National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Georgia 64, North Carolina Central 54
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 12, 2023
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia
Officials: # Terry Oglesby, # K.B. Burdett Jr., # Erroll Lewis
Attendance: 5699

Georgia survived a cold-shooting game to win for the second time in three days by putting away North Carolina Central 64-54 on Sunday afternoon in Athens, Ga.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim scored 13 points, Justin Hill added 11 and Silas Demary Jr. chipped in 10 for the Bulldogs (2-1), who trailed 34-32 before going on a 13-0 run early in the second half. Demary netted four straight points in that span.

Georgia, which defeated visiting Wake Forest 80-77 on Friday, shot 35.8 percent from the floor and 6-of-25 on 3-point attempts.

The Bulldogs' struggles helped NC Central (1-2) hang around despite shooting only 32.7 percent and 5-of-21 from long range.

Emmanuel Izunabor scored 12 points, all in the second half, and Po'Boigh King and Fred Cleveland Jr. added 11 apiece for the Eagles, who entered as a 22.5-point underdog. Izunabor also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Blue Cain's 3-pointer extended the Bulldogs' lead to 12 at 48-36 midway through the second half, but NC Central responded with a 7-0 run, sparked by Izunabor's three-point play.

Abdur-Rahim, who entered as Georgia's leading scorer at 17.5 points per game, hit from long range to end that burst with 8:08 left and push the cushion back to eight points.

Hill scored the final five points of Georgia's 9-0 run to put the game on ice at 64-49 with just less than three minutes to play.

Both teams struggled to hit shots in the first half, although Georgia opened an 11-point lead with 2:15 to go on two free throws by Demary.

NC Central recovered to hit three straight 3-pointers in the final 1:49 of the half and trailed only 27-23 at the break. Despite the flurry, the visitors shot only 29 percent from the floor, while the Bulldogs, who made only 4 of their last 14, finished the half at 36.4 percent.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
North Carolina Central   Georgia
Emmanuel Izunabor 12 Scoring Jabri Abdur-Rahim 13
Fred Cleveland Jr. 6 Assists Justin Hill 4
Emmanuel Izunabor 8 Rebounds Blue Cain 7
Po'Boigh King 4 Free Throws Made Jabri Abdur-Rahim 10
Fred Cleveland Jr. 2 Steals Silas Demary Jr 4
Cobey Harraway 3 Blocks Blue Cain 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
North Carolina Central 54 32.7 5-21 13-18 11 34 7 6 14
Georgia 64 35.8 6-25 20-25 12 34 3 9 12