The Sports Xchange
Dec 22, 2017
Yante Maten recorded his fifth double-double of the season to lead Georgia to an 84-66 win over Temple on Friday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.
Maten scored 30 points, his fourth straight game of 20 or more, and hauled down 12 boards to lead the Bulldogs (9-2), who won for the fifth time in six games.
Nicholas Claxton added 14 points and nine rebounds and William Jackson II tossed in 10 points for Georgia, which went to the free-throw line 39 times and made 28 of those attempts.
Obi Enechionyia led the Owls with 27 points. Quinton Rose compiled 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists as Temple fell to 7-4.
A tip-in by Claxton at the buzzer gave the Bulldogs a 42-23 lead -- their largest of the first half -- at halftime.
The Bulldogs never were seriously threatened in the second half. Enechionyia connected on another 3 to cut the lead to 14 at 57-43 midway through the half but Jackson answered for Georgia with five straight points to push the lead back to 19 at 62-43.
The Owls took an early 7-2 lead as Enechionyia drained a 3 and Ernest Aflakpui's dunk was followed by a tip-in by Shizz Alston, Jr.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 7-7 on a tip-in by Maten at the 14:05 mark. Maten followed with a jumper to give Georgia the lead for good.
The Owls went more than four minutes without scoring and the Bulldogs took advantage and opened a 19-9 lead.
A 3-pointer by Temple's Alani Moore II cut the lead to 19-12, but Georgia went on a 10-2 over the next three minutes to build a sizable advantage at 29-14.
Enechionyia's 3-pointer stopped the Bulldogs' onslaught for the time being.