Nemanja Djurisic sparks Georgia past Chattanooga 87-56

Monday, December 2, 2013

ATHENS, Ga. - Nemanja Djurisic came off the bench to score 14 points, all in the first half, as Georgia dominated Chattanooga 87-56 Monday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Martynas Bareika led Chattanooga (3-6) with 14 points, hitting four of 12 shots, typical for the Mocs, who shot 30 percent from the field as a team.

Georgia (3-4) scored first and never trailed. The Bulldogs led 9-4 after four minutes when the 6-foot-8 junior Djurisic came off the bench to score 12 points over the next five minutes as Georgia built a 27-13 lead with 10:45 to play in the first half.

Though the Bulldog offense cooled down from a torrid 70-percent shooting pace, Georgia outscored the Mocs 22-4 over the last 11 minutes to take a 47-17 halftime lead. Georgia shot 59 percent from the field compared to 18 percent for Chattanooga.

Georgia scored the first seven points of the second half to build a 54-17 lead with 17:08 remaining after Marcus Thornton hit one of two free throws. That was the largest lead of the game.

The Bulldogs went to their bench extensively in the second half. Fourteen of 15 who played saw at least seven minutes of time.

The Mocs came into the game averaging 10 steals per game, but managed only five against Georgia, which had just 10 turnovers overall.

Guards Juwan Parker and Kenny Gaines scored 11 and 10, respectively, for Georgia, which will take 12 days off for semester final exams.

Eric Robertson added 13 for Chattanooga, which was playing its fifth straight road game. Z. Mason, the team's leading scorer at 17.6 a game, managed only four points, making just one of nine field-goal attempts.

The Bulldogs' leading scorer, Charles Mann, averaging 16.3 points a game, tallied only two points in nine minutes of playing time.

Georgia won the rebounding battle 51-38. That was consistent with earlier wins over Wofford and Appalachian State. But the Bulldogs were outrebounded in every one of their four straight losses.