Georgia Survives a Major 2nd Half Comeback to beat Xavier 78-76 in 1st Round of NIT
By Justin Brosemer
Postseason play has returned to Athens by way of No. 4 seed Georgia’s defeat of Xaxier, 78-76, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at Stegeman Coliseum this past Tuesday.
Georgia (18-16, 6-12 SEC) was able to stave off a late push from the Musketeers thanks to freshman Silas Demary Jr. 's team-high 16 points, followed by strong performances from RJ Melendez with 14 and Noah Thomasson with 12. Justin Hill rounded out the scoring effort from the Bulldogs with 10 points, which came entirely from a first half burst from the senior point guard.
Georgia found themselves ahead by as many as 23 points in their first taste of the postseason since the 2017 season, as they held their opponents scoreless in a near six-minute stretch. However, behind Desmond Claude’s game-high 30 points, Xavier (16-18, 9-11 Big East) was able to cut into the Bulldogs lead in the waning moments of the ballgame.
Big East points per game leader Quincy Olivari was held to just 11 points, which is 8 points below the average he entered competition with. The Musketeers also had contributions from Dayvion McKnight (10), and Abou Ousmane (10) who finished the night in double-digits. McKnight’s layup surrounded by Bulldog defenders with 11 seconds remaining cut the lead to two and shifted the massive pressure on Bulldogs and head coach Mike White.
Georgia’s defensive anchor Russell Tchewa–who finished the night with 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists–pinned Olivari’s layup attempt in the final moments and was subsequently called for goaltending for what appeared as Xavier’s tying bucket.
After a lengthy review, the call on the floor was reversed and Xavier was forced to inbound and get a shot off with just one second remaining in regulation. Tchewa clogged the paint once more disrupting Xavier’s inbounding play as Georgia escaped their near-collapse.
The Bulldogs balanced play on both sides of the floor guided them to the program’s first postseason win since 2016, a sight for sore eyes within Athens’ basketball faithful. A night where no scoring explosion was found, Georgia’s mix of suffocating defense in dire moments and having nine players score four points or more proved to be the perfect recipe.
Coach White and the Bulldogs now find themselves advancing to face the winner of Wake Forest and Appalachian State in their second round matchup of the NIT during the March 23-24 weekend.
