Georgia will look to extend its winning streak to three games when it hosts George Mason in a nonconference game on Saturday in Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs (4-5) are coming off wins over then-No. 18 Memphis and Jacksonville after dropping five of their first seven games of the season.
Braelen Bridges scored 14 points, with Jabri Abdur-Rahim adding 10 points and Aaron Cook recording nine points, five assists and five rebounds in the 69-58 win over Jacksonville on Dec. 7.
However, the Bulldogs lost Jailyn Ingram, the team’s leading rebounder (6.0 rpg) and third-leading scorer (10.7 ppg), for the season after he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament during the win against the Dolphins. Ingram had started every game for Georgia this season.
“It’s heartbreaking because Jailyn has been emerging in so many areas and has been a model of consistency day in and day out,” Georgia coach Tom Crean tweeted. “He’s an incredible young man. We will help him in every way.”
Bridges averages a team-high 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while Cook paces the Bulldogs with 6.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game to go along with 11 points per game. Kario Oquendo averages 10.4 points and a team-high 1.0 blocks per game. Jaxson Etter, who averages 4.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, likely will replace Ingram in the starting lineup.
George Mason (5-5) also hasn’t played since Dec. 7, when Josh Oduro scored a career-high 32 points in a 71-65 win over visiting Navy that snapped a five-game losing streak.
“I had this game circled on the schedule for a long time,” Georgia Mason coach Kim English said. “It’s been a challenging few weeks for us heading into a game against what I thought was the best team on our schedule. I loved the guys’ resolve and I’m really proud of them. They stuck together.”
The Patriots have four players who average in double figures, led by Oduro’s 18.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. D’Shawn Schwartz averages 13.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and DeVon Cooper adds 13.0 and 2.7 assists per game. Davonte Gaines leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game to go along with 10.9 points per game.
–Field Level Media
