought they played awfully well,” State coach Rick Stansbury said. “I thought they jumped up and made shots when they needed to make shots.”
Now the Bulldogs will have to turn around and play another game in fewer than 22 hours.
“The turnaround is not really a concern,” Fox said. “These guys play back-to-back all the time in practice. Gerald has a body where he can play 40 minutes every night.”
Said Caldwell-Pope: “We used to play back-to-back all the time in AAU. I’m just looking at it as another AAU game.”
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96 comments Add your comment
UGA Insider
March 9th, 2012
9:51 am
I wanted to say something on the blog a few days ago regarding Orson but I didnn’t. After his poor showing at the Pro Day I wanted to advise…. STAY AWAY from Downtown! That place has ruined a many a UGA athlete. I have eyes and ears down there.
Mobile Dawg
March 9th, 2012
9:51 am
I take it aladawg is a “Richt” supporter.
super bee
March 9th, 2012
9:56 am
Stay away
from downtown Athens when drunk and behind the wheel.
Contractor
March 9th, 2012
9:57 am
Excellent job Dawgs. Sorry to fall asleep on y’all last night, but best believe you’ll have all of my attention tonight. Shoot the lights out tonight in New Orleans and go ahead and knock another bracket team out of the tournament. The team has played Vanderbilt very tough the last two games, so hopefully tonight that solid shooting will catch fire again and we can topple another good team and work towards a .500 record.
Lakedawg
March 9th, 2012
9:57 am
Coach Fox is one big man away from from a really godd BB team, not Kentucky good, but good as anyone else in SEC. Needs Tony Parker bad in this class. Great win for kids, but do not line up well with Vandy’s shooters.
As for Orson have heard many teachers, coaches say you cannot teach against stupidity, and as Forrest G said “Stupid is as Stupid does”
really?
March 9th, 2012
9:58 am
Oh here we go again. The ‘UGA Insider’ who is never right about anything showing us his ‘inside connections’.
‘I have eyes and ears down there’…hahahahaha. You are the epitomy of d-bag dude, give it a rest.
Contractor
March 9th, 2012
9:59 am
And I’m saying it’s BS that Orson Charles and Auburn’s point shaving scandal have bigger headlines than the Georgia basketball team’s big win. Heck, even Georgia Tech got a bigger headline for getting worn out by Miami and ending their dumpy season. Pretty bad on the Atlanta Journal’s part for posting mainly negative information instead of something good for once.
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
9:59 am
This is what the RICHT-O-PHILES do, who are running our football program into the ground, with their EXCUSES that don’t hold water, while they attempt to mitigate yet more BAD PRESS.
Mark Richt recruited Orson Charles here. He is a player who played in the games LOST to Michigan State, LSU, Boise State and South Carolina. He declared for the NFL Draft, as did Justin Houston when he failed the NFL Drug test at the Combines. Right after that Justin Houston stated Mark Richt does not win the big games.
Orson Charles has NOT been drafted yet. Now, he might not be.
Orson Charles is among our players in the current 4-year streak where we have the # 32 won/lost record nationally and # 8 of the 2012 SEC teams in won/lost win percentage.
Jimmy Crack
March 9th, 2012
10:02 am
The DAILY DOUBLE!!
A big Dogs win over a solid MSU team (and moving on),
PLUS
Watching “highlights” of the Tech’s loss as they break an ACC tourney shot clock era record.
Mobile Dawg
March 9th, 2012
10:05 am
I’ve heard that Richt is signing an extension, although I don’t agree with it. And yes, Mobile is part of Alabama. There used to be a Georgia Bulldog club here, but the last few years they were embarassed to meet in public and it dissolved. Mark Richt gets the credit for that Lakedawg. Keep sending those donations, Dr. Adams appreciates it.
Mobile Dawg
March 9th, 2012
10:07 am
Thomas Brown, in all fairness you can’t hold Richt accountable for Charles dumb decision. I hold him accountable for plenty of other things.
GTBob
March 9th, 2012
10:08 am
Heck, even Georgia Tech got a bigger headline for getting worn out by Miami and ending their dumpy season.
When football season ends for GT fans, its time for basketball season. When football season ends for UGA fans, it’s time to obsess over football recruiting and get ready for the spring game. This is the reason you don’t have more basketball blogs. You chose to be a football factory so embrace it.
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
10:11 am
But, we can give credit to Mark Richt for sending the 6th most players drafted into the NFL per season ?
No. If you give credit to Mark Richt for his recruiting, then you hold him responsible for his lack of discipline of his players through his policy of favortism for starters with less punishment while kicking lesser players off the team.
You also hold him responsible for their lack of discipline on the field, in losing 30 games over the current 8-year period to teams with lesser talent or equal talent to his.
No. If he is credited for his recruiting all 12 recruiting classes, then he is docked for the lack of discipline all 12 years now too.
Mobile Dawg
March 9th, 2012
10:15 am
So what your saying Thomas is, it’s “fair” to say that “Mark Richt” has done “less” with “more” than any other coach in the SEC? And he’s getting an extension, what does that say about the people making the decisions at UGA?
VandyMan!
March 9th, 2012
10:20 am
Good game for Georgia – they overachieved in beating MSU.
As a Vandy fan, I would rather play Georgia than MSU.
I think Fox is proving to be a very good coach, but can he attract the players needed to raise Georgia’s program? I guess time will tell, but Fox is losing recruits in his backyard to better programs. He has a tough job in selling Georgia basketball at a football cultured school.
Well Georgia fans – at least you have spring football to look forward to. Meanwhile, Vandy will move onto the NCAA!
Go Dores!
SouthSide Dawg
March 9th, 2012
10:22 am
Congratulations on a nice win. Ya’ll looked great out there last night. It was fun to watch.
Ole Yeller Dawg
March 9th, 2012
10:25 am
@dawgfan: Orson Charles is just a kid at 21 yrs… he made a mistake, he will pay for this mistake dearly. This is a natural part of the maturing process of most humans, especially young male athlete’s who have suddenly begun to find a little fame.
I will assume you too are human, so I know you are not perfect, in anyway! Please show your maturity and respect to the football team, by supporting our young men lifting them up… shower them with Love when they make a mistake.
“He who looks outside, Dreams; He who looks inside, Awakes.”
~ Carl Gustav Jung
This is THE GEORGIA WAY!
bucket
March 9th, 2012
10:26 am
I have tried to find the words “football”, “Mark Richt”, and “Orson Charles” in this article and I can’t find them anywhere! If you want to know why building a consistent winner in basketball @ UGA is darn near impossible, this blog is a great example of why! (Assuming everyone on here is truly a Dawg fan.)
Contractor
March 9th, 2012
10:29 am
GTBob,
It’s time for basketball season? Your team is awful and hasn’t done anything since your Championship game appearance in 2004. Even all of my Tech friends are fed up with the basketball program. Don’t act like Tech is some major basketball factory and that y’all deserve any kind of headlines. Not to mention Georgia has a better record, below .500 as well, but better record.
As a true Georgia fan, I follow many sports, not just football. I follow the baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, and gymnastics teams and give them my support. I don’t have to embrace anything, especially a mindset from a Techie.
GTBob
March 9th, 2012
10:32 am
Orson Charles is just a kid at 21 yrs
At what age does someone stop being a kid and start becoming accountable for their actions?
GTBob
March 9th, 2012
10:36 am
Don’t act like Tech is some major basketball factory
I’m not. I’m saying that GT fans still care about basketball even when we are horrible. UGA fans show modest interest in basketball when the team is good and no interest when the team is bad. I would guess that less then 1% of UGA fans can name a single player on UGA’s team right now.
Ole Yeller Dawg
March 9th, 2012
10:41 am
@GTBob: When they reach maturity and become a man… a Father…. a Grandfather… a Greatgrandfather!
Since you asked this question, I will assume, you are none of the above?
Contractor
March 9th, 2012
10:41 am
GTBob,
Ok, I can handle that. And you are probably correct, but let’s put it at 10% just in case there are some surprises out there.
dawgfan
March 9th, 2012
10:45 am
I said I don’t think Orson is a bad guy and I wish him the best. I am not judging him. I am judging what he did and what he did was stupid. It would be stupid if I did it too and maybe one day I will. I’m certainly not perfect.
The point is that I’m not just going to sit idlely by while our football program toils away in mediocrity and only makes the headlines for off field behavior. I think there is a correlation between the two. We are lazy and undisciplined off the field and we are lazy and undisciplined on it. Do the men that make up our football program want to make the sacrifices that are required for greatness? I have serious doubts about that. Orson Charles, who was often described as a “leader” by the way, goes out and gets a DUI in a time when his entire future is on the line. He wasn’t willing to sacrifice a fun night out for his own future. What he did was just flat out irresponsible. These guys clearly have no idea what it takes to be champions. Its not all about running fast and X’s and O’s. We ran out of gas and folded in all of our big games this past year. They’ve got to have the heart for it and the evidence is there that they don’t have it.
Thanks.
flo-ri-duh
March 9th, 2012
10:47 am
Mark Fox knows how to coach … recruiting in state has always been a problem for UGA. If UGA could just get a couple of the best in state guys to sign things might change.
P_The_Ricker
March 9th, 2012
10:52 am
Any question as to how bad the former SEC west teams are in b-ball was answered last night. The 2nd best team the west had to offer was bounced by dbl digits.
Had UGA had the favorable 2-game schedule w/ each western team, they’d be heading to NIT.
Not sold on bama as an NCAA tournament team.
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
11:06 am
Fair to say that Mark Richt has done less with more than any coach in America, and that I specifically blame it on lack of discipline, an area where he is particularly lacking from his continued preferential treatment of his starters, while kicking off lesser players for smaller transgressions than the starters. He coddles his starters and does not apply discipline on the field or off it, and he is 100 percent responsible for the actions on and off the field of all his recruits he is given credit for bringing here.
It’s all we have. The # 6 best coach in America at getting the top-talent here as measured by his average NFL Drafted Recruits per season. Yet, like those 4-year starters here who are leaving the program now before this up-coming season, he has amassed the tied for # 32, # 33, # 34 and # 35 best won/lost record this current 4-year period.
How can you have the # 6 best top-talent as judged by the NFL itself per season and have the # 32 best won/lost record this current 4-year period ?
LACK OF DISCIPLINE ON & OFF THE FIELD.
REZ-Ex
March 9th, 2012
11:11 am
BTW…best female basketball announcer i have ever heard calling the game last night…she was right on the money with color comments and analysis
HOOPDAWGS gonna make a run to the finals but beating eventual NCAA champ UK is all but impossible!
WHY CANT GA HS PREP BASKETBALL STARS STAY HOME AND BRING AN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TO ATHENS? No kidding the Peach State/Empire of the South is loaded w talent!
Thank goodness for Coach Mark Fox….Impressive…proud to have him running the program and would not want ANY OTHER COACH representing UGA Basketball!
jobro
March 9th, 2012
11:13 am
Proud of the Dawgs we showed great fight and guts im proud of these kids i love them all so much as far as 2012 goes we have three good kids coming and if we can get a big to come uga hoops will be ok fox is a great coach im so proud of the Dawgs oh btw thomas brown i told you if we make shots anything is possible btw ur an idiot!
GO DAWGS!
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
11:16 am
DREAMERS ?
We have a lot of dreamers around here, aka DISNEYdawgs.com, aka RICHT-0-PHILES, who look 1st to find some loophole upon which they can attempt to mitigate our football program’s demise as the
# 32 won/lost record current 4-year period
with yet more bad press of one of Mark Richt’s top recruits. While Mark Fox cannot recruit, Mark Richt can as one of the top recruiters nationally his entire professional life. It is his calling in life. Football coach.
Mark Fox could use a great deal of that. If he had it as the Vandie fan above said, he would do very well. Of course, our gym is not Vandie’s gym, now is it ? Our football stadium, however, over-shadows Vandie’s football stadium, doesn’t it ?
Our gym has not hosted a post-season basketball tournament game in 41 years since 1971.
In the meantime, our
MEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
again this year beat a top basketball team.
While our football program has not beat a top football team since 2006, seven seasons ago now this up-coming 2012 season – since then in 2006 we beat # 9 Auburn – although lost 4 games 2006 including to 4-8
VANDIE.
dawgfan4life
March 9th, 2012
11:18 am
Games aint on in the Macon area… why?
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
11:19 am
dawgfan March 9th, 2012 10:45 am
“The point is that I’m not just going to sit idlely by while our football program toils away in mediocrity and only makes the headlines for off field behavior. I think there is a correlation between the two. We are lazy and undisciplined off the field and we are lazy and undisciplined on it.”
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
11:37 am
The game was on channel 802 here in Atlanta on Comcast in HDTV.
KARA LAWSON was the announcer last night, who, as she did when she played at Tennessee for Pat Summitt, clearly understands the game of basketball and was 100 percent correct on the teachings of the game of basketball.
She gives great credit for the passes last night taught to our men by Mark Fox.
ESPN analyst Kara Lawson is a great WNBA player and won us the GOLD medal in Beijing 2008.
Kara Lawson
I watched her play with the vols and she has known the game of basketball all her life. She also was the 1st lady analyst on an NBA telecast.
Bright future in basketball as analyst
good person.
KARA LAWSON
bucket
March 9th, 2012
11:40 am
@ dawgfan4life – If you have dishnetwork, like I do, you can’t get the games because there is a dispute (again) between peachtree tv and dish. So now, not only can we not watch perhaps UGA’s last basketball game of the year, we also cannot watch the Braves when they get started in a few weeks.
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
11:41 am
You have to go through all the channels sometimes to find our games. Same with baseball games we play in and same with women’s basketball. What I do is to mark every channel that carries SPORTS as FAVORITE.
Then, in a matter of a few minutes I can start at channel 27 and hit FAVORITE through any channel I ever watched SPORTS on live. By the time I get through 899, with my Favorites, I have found it.
If you are using direct tv or other, I cannot help you. I mail my paycheck to Comcast every month. If you do have Comcast, you should pay the $ 5 extra for the sports package every month.
What are you on in Macon ?
Thomas Brown
March 9th, 2012
11:43 am
dish network
you cannot watch
The SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on ?
Not suited for the purpose for which it is intended, I would ask for my monies back.
News | MrSEC
March 9th, 2012
12:24 pm
[...] Billy Donovan versus old aide Anthony Grant, by the way.)3. If Georgia had shot all year the way they did in two games against Mississippi State, they sure wouldn’t have finished 5-11 in league play.4. Former UGA tight end Orson [...]
doolydawg
March 9th, 2012
12:45 pm
Anyone know about Directv
robodawg
March 9th, 2012
12:54 pm
Great game, gritty first half, hot shooting second half. Hope the magic continues tonight.
The announcers said Fox is a great coach who just needs some players. I hope some of those players were listening!
bucket
March 9th, 2012
1:11 pm
@ robodawg – I agree with the announcers. Several things have happened that hurt the overall talent on the team in my opinion. First, Fox should have stayed on Daniel Miller when he came to UGA. Second, I wish Demario Mayfield would have stayed. (This may not have been a Fox problem.) Mayfield would have helped greatly with the perimeter defense that has been sorely lacking against good shooters. If those two players were in Athens the early departures this year would not have been felt as bad as they were. Fox has 3 pretty good players coming in and I really like Mann and Gaines. If somehow they could pull off a recruiting miracle and get Tony Parker, UGA would be a really dangerous team next year.
2008 Again
March 9th, 2012
1:36 pm
So maybe we can get a tornado to hit New Orleans tonight. If it does we can just go ahead and consider our dance ticket punched!
DawgNole
March 9th, 2012
3:21 pm
For those who subscribe to DirecTV, I believe tonight’s game will be on channel 210 (210-1 in HD)–That’s “ESPN Alternate Programming”–unless it’s blacked out. Wish I’d know that last night so I could’ve watched the Dawgs whup the Dogs.
P_The_Ricker
March 9th, 2012
3:56 pm
bucket,
we have a better chance of finding some diamond in the rough over seas than reeling in tony parker.
uga should be better next year w/ a more experienced front-court, but we need to remember that our back-court next year will take a significant step backwards in experience.
mark
March 9th, 2012
8:07 pm
good coaches will win a few games that they aren’t supposed too, we never see that with our poorly headcoached football team
Sun Devil Dave
March 10th, 2012
4:41 pm
Oops, those broken lights were replaced and UGA was handed blanks for the second round of shootouts – Typical Georgia, missed free throws, missed rebounds, and lost game – Tell us something new.
Believe it or not, Georgia not far off from being a postseason presence | UGA sports blog
March 12th, 2012
2:36 pm
[...] Dogs shoot lights out in New Orleans, oust MSU in SEC tourney [...]