ATHENS, Ga. –
Travion McCray led five Western Carolina players in double figures with 20 points, but Georgia used a late 9-0 run to gain separation and held on for an 85-79 win over the Catamounts on Monday night in Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia improves to 5-6 while WCU evens its record at 6-6.
McCray eclipsed the 20-point mark for the second time this season, finishing one point shy of tying his season-best of 21 points at Wake Forest. The Timmonsville, S.C. native also dished out a team-best five assists and grabbed eight rebounds along with
Tyler Harris.
Nicholas Robinson tallied 14 points, followed by
Marvin Price (13),
Vonterius Woolbright (12), and
Joe Petrakis (11).
Kario Oquendo paced Georgia with a game-high 21 points and was joined in double figures by Braelen Bridges with 17 points, Aaron Cook with 13 points, and Dalen Ridgnal with 10 points. Noah Baumann grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs opened the game on a 10-3 run as Jaxon Etter made the second of two free throw attempts at the 17:21 mark. The Catamounts chipped away at the deficit as a McCray 3-pointer brought WCU within five, 14-9 at the 13:23 mark. Georgia answered with an 8-2 spurt, taking a 22-11 advantage after a Ridgnal 3-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining. WCU fought back over the next five minutes, going from an 11-point deficit to just three, 30-27, after a McCray layup at the 3:40 mark. Georgia answered with a 3-pointer on its next possession, but Price capped the opening half scoring as his layup with 19 seconds left sent the Catamounts into halftime down two, 35-33.
Georgia's lead oscillated between three and five points for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half before a Petrakis 3-pointer tied the score at 44 with 16:23 to play. The Bulldogs used a 6-2 run for a 52-46 lead before WCU took its first lead of the game, 53-52, on a Price 3-pointer at the 12:01 mark. The teams swapped the lead five times over the next four minutes with a trio of McCray free throws putting WCU ahead 62-61 with 7:49 remaining. Georgia went on a 9-0 run that proved to be the difference, taking a 70-62 lead thanks to an Oquendo 3-pointer with 4:25 to play. A McCray 3-pointer brought WCU within four, 79-75, with 1:15 to play, but Oquendo sank a 3-pointer on the next Georgia possession as the Catamounts got no closer than five points in the final moments.
Georgia outrebounded WCU 48-38 and finished 29-for-65 (44.6 percent) from the field, 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 18-for-24 (75 percent) at the free throw line. WCU was 31-for-74 (41.9 percent) from the field, 12-for-46 (26.1 percent) behind the arc, and 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) at the charity stripe.
WCU concludes the nonconference portion of its schedule on Wednesday, venturing to Charlotte for a 5 p.m. contest that will be streamed on CUSA.TV with audio coverage available on the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 4:30 p.m.
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