The Sports Xchange
Dec 19, 2017
Georgia forward Yante Maten led the Bulldogs with 24 points and six rebounds in their 80-59 win over in-state rival Georgia Tech on Tuesday night at Athens, Ga.
Maten made 9 of 13 shots from the field, highlighting a hot shooting performance by the Bulldogs, who made 58 percent of their shots (29 of 50) from the field.
Georgia (8-2) is off to the best start after 10 games in coach Mark Fox's nine years with the Bulldogs.
Rayshaun Hammonds was the only other Georgia player in double-figure scoring with 11 points. The Bulldogs, who tallied 17 assists compared to only five by Georgia Tech, were balanced with six players scoring at least eight points.
Georgia Tech (5-5) was led by 21 points by Josh Okogie before he fouled out. Tadric Jackson had 17 points and Jose Alvarado added 12. John Wooden Award candidate Ben Lammers had only four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field for the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia opened the second half by scoring the first six points to take a 42-34 lead, and the Bulldogs continued to take advantage of Georgia Tech's cold shooting to forge ahead 49-37 with 14:13 left in regulation.
Outscoring the Yellow Jackets 13-3 at the beginning of the half proved to be the difference. Georgia Tech missed nine of its first 10 shots coming out of halftime. The Yellow Jackets shot only 36.7 percent from the field, including 15.4 percent from 3-point range.
A 3-point play by Maten pushed the lead to 59-45 with 10:19 left before Georgia Tech cut it to single-digits for the last time, a 59-50 deficit with 7:52 left.
Georgia pulled away for good with an 11-3 spurt, taking a 70-53 lead with 4:50 left in the second half.