Bulldogs best Stony Brook in NIT Season Tip Off, 80-70

ATHENS, Ga. – Five Bulldogs scored in double digits as Georgia defeated Stony Brook 80-70 in the NIT Season Tip Off in front of a crowd of 4,787 at Stegeman Coliseum Tuesday night.

“We just beat a very good basketball team,” head coach Mark Fox said after the game. “We beat a very good basketball team and we should feel good about it. I don’t feel great because I feel like last week I let everybody down. Last week’s loss [to Ga. Tech] felt like 20 losses. So now it feels like 19. We beat a good basketball team [tonight], and we should feel good about it, but we’ve got work to do.”

Charles Mann led the Bulldogs with 16 points, shooting 10-of-14 from the free throw stripe. Kenny Gaines (13), Nemanja Djurisic (11), Yante Maten (11) and Marcus Thornton (10) rounded out Georgia’s five double-figure scorers.

“We played with composure and poise offensively,” Coach Fox continued. “We really helped each other out tonight and were a good offensive team for most of the game.”

Georgia shot 58% from the field, including 4-of-9 from three-point range, and added 16-of-22 free throws to jump out to a 48-41 lead at the half. Defense was the story in the second half, however, as the Bulldogs held Stony Brook to just nine points through the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 75-55 during that stretch.

Stony Brook saw three players foul out during the game, including it’s leading scorer. Carson Puriefoy paced the Seawolves with 21 first-half points on 8-of-11 shooting. He finished the night with a game-high, and career-high, 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

Georgia vs. Stony Brook Notes

· Georgia’s starting lineup was Marcus Thornton (62nd career start), Nemanja Djurisic (27th), Juwan Parker (5th), Charles Mann (42nd) and J.J. Frazier (2nd).

· This was the first ever meeting between the schools on the hardwood.

· This was just the second time in school history Georgia has faced off against a team from the America East Conference. The Bulldogs edged Vermont, 63-56, in the first round of the 2014 post-season NIT in Athens.

· Georgia made 33 free throws Tuesday night, tying the fifth best mark in school history (vs. South Carolina in 2014). The 48 attempts from the line were also good for a fifth place tie in school history (vs. Kentucky in 1990).

Career Highs

· Yante Maten registered a career-high 11 points and four blocks.

· J.J. Frazier tied a career high with four assists.

Next Up

Georgia will play host twice this weekend as Troy comes to Stegeman Coliseum at 7 p.m. ET on Friday night, and then Florida Atlantic visits Athens at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.