Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, January 27
Manhattan, Kan.
1 p.m.
Kansas State University
5-316-5/ Big 12
56
vs
51
Georgia
3-512-8/ SEC
1
2
F
Georgia
23
28
51
Kansas State
26
30
56
Defense Helps K-State Get Past Georgia in Big 12/SEC Challenge, 56-51
Jan 27, 2018 | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State used a stellar defensive effort and a game-high 20 points from junior forward Dean Wade to grind out a 56-51 win over Georgia in the fifth annual Big 12/SEC Challenge in front of 10,314 fans at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
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K-State (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) has now won five of its last six games, including four in a row. The Wildcats, which finished non-conference play with an 11-2 record, extended their home non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum to 23 games and moved to 3-2 all-time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
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The reigning Citizen Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week and Phillips Big 12 Player of the Week, Wade led all scorers with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 from the field and a game-tying 8 rebounds. Wade has now notched 20 or more points in five consecutive games and has seven 20-point outings this season. Redshirt freshman guard Cartier Diarra added 12 points and led the Wildcats with 5 assists in his sixth career start.
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K-State held Georgia (12-8, 3-5 SEC) to their lowest scoring effort of the season (51 points), while holding them to just 37.0 percent (20-of-54) from the field, including 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from beyond the arc in the game. The Wildcats have now held 17 opponents this season to under their scoring average.
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SEC's leading scorer – Yante Maten – led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while fellow senior Juwan Parker added 11.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening minutes of play, as Georgia jumped out to a 4-0 lead before sophomore forward Xavier Sneed tied it up on one possession. Sneed connected on a four-point play after being fouled from beyond the arc to tie it at 4-4.
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Wade, the junior for St. John, Kan., had a hot hand for the Wildcats early, scoring five straight points, including a 3-pointer to bring the score to 9-8 at the 16:02 mark in the first half. Defensively, sophomore forward Makol Mawien had a significant impact in the paint for K-State, racking up two blocks in the first five minutes of play. Mawien added 4 points in the first half.
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After a cold-spell in the first half that spanned nearly three minutes, Sneed got the scoring started again for the Wildcats by hitting a 3-pointer in the corner to bring the score to 20-19 with 5:25 remaining in the first half.
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Just before halftime, the K-State defense forced Georgia into a slump of its own, where the Bulldogs connected on only 2-of-9 over the last five minutes of play. The defensive effort helped the Wildcats go into halftime with a 26-23 lead, as Wade led the way with 9 points.
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In the first half, K-State shot 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from the field, while holding Georgia to 37 percent (10-of-27). Juwan Parker led the Bulldogs at the half with 7 points.
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Out of the break, Georgia jumped out to a 30-26 lead, before Diarra found Wade streaking to the hoop on an alley-oop. The two teams would continue to battle, as neither could pull away, with the largest margin of victory of six being held by the Bulldogs at the 16:29 mark in the second half.
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Trailing by six, Diarra brought the Wildcats back into it by driving the lane and forcing contact from the Bulldog defenders. With 6:47 left to play, Diarra converted an and-one to bring the score to 47-44. Just minutes later, he would do it again to knot it up at 49-49 with 5:21 remaining.
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On a 6-0 run and leading by one, Wade scored on a contested jumper to bring the score to 52-49. On the subsequent defensive possession, the K-State defense forced Georgia into a turnover, as the Bulldogs were held scoreless from the 6:30 mark into the last minutes of play.
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The deciding scores came with under a minute remaining, as Wade hit a hook shot in the lane with 58 seconds remaining to bring the score to 54-49. Brown would make both of his free throws at the stripe to close out the scoring at 56-51.
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K-State survived behind the scoring efforts of Wade, who led the game with 20 points and Diarra who had 12 in the game. The Wildcats shot 38.3 percent (18-of-47), while holding Georgia to a season-low 51 points and 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Dean Wade – Wade scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 from the field and 8 rebounds, in what was his fifth consecutive 20+ point game and the seventh this season. The junior led the Wildcats down the stretch, connecting on several influential shots in the final minutes.
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STAT OF THE GAME
51 – K-State held Georgia to a season-low in scoring on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats allowed only 51 points on 37 percent shooting (20-of-54) from the Bulldogs. The team has now held 65 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber's direction with the squad boasting a 58-7 record in those contests.
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SEASON RECORD UPDATE
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Head Coach Bruce Weber
Opening Statement…
"I told the guys that this is going to be a hard game and going to be physical. I am not sure that they believed us. I told them before the game, two games we did not come ready to play were Oral Roberts and Tulsa. You have got to come ready to play. These guys are good, and they are going to be playing for their lives. Mark Fox [Head coach, Georgia) does a great job, they are very physical inside presence, and we have to find a way to when. We made a bunch of plays down the stretch with a 12-2 run on the offensive end, defensive end and rebounding. We limit them to one second chance, but we cleaned up the boards and we made enough plays. Cartier [Diarra] made enough plays, Barry [Brown] made some free throws and Dean [Wade] of course made some plays. We grinded it out and it is a big win. I told the guys it is going to go a long way in the future."
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On coaching junior forward Dean Wade…
"He is a very good player. I do not know if you have noticed but these last two games we have tried to keep him off their best player, but today we did not fully have a choice. Obviously hitting those two first shots, with one behind the backboard at the shot clock [expiring], he is a good player. He also defends. He is older and stronger. I thought Dean [Wade] for the first time in a while had a little doubt, and so I keep saying "Dean, you are good. Do not doubt anything, go shoot the ball and shoot it to make it." And obviously down the stretch he made the plays. They are a good defensive team. I thought we missed some open shots, but because they fought hard and when you play a team like that, those open ones do not come easy. I am proud of our guys they grinded it out, and got away with the win."
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On the starters playing the full second half…
"It was very hot in here, it is warm outside, it was warm in the gym and I thought in the first half a couple guys were just exhausted maybe and in the second half I was looking at how they are putting their hands up, heads down, huffing and puffing, and you so I had to take them out, but they seemed fine. They were ready to grind it out. We had long time-outs and we used them to keep them as fresh as we could. It is about toughness, and about making plays down the stretch. It was probably the first time all year we have had to grind out the game and find a way to win."
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Junior Forward Dean Wade
On the maturity of the team…
"I think we have matured a lot, at the end of games we do not panic like we used to. We are playing strong, confident. Getting a little more experience just helps our confidence and maturity a lot.
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On his mindset down the stretch this year compared to last year…
"I think I was a lot more passive the last couple years. This year, I am just trying to make the right play, even if it is just driving in and kicking it out to one of my teammates. But this game, I found myself open a couple of times and was able to take advantage of it. I felt pretty confident in myself, and I made a couple of shots."
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Junior Guard Barry Brown
On playing down the final stretch…
"It was tough, they are a physical team. They were battling inside, and I know guys like Dean [Wade] and our big men are probably pretty drained. It was just a lot of bumping and a lot of grinding inside. They weathered the storm and we found a way to win."
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On the defense…
"It was great. We knew we needed to get some stops and some scores, which was our motto every media timeout and every timeout from that point. It was stop, score, stop, but we were able to get some stops and unlike earlier in the game we were able to get some rebounds and push in transition and get easy scores and open the game up for us."
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Freshman Guard Cartier Diarra
On getting to the rim…
"We give them credit for the toughness and the grit the play with, but we got shots that we wanted, they just did not fall early, but they fell when they needed to and we were able to come out with a win."
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On how fun the four-game win streak has been…
"It is very fun, and it is what I expected. We are a really great team, and we have a lot of pieces and everybody is needed. And when we do what we are supposed to do, we come out with wins."
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Georgia Head Coach Mark Fox
On the game…
"It was a terrific hard-fought game. Congratulations to Coach Weber and his team. Both teams really battled for forty minutes. We did not finish a couple of plays late and they were able to get to the line and make free throws which was really the difference in the game."
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Factors in loss…
"I do not want to take anything away from Kansas State I thought we missed some great shots. We missed a lay-up. We missed a post touch and we missed a couple great shots. When you are not finishing plays you have to find a way to get to the free throw line and we didn't do that."
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On Dean Wade…
"He is a really good player. He is playing with a lot of confidence. He has a good skill set and he has found a real home here."
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On defending Dean Wade…
"He is a player who can shoot the three and drive it. He can score mid-range off a fade away or a pull up and is a very good passer. Because he has good shooters around him it is usually one on one so he is able to finish a lot of plays."
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State makes another quick turnaround on Monday night, as the Wildcats play host to No. 5/5 Kansas (16-4, 6-2 Big 12) in the 288th edition of the Dillion's Sunflower Showdown at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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K-State (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) has now won five of its last six games, including four in a row. The Wildcats, which finished non-conference play with an 11-2 record, extended their home non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum to 23 games and moved to 3-2 all-time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
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The reigning Citizen Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week and Phillips Big 12 Player of the Week, Wade led all scorers with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 from the field and a game-tying 8 rebounds. Wade has now notched 20 or more points in five consecutive games and has seven 20-point outings this season. Redshirt freshman guard Cartier Diarra added 12 points and led the Wildcats with 5 assists in his sixth career start.
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K-State held Georgia (12-8, 3-5 SEC) to their lowest scoring effort of the season (51 points), while holding them to just 37.0 percent (20-of-54) from the field, including 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from beyond the arc in the game. The Wildcats have now held 17 opponents this season to under their scoring average.
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SEC's leading scorer – Yante Maten – led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while fellow senior Juwan Parker added 11.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening minutes of play, as Georgia jumped out to a 4-0 lead before sophomore forward Xavier Sneed tied it up on one possession. Sneed connected on a four-point play after being fouled from beyond the arc to tie it at 4-4.
Â
Wade, the junior for St. John, Kan., had a hot hand for the Wildcats early, scoring five straight points, including a 3-pointer to bring the score to 9-8 at the 16:02 mark in the first half. Defensively, sophomore forward Makol Mawien had a significant impact in the paint for K-State, racking up two blocks in the first five minutes of play. Mawien added 4 points in the first half.
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After a cold-spell in the first half that spanned nearly three minutes, Sneed got the scoring started again for the Wildcats by hitting a 3-pointer in the corner to bring the score to 20-19 with 5:25 remaining in the first half.
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Just before halftime, the K-State defense forced Georgia into a slump of its own, where the Bulldogs connected on only 2-of-9 over the last five minutes of play. The defensive effort helped the Wildcats go into halftime with a 26-23 lead, as Wade led the way with 9 points.
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In the first half, K-State shot 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from the field, while holding Georgia to 37 percent (10-of-27). Juwan Parker led the Bulldogs at the half with 7 points.
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Out of the break, Georgia jumped out to a 30-26 lead, before Diarra found Wade streaking to the hoop on an alley-oop. The two teams would continue to battle, as neither could pull away, with the largest margin of victory of six being held by the Bulldogs at the 16:29 mark in the second half.
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Trailing by six, Diarra brought the Wildcats back into it by driving the lane and forcing contact from the Bulldog defenders. With 6:47 left to play, Diarra converted an and-one to bring the score to 47-44. Just minutes later, he would do it again to knot it up at 49-49 with 5:21 remaining.
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On a 6-0 run and leading by one, Wade scored on a contested jumper to bring the score to 52-49. On the subsequent defensive possession, the K-State defense forced Georgia into a turnover, as the Bulldogs were held scoreless from the 6:30 mark into the last minutes of play.
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The deciding scores came with under a minute remaining, as Wade hit a hook shot in the lane with 58 seconds remaining to bring the score to 54-49. Brown would make both of his free throws at the stripe to close out the scoring at 56-51.
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K-State survived behind the scoring efforts of Wade, who led the game with 20 points and Diarra who had 12 in the game. The Wildcats shot 38.3 percent (18-of-47), while holding Georgia to a season-low 51 points and 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Dean Wade – Wade scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 from the field and 8 rebounds, in what was his fifth consecutive 20+ point game and the seventh this season. The junior led the Wildcats down the stretch, connecting on several influential shots in the final minutes.
Â
STAT OF THE GAME
51 – K-State held Georgia to a season-low in scoring on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats allowed only 51 points on 37 percent shooting (20-of-54) from the Bulldogs. The team has now held 65 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber's direction with the squad boasting a 58-7 record in those contests.
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SEASON RECORD UPDATE
- K-State 16-5 (5-3 Big 12)
- Georgia 12-8 (3-5 SEC)
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Head Coach Bruce Weber
Opening Statement…
"I told the guys that this is going to be a hard game and going to be physical. I am not sure that they believed us. I told them before the game, two games we did not come ready to play were Oral Roberts and Tulsa. You have got to come ready to play. These guys are good, and they are going to be playing for their lives. Mark Fox [Head coach, Georgia) does a great job, they are very physical inside presence, and we have to find a way to when. We made a bunch of plays down the stretch with a 12-2 run on the offensive end, defensive end and rebounding. We limit them to one second chance, but we cleaned up the boards and we made enough plays. Cartier [Diarra] made enough plays, Barry [Brown] made some free throws and Dean [Wade] of course made some plays. We grinded it out and it is a big win. I told the guys it is going to go a long way in the future."
Â
On coaching junior forward Dean Wade…
"He is a very good player. I do not know if you have noticed but these last two games we have tried to keep him off their best player, but today we did not fully have a choice. Obviously hitting those two first shots, with one behind the backboard at the shot clock [expiring], he is a good player. He also defends. He is older and stronger. I thought Dean [Wade] for the first time in a while had a little doubt, and so I keep saying "Dean, you are good. Do not doubt anything, go shoot the ball and shoot it to make it." And obviously down the stretch he made the plays. They are a good defensive team. I thought we missed some open shots, but because they fought hard and when you play a team like that, those open ones do not come easy. I am proud of our guys they grinded it out, and got away with the win."
                                       Â
On the starters playing the full second half…
"It was very hot in here, it is warm outside, it was warm in the gym and I thought in the first half a couple guys were just exhausted maybe and in the second half I was looking at how they are putting their hands up, heads down, huffing and puffing, and you so I had to take them out, but they seemed fine. They were ready to grind it out. We had long time-outs and we used them to keep them as fresh as we could. It is about toughness, and about making plays down the stretch. It was probably the first time all year we have had to grind out the game and find a way to win."
Â
Junior Forward Dean Wade
On the maturity of the team…
"I think we have matured a lot, at the end of games we do not panic like we used to. We are playing strong, confident. Getting a little more experience just helps our confidence and maturity a lot.
Â
On his mindset down the stretch this year compared to last year…
"I think I was a lot more passive the last couple years. This year, I am just trying to make the right play, even if it is just driving in and kicking it out to one of my teammates. But this game, I found myself open a couple of times and was able to take advantage of it. I felt pretty confident in myself, and I made a couple of shots."
Â
Junior Guard Barry Brown
On playing down the final stretch…
"It was tough, they are a physical team. They were battling inside, and I know guys like Dean [Wade] and our big men are probably pretty drained. It was just a lot of bumping and a lot of grinding inside. They weathered the storm and we found a way to win."
Â
On the defense…
"It was great. We knew we needed to get some stops and some scores, which was our motto every media timeout and every timeout from that point. It was stop, score, stop, but we were able to get some stops and unlike earlier in the game we were able to get some rebounds and push in transition and get easy scores and open the game up for us."
Â
Freshman Guard Cartier Diarra
On getting to the rim…
"We give them credit for the toughness and the grit the play with, but we got shots that we wanted, they just did not fall early, but they fell when they needed to and we were able to come out with a win."
Â
On how fun the four-game win streak has been…
"It is very fun, and it is what I expected. We are a really great team, and we have a lot of pieces and everybody is needed. And when we do what we are supposed to do, we come out with wins."
Â
Georgia Head Coach Mark Fox
On the game…
"It was a terrific hard-fought game. Congratulations to Coach Weber and his team. Both teams really battled for forty minutes. We did not finish a couple of plays late and they were able to get to the line and make free throws which was really the difference in the game."
Â
Factors in loss…
"I do not want to take anything away from Kansas State I thought we missed some great shots. We missed a lay-up. We missed a post touch and we missed a couple great shots. When you are not finishing plays you have to find a way to get to the free throw line and we didn't do that."
Â
On Dean Wade…
"He is a really good player. He is playing with a lot of confidence. He has a good skill set and he has found a real home here."
Â
On defending Dean Wade…
"He is a player who can shoot the three and drive it. He can score mid-range off a fade away or a pull up and is a very good passer. Because he has good shooters around him it is usually one on one so he is able to finish a lot of plays."
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- K-State is now 130-33 in non-conference play dating back to the 2006-07 season, including 90-5 at Bramlage Coliseum… Today's win extends the non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum to 23 games, which dates to the start of the 2015-16 season.
- The Wildcats finish non-conference play with an 11-2 record, including an 8-0 mark at Bramlage Coliseum… The team has now won double-digit non-conference games 11 times in the last 12 seasons and is 33-6 in non-conference play since over the last three seasons.
- K-State is now 363-114 all-time at Bramlage Coliseum since its opening during the 1988-89 season… The 363 victories are the second-most at a home venue… The Wildcats are 162-34 at home over the last 12 seasons, including 69-29 in Big 12 play… Head coach Bruce Weber is now 78-18 at Bramlage Coliseum since taking over at K-State in 2012-13.
- K-State is now 3-2 all-time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, including 3-0 at home… It was the first-ever game against Georgia in the Challenge after defeating Ole Miss in 2013 and 2016.
- K-State now leads the all-time series with Georgia, 3-1, including 1-1 at Bramlage Coliseum.
- K-State scored 56 points on 38.3 percent shooting (18-of-47), including 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from 3-point range, and connected on 89.5 percent (17-of-19) from the free throw line… It was the second-fewest points scored by the Wildcats this season.
- K-State held Georgia to its season-low 51 points on 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field, including 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from long range… It marked the seventh time the Wildcats have held an opponent under 60 points… The team has now held 65 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber's direction with the squad boasting a 58-7 record in those contests.
- K-State posted a season-low 6 turnovers, which marked the sixth time this season with single-digit turnovers… The team has posted 12 turnovers or less in 16 of 21 games.
- Junior Dean Wade scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 field goals and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to go along with a game-tying 8 rebounds… It marked the 16th time leading the Wildcats in scoring, including the sixth time this season… He has now posted 20 or more points in five consecutive games… It was his 11th career 20-point game, including his seventh this season… He has now scored in double figures in 51 career games, including 17 this season…
- Redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra scored 12 points on 4-of-7 field goals and 4-of-4 from the free throw line and dished out 5 assists… He has now scored in double figures in eight games, including six of the last seven games.
- Junior Barry Brown scored 9 points on 2-of-9 field goals and pulled down 5 rebounds… He registered 40 minutes for the third consecutive game.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State makes another quick turnaround on Monday night, as the Wildcats play host to No. 5/5 Kansas (16-4, 6-2 Big 12) in the 288th edition of the Dillion's Sunflower Showdown at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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Team Stats
UGA
KS
FG%
.370
.383
3FG%
.111
.214
FT%
.750
.895
RB
38
27
TO
11
6
STL
2
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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