Georgia 74, Florida Atlantic 61: Marcus Thornton matched his career high with 17 points while adding 12 rebounds and five blocks as the Bulldogs defeated the visiting Owls.
Kenny Gaines contributed 15 points while Charles Mann scored eight for Georgia (3-1), which dominated the boards 45-32 and blocked eight shots. Nemanja Djurisic recorded eight points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Bulldogs, who forced 15 turnovers.
Marquan Botley led the way with 20 points and six assists as FAU (1-3) lost its second straight contest. Jackson Trapp registered 15 points and four steals while Kelvin Penn and Justin Massey each had 11 for the Owls, who shot 41 percent from the field.
Florida Atlantic built a 16-12 lead early on before Georgia scored 17 of the next 22 points – five from Thornton -- to take an eight-point advantage with 4:03 left in the opening half. After J.J. Frazier’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 12, two driving layups by Botley closed the gap to 35-27 at intermission.
The Bulldogs increased their lead to 14 on a Djurisic basket with just under 13 minutes left, but the Owls battled back within 53-45 after a 3-pointer by Massey. The lead was 10 before Djurisic and Thornton made layups and Gaines got loose for a dunk to start a 7-0 run that put FAU away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Georgia had a 24-16 edge in points in the paint and outrebounded the Owls 22-14 in the first half. … The Owls’ bench players were 1-of-10 from the field for two points. … Georgia extended its regular-season home winning streak to nine.
Florida Atlantic | Georgia | |
Marquan Botley 20 | Scoring | Marcus Thornton 17 |
Marquan Botley 6 | Assists | Nemanja Djurisic 8 |
Kelvin Penn 7 | Rebounds | Marcus Thornton 12 |
Justin Massey 3 | Free Throws Made | J.J. Frazier 6 |
Jackson Trapp 4 | Steals | J.J. Frazier 2 |
Kelvin Penn 2 | Blocks | Marcus Thornton 5 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Florida Atlantic | 61 | 41.0 | 5-20 | 6-10 | 10 | 31 | 4 | 6 | 15 |
Georgia | 74 | 45.9 | 2-8 | 16-24 | 15 | 43 | 8 | 7 | 15 |