NEWS
By Bud L. Ellis
An all-too-familiar theme reappeared for the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday.
Get a second-half lead against an SEC opponent. Let said lead slip away down the stretch. Walk off the court with another conference loss.
That’s what happened to the Dogs Saturday in Columbia, S.C. Devan Downey scored 12 of his 33 points in the final 10 minutes, Georgia letting a nine-point lead get away as the Gamecocks won 78-77.
The Dogs (9-10, 1-5 SEC) have led inside the final 10 minutes in four of their five SEC losses. This one was particularly painful, because the Dogs had their chances.
Downey hit the go-ahead basket with 50 seconds left. With 3.5 seconds left, Dustin Ware stood at the free-throw line for Georgia. But he missed the front end of a one-and-one, and the Gamecocks got the rebound.
Travis Leslie led the Dogs with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Trey Thompkins added 18 points, and Ricky McPhee continued his good work offensively with 12 points.
The Dogs return home for three of their next four SEC games, starting with a Wednesday contest with Arkansas at Stegeman Coliseum.
Benedict with the whistle: For Georgia fans who also are longtime Atlanta Braves’ fans, a note of interest: One of the officials calling Saturday’s Georgia-South Carolina game was former Braves catcher Bruce Benedict.
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Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 10:46 am by bud
Tags: Arkansas, Atlanta Braves, Bruce Benedict, Devan Downey, Dustin Ware, Georgia Bulldogs, South Carolina, Southeastern Conference, Stegeman Coliseum, Travis Leslie
By Bud L. Ellis
This time last week, the Georgia Bulldogs were about to win their first Southeastern Conference contest of the Mark Fox era, bashing eighth-ranked Tennessee in a big upset at Stegeman Coliseum.
This Saturday, the Dogs travel to face a team that also owns a big upset win in recent days.
Georgia travels to South Carolina to face a Gamecocks’ team that handed top-ranked Kentucky its first loss of the season on Tuesday. One day later, the Dogs were handled 87-71 at Florida.
The duo of Trey Thompkins (17.3 points, 7.9 rebounds) and Travis Leslie (13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds) has sparked the Dogs this season. In facing South Carolina, a team averaging seven more points per game than the Dogs (74.5 to 67.5), Georgia will need more big play from its T-n-T combination.
Ricky McPhee scored 21 points in the loss to Florida. Thompkins led the way with 24, and Leslie scored 11.
After the trip to Columbia, Georgia returns home for three of its next four, starting Wednesday against Arkansas. All four are SEC contests.
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Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 2:04 pm by bud
Tags: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia Bulldogs, Kentucky, South Carolina, Southeastern Conference, Tennessee, Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins
By Bud L. Ellis
The residual feel-good high surrounding the Georgia Bulldogs’ basketball program continued Monday.
Two days after the Bulldogs grabbed the nation’s attention by blowing out No. 8 Tennessee at Stegeman Coliseum, guard Travis Leslie was named Southeastern Conference player of the week.
The high-flying Leslie helped fuel Georgia’s 78-63 upset of the Vols, a game the Dogs led by as many as 24. Leslie scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, pulled down nine rebounds and added seven assists.
On the season, Leslie is averaging 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. His overall improvement on both ends of the floor has helped the Dogs start the season 9-8. Even in losses in their first three SEC games, the Dogs were competitive, holding the lead in the second half in all three of those defeats.
Georgia travels to Florida to face the Gators on Wednesday. Saturday, the Dogs play at South Carolina.
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Monday, January 25, 2010 at 9:15 pm by bud
Tags: Florida, Georgia Bulldogs, South Carolina, Southeastern Conference, Tennessee, Travis Leslie
By Bud L. Ellis
Mark Fox walked calmly toward the locker room, a brief point to the stands and a fist-bump to a well-wisher his only displays of emotion.
But all around him, sold out Stegeman Coliseum teetered on the verge of bedlam.
The Georgia Bulldogs finally put two halves of solid basketball together Saturday, and the result showed the promise the Dogs are showing in their first year under Fox. Georgia snapped a 10-game losing streak to Tennessee, giving Fox his first SEC victory with a 78-63 triumph over the No. 8-ranked Volunteers that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
The Dogs raced to a 14-4 lead and never looked back. The Vols closed to within 12 early in the second half, and certainly Georgia fans were wondering if this one would follow the script of the Dogs’ first three SEC games, all losses during which the Dogs led in the second half.
No worries on this day, though. With the Stegeman faithful at full lather from start to finish, Georgia stomped on the accelerator, leading by as many as 24 in the final 12 minutes before UT made the final score more respectable at the finish.
Trey Thompkins led Georgia with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting, connecting on three 3-pointers. Travis Leslie hit eight of his 11 shots, scoring 19 to go with nine rebounds and seven assists. Ricky McPhee added 11 and Dustin Ware scored nine.
The Dogs shot 56 percent from the floor, and on the other end harassed Tennessee into 42 percent shooting. The Vols missed on 13 of their 16 3-pointers.
Georgia hadn’t beaten Tennessee since February 2004. The Dogs travel to Florida on Wednesday, then return home to play host to South Carolina next Saturday.
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Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 6:30 pm by bud
Tags: Dustin Ware, Florida, Georgia Bulldogs, Kentucky, Mark Fox, Ricky McPhee, South Carolina, Southeastern Conference, Stegeman Coliseum, Tennessee, Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins, Vanderbilt
By Bud L. Ellis
The effort has been there for the Georgia Bulldogs this basketball season, even if the results don’t show as much as the Dogs would hope.
Currently last in the SEC’s Eastern Division and one of just three teams in the conference without an SEC victory, the Dogs nonetheless have shown plenty of fight and grit in starting the season with an 8-8 overall record.
Since upsetting in-state rival and nationally ranked Georgia Tech on Jan. 5, the Dogs are 0-3, all three defeats coming in SEC action to Kentucky, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. But Georgia lost those three contests by a combined total of 15 points, leading in the second half at nationally ranked Kentucky, leading nationally ranked Ole Miss at home, and holding a double-digit lead late at Mississippi State.
So it goes with a young team. Learning to close out games is part of the growth process, and first-year Georgia head coach Mark Fox is imploring patience as his team matures.
The Dogs have most of this week off, before welcoming in Tennessee on Saturday. The Vols (14-2, 2-0) are ½ game behind Vanderbilt in the SEC East, and have won six games in a row. It won’t be an easy task for the Dogs, but even though the results haven’t born out any conference victories yet, the Dogs have taken the fight to the opposition each and every time.
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Monday, January 18, 2010 at 8:25 pm by bud
Tags: Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Mark Fox, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Southeastern Conference, Stegeman Coliseum, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
By Bud L. Ellis
Holding onto a lead on the road isn’t easy. The Georgia Bulldogs found that out in painful fashion Saturday afternoon.
Leading by 13 points with a little more than four minutes left, the Dogs couldn’t finish off Mississippi State in Starkville, the host Bulldogs ending the game with a flourish to top Georgia 72-69.
Albert Jackson’s three-point play gave Georgia (8-8, 0-3 SEC) a 67-54 lead with 4:16 left, the Dogs would get only a Jeremy Price basket the rest of the way. Mississippi State outscored Georgia 18-2 in that fateful final 4:16, keeping Georgia winless in SEC action.
Trey Thompkins led the Dogs with 18 points. Travis Leslie played a monster game, scoring 14 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. Jackson added 11 points.
But the Dogs, after shooting 51.4 percent in the first half, were dreadful from the floor in the second 20 minutes, in particular down the stretch. Georgia shot just 33.3 percent in the second half, and misfired on all six of their second-half 3-point attempts.
The Dogs now take a week off to prepare for Tennessee, which comes to Stegeman Coliseum for a 5 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Jan. 23.
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Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 7:27 am by bud
Tags: Albert Jackson, Georgia, Mississippi State, Southeastern Conference, Stegeman Coliseum, Tennessee, Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins
By Bud L. Ellis
The long wait is over for Georgia football fans.
Forty-three days after Willie Martinez was fired as defensive coordinator, the Dogs have a new DC: Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Todd Grantham.
A veteran of 11 NFL seasons who cut his coaching teeth under Frank Beamer and Bud Foster at Virginia Tech, and under Nick Saban at Michigan State, Grantham will earn $750,000 a season during the next three years, according to published reports.
Grantham currently is occupied with the Cowboys’ quest for the Super Bowl. Dallas plays Sunday at Minnesota in the NFC divisional playoffs. But once Dallas’ season is done, Grantham’s focus will shift to rebuilding a Georgia defense that allowed 34 or more points five times during a disappointing 8-5 campaign in 2009.
The process of landing Grantham has been particularly frustrating for Georgia fans, who saw Foster, LSU’s Jon Chavis, and Alabama defensive coordinator and UGA alum Kirby Smart turn down the job. Minus Martinez and two other defensive coaches, who were fired in early December, the Dogs throttled Texas A&M 44-20 in the Independence Bowl Dec. 28 in Shreveport, La.
Grantham, 43, has played a big part in Dallas’ defensive success this season. The Cowboys ended the regular season ranked second in the NFL in scoring defense, fourth-best against the run, seventh in sacks and ninth in total defense. Prior to his two years in Dallas, Grantham spent three seasons in Cleveland as the Browns’ defensive coordinator, three seasons as a defensive assistant at Houston and three as an assistant at Indianapolis.
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Friday, January 15, 2010 at 8:03 pm by bud
Tags: Alabama, Bud Foster, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Frank Beamer, Georgia, Houston Texans, Independence Bowl, Indianapolis, Jon Chavis, Kirby Smart, LSU, Minnesota Vikings, Texas A&M, Todd Grantham, Virginia Tech, Willie Martinez
By Bud L. Ellis
It’s two losses in three games, but considering the Georgia Bulldogs have faced three ranked team in that stretch, that showing a little more impressive.
Wednesday, the Bulldogs hung tough the entire night, finally falling to No. 21 Ole Miss 80-76 at Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia (8-7, 0-2 SEC) beat No. 20 Georgia Tech last week at home, then nearly sprung an upset of No. 3 Kentucky Saturday in Lexington.
Back home Wednesday, the Dogs led most of the way in the first half. Ole Miss took control early in the second half, but Georgia fought back. With under two minutes left, the Dogs had three possessions where they could have either tied the game or taken the lead with a basket, but were unable to get the ball to drop.
Trey Thompkins led the Dogs with 21 points. Travis Leslie added 17 and Ricky McPhee scored 15.
Georgia hits the road for three of its next four games, starting Saturday at Mississippi State. After returning home for a game against Tennessee on Jan. 23, Georgia closes out January with road games at Florida (Jan. 27) and at South Carolina (Jan. 30).
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Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 8:25 pm by bud
Tags: Florida, Georgia Bulldgos, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Ricky McPhee, South Carolina, Southeastern Conference, Stegeman Coliseum, Tennesee, Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins
By Bud L. Ellis
It goes into the record books as a 1-1 week. But for the Georgia Bulldogs’ basketball team, it means more than just a split of two games.
The Dogs opened the week in huge way last Tuesday, upsetting No. 20 Georgia Tech 73-66 before a fired-up gathering at Stegeman Coliseum. Riding that momentum, Georgia nearly shocked the nation in its SEC opener Saturday at Kentucky.
Despite 26 turnovers at Rupp Arena, the Dogs hung tough against the third-ranked Wildcats, finally succumbing 76-68.
Georgia (8-6, 0-1) led with a little more than eight minutes left, and found itself down just two at 70-68 on a Travis Leslie steal and layup with 65 seconds left. Leslie scored 10 of Georgia’s first 13 points, helping the Dogs overcome a slow start and stay in the game.
Trey Thompkins scored 17 points and yanked down 13 rebounds for Georgia, which opens the home portion of the SEC schedule Wednesday against No. 14 Ole Miss.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 6:34 pm by bud
Tags: Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Rupp Arena, Stegeman Coliseum, Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins
