TicketsATLANTA — Georgia used a strong second half to pull away from Cincinnati for an 84–65 win Saturday afternoon at State Farm Arena.
The Bulldogs outscored the Bearcats 47–28 after halftime to break open a game that was tied at 37 at the break. Junior Blue Cain led Georgia with a career-high 22 points, converting 12-of-14 free throws.
Cincinnati shot 35% (23-of-65) from the field and went 12-of-21 from the free-throw line. Graduate Jalen Celestine recorded his best game as a Bearcat, scoring a season-high 13 points, while senior Baba Miller added 11 for his sixth double-figure scoring performance of the season.
Georgia finished at 50% (30-of-60) from the floor and 77% (20-of-26) at the stripe. The Bulldogs also held advantages in points off turnovers (21–11), points in the paint (48–30), fast-break points (18–11) and rebounds (41–37).
The game was tied at 37 at halftime after Cincinnati built an 11-point lead midway through the first half. The Bearcats went ahead 29–18 with 8:24 remaining, marking Georgia’s largest deficit of the season.
Cincinnati jumped out to an 18–9 advantage after Moustapha Thiam knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 12:15 remaining, capitalizing on six Georgia turnovers in the opening eight minutes. The Bearcats later pushed the lead to 33–22 following back-to-back finishes at the rim by Celestine and Thiam.
Georgia responded with an 8–0 run capped by a Jordan Ross layup to trim the deficit to 33–30. After Shon Abaev split a pair of free throws, Cain scored five straight points to give the Bulldogs their first lead at 35–34 with 1:20 remaining. Kerr Kriisa answered with a 3-pointer, but Ross converted again to send the teams into halftime tied.
Georgia shot 52% in the first half but went 0 for 8 from 3-point range and committed 10 turnovers, resulting in its lowest-scoring first half of the season. Miller led Cincinnati with 10 first-half points, while Cain had 15 for the Bulldogs.
Kriisa opened the second half with a 3-pointer as the teams traded baskets early. Georgia gained separation just before the 15-minute mark following a quick scoring burst highlighted by a Somtochukwu Cyril dunk and a Jeremiah Wilkinson 3-pointer to take a 49–44 lead.
A 7–2 Bulldogs run pushed the margin to double digits at 61–51 with just under 11 minutes remaining. Cincinnati briefly cut into the deficit when Miller secured an offensive rebound and found Sencire Harris, who dished to Celestine for a 3-pointer that made it 63–57 with 7:43 to play.
Georgia answered down the stretch, highlighted by a Cyril three-point play with 2:05 remaining that extended the lead to 75–61. Kareem Stagg punctuated the outcome with a late dunk.
Cincinnati returns home to host Alabama State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.