Silas Dmary Jr. scored 12 points, RJ Melendez added 11 points and six rebounds and Georgia rallied for a 66-58 win over visiting High Point Saturday in Athens, Ga.
Noah Thomasson and Russel Tchewa each added 11 for the Bulldogs (7-3), who came off an 11-day layoff to win their fifth in a row and stay unbeaten at home (6-0).
Featuring one of the best offenses in the country at 89.1 points per game, the Panthers (8-4) fell well short of that average as their five-game winning streak was snapped despite Trae Benham's season-high 18 points.
The Panthers' Duke Miles finished with 15 points, Kimani Hamilton chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds and Juslin Bodo Bodo grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds.
Down 33-30 at the half, Georgia took its first lead since the 16:07 mark of the first half when Melendez nailed an open 3-pointer with 11:02 to play to put the Bulldogs ahead 45-43.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim couldn't have picked a better time to collect his first points of the day. With 5:34 left, and Georgia up one, he stepped back and connected from beyond the arc for his 99th career 3-pointer, getting fouled in the process. His ensuing free throw made it 55-50.
Miles knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining to pull the Panthers within 61-56 but the Bulldogs hung on.
High Point looked like the sharper team early thanks in part to Hamilton, who drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Panthers a 17-10 lead at the midway point of the opening half.
The lead stretched to double digits when Benham launched a 3-point shot up that put High Point ahead 20-10.
A 3-pointer from Demary in the corner with 8:12 remaining ignited an 8-0 run for the Bulldogs, who were within 20-18 after a layup and free throw by Tchewa at the 6:26 mark.
Benham made his third 3-pointer of the day with 3:17 left, coming off a screen for the shot as High Point surged ahead 31-24.
The Panthers held a halftime lead as five 3-pointers and 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 11 second-chance points, helped negate a 22.5 percent shooting percentage.
--Field Level Media
High Point | Georgia | |
Trae Benham 18 | Scoring | Silas Demary Jr 12 |
Trae Benham 3 | Assists | Silas Demary Jr 4 |
Juslin Bodo Bodo 15 | Rebounds | RJ Melendez 7 |
Trae Benham 6 | Free Throws Made | Jabri Abdur-Rahim 3 |
Kezza Giffa 2 | Steals | Silas Demary Jr 2 |
Juslin Bodo Bodo 4 | Blocks | Russel Tchewa 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
High Point | 58 | 23.3 | 9-36 | 15-19 | 10 | 40 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
Georgia | 66 | 44.2 | 4-12 | 16-23 | 9 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 9 |