University of Georgia men’s basketball head coach Dennis Felton doesn’t know who is going to replace all of the scoring that left with last season’s two leading scorers, Sundiata Gaines at 14.8 points per game and Billy Humphrey at 12.2. Gaines graduated. Humphrey was dismissed after multiple team violations.
“It’s hard to predict exactly who’s going to do all the scoring, but we have a ton of potential,” said Felton.
In the Bulldogs’ season opener against USC Upstate, the answer was “everyone” as the Bulldogs shot 43 percent from the field and got scoring contributions from nine different players to defeat the Spartans, 72-48.
Sophomore point guard Zac Swansey and freshman guard Travis Leslie led the team in scoring with 11 points each.
Leslie’s first collegiate basketball experience was one that brought the crowd to its feet as he caught a bounce pass from Swansey and went baseline for the dunk with 4:22 remaining in the first half.
“I saw the open lane and just went for it,” said Leslie.
Leslie’s was only one of many huge contributions off of a bench that scored 40 points for the Bulldogs.
Ricky McPhee, a transfer from Gardner-Webb, scored 10 points and added four steals in 11 minutes of play.
The Bulldogs’ defense produced 20 steals that led to 29 Spartan turnovers.
“We were committed to being really tenacious defensively and that was a good sign,” said Felton.
The Bulldogs did a better job holding onto the ball with only 13 turnovers, but were outrebounded 38 to 30 by the Spartans.
The Bulldogs only led by nine, 37-28, at the half, but a 24-6 run in the second half put Georgia up by 20 with seven minutes to play.
Early foul trouble from starting forwards Albert Jackson and Jeremy Price forced more playing time for sophomore Chris Barnes. Barnes took full advantage, snagging a team-leading eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 29 minutes.
Price added seven points and five rebounds. Jackson added three rebounds before fouling out.
Swansey was solid at point guard in his first start as the replacement for Gaines with a team-leading four assists and only one turnover. Freshman Dustin Ware also played point guard for the Bulldogs and added five points, two assists and four steals.
Terrance Woodbury, the returning leading scorer at 11 ppg and one of only two seniors, contributed with 10 points and four rebounds. Corey Butler, the other senior and team captain along with Woodbury and Jackson, had nine points and four steals.
“As captains, we have to lead by example and let these guys see that hard work pays off,” Butler said.
The Bulldogs did a good job getting to the rim, which led to five dunks, two by Leslie, and one each by Woodbury, Barnes, and sophomore guard Troy Brewer with only 38.2 remaining. The Bulldogs also went to the free-throw line 15 more times than the Spartans, shooting 69 percent from the stripe.
Three-pointers were scarce on both sides as the Bulldogs shot only 22 percent to the Spartans’ 19 percent.
Bobby Davis and Carter Cook led USC Upstate in scoring with 11 points each. Davis also added 12 rebounds to lead the Spartans.
Freshman forward and prized recruit from Wesleyan, Howard Thompkins, dressed but didn’t play for the Bulldogs due to an ankle injury.
Georgia will next travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to play Loyola of Chicago on Nov. 17 in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Wiley can be reached at dwiley@scoreatl.com.
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