Story Published:
Dec 4, 2007 at 1:10 AM EDT
Story Updated:
Dec 4, 2007 at 1:17 AM EDT
Georgia outscored Augusta State 12-1 over the final 3:35 Monday night, erasing a four-point Jaguar lead and lifting the Bulldogs to an 81-74 victory in front of a crowd of 6,502 at Stegeman Coliseum.
The fifth-ranked Jaguars (4-2) took a 73-69 lead on a thunderous dunk from senior forward Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman at the 4:11 mark and remained in front until Billy Humphrey’s pair of free throws with 2:09 remaining tied the game at 73-all.
UGA senior point guard Sundiata Gaines scored on consecutive layups and Terrance Woodbury’s two free throws put the Bulldogs (5-1) ahead 79-73 with 14 seconds left. ASU sophomore guard Ben Madgen made the first of two free throws to get the Jags within five, then intentionally missed the second in an attempt to give the Jags another possession. Humphrey’s pair from the charity stripe with :03 remaining accounted for the final margin.
Madgen paced the Jags with 21 points and three steals, while sophomore point guard Daniel Dixon had 17 points, including five 3-pointers, and six assists. Bowman tallied 16 points and three steals and junior guard Steve Smith posted a season-high 10 points.
Gaines scored a game-high 24 points, with Humphrey and Woodbury booking 15 and 11 points, respectively.
ASU led for most of the first half, grabbing a 2-0 lead on Garret Siler’s layup and moving out to as much as a 11-point advantage on a Dixon 3-pointer at the 14:05 mark. Georgia responded with a 15-0 run, taking its biggest lead of the half at 31-24 on a Rashaad Singleton free throw with 5:02 to go.
The Jags answered with a spurt of their own, drilling five consecutive treys – the last by senior guard Demetrius Howard – to go up 41-33. The Bulldogs got a dunk from Jeremy Price and a pair of Dave Bliss free throws to pull within four at the half of ASU at 41-37.
UGA shot 54.9 percent to the Jags’ 42.9 percent shooting from the field. ASU set season highs with 12 3-pointers made and 13 steals while forcing 20 Bulldog turnovers.