National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Georgia 67, South Carolina 55
When: 1:45 PM ET, Saturday, March 3, 2012
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia
Officials: # John Hampton, # Patrick Adams, # Joe Lindsay
Attendance: 8336

Georgia 67, South Carolina 55: Senior Gerald Robinson scored 23 points and the host Bulldogs overcame a slow start to close the regular season with a victory.

The victory sends Georgia (14-16, 5-11 SEC) into next week’s SEC tournament in New Orleans as either the 10th or 11th seed, pending the outcome of Auburn’s game against LSU.

The Bulldogs did not score until Robinson’s layup at the 12:17 mark of the first half. The Gamecocks (10-20, 2-14 SEC) led 10-0 at the time and held a 23-22 advantage with three minutes left before halftime. John Florveus’ dunk capped the run, giving Georgia a 30-23 lead at the break.

Georgia led 35-33 early in the second half before putting together a 14-2 run to extend its lead to 49-35 with 8:15 remaining. Robinson scored five of his points during the surge.

Malik Cooke scored 17 points to lead the Gamecocks, who finish last in the SEC for the second consecutive season and enter the SEC tournament as the 12th seed.

GAME NOTEBOOK: South Carolina’s Bruce Ellington, a standout on the Gamecocks’ football team, collided with Georgia’s Dustin Ware while trying to block a pass with 4:05 to go. Ellington appeared to injure his left hand on the play. … Georgia honored seniors Robinson, Ware, Connor Nolte and Matt Bucklin before the game, and all four seniors started.
Top Game Performances
 
South Carolina   Georgia
Malik Cooke 17 Scoring Gerald Robinson 23
Bruce Ellington 4 Assists Dustin Ware 4
Damontre Harris 9 Rebounds Nemanja Djurisic 10
Brian Richardson 3 Free Throws Made Dustin Ware 6
Bruce Ellington 2 Steals Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 3
Carlton Geathers 3 Blocks Donte Williams 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Carolina 55 36.7 6-20 13-18 7 31 6 4 10
Georgia 67 38.0 6-18 23-34 12 33 7 7 8