MONDAY'S SCORES
@Georgia 78,
Austin Peay 48
GEORGIA 78, AUSTIN PEAY 48
ATHENS, Ga. - There's little of note and less to remember about Austin Peay's visit to Georgia, which ended the Governors non-conference slate with a 78-48 loss to the Bulldogs at Stegeman Coliseum. Better instead to look forward, as looking back offers nothing of consequence.
The old coach-speak adage of, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish," may be true, but against an upper-echelon team with a bevy of talent, a good start certainly wouldn't hurt. That is... not what happened for the Govs, who committed four turnovers and missed five of seven shots to fall behind 16-4 just over five minutes into the game. Even once Austin Peay managed to right the ship on the offensive end, Georgia kept the pedal to the metal, extending the lead to 15 with 8:31 to go in the half.
Sensing the game slipping away, the Govs bore down defensively and closed the first half by playing some of the finest ball displayed by Austin Peay this season, closing the frame on a 15-5 run. Freshman Jordyn Adams scored seven of the final nine points himself, beating the buzzer with a finger roll to cut it to a 31-26 Bulldog lead at halftime.
The Govs went into halftime with all the momentum, but Georgia quickly snatched the good vibes away by opening the second half on an 22-2 run. By the time Austin Peay was able to get its feet back under itself, the Bulldogs had built a 25-lead that would prove difficult to overcome, despite yet another outstanding effort from Adams (15 points) and Terry Taylor (18 points, nine rebounds)–the duo combined to hit a respectable 43.3 percent (13-for-30) from the floor against the Bulldogs, while the rest of the Govs combined to shoot just 11.8 percent (4-for-34).