Slow start costs Georgia in 92-77 loss to Texas A&M

ATHENS — Georgia spent most of Saturday afternoon trying to dig out of a hole it created in the opening minutes.

The Bulldogs nearly did it. Nearly.

After falling behind by as many as 20 points in the first half, Georgia mounted multiple rallies but couldn’t finish the comeback, dropping a 92-77 decision to Texas A&M on Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia (16-6, 4-5 SEC) trimmed what once looked like a runaway to three points late in the first half and later made it a one-point game in the second half, but the Aggies (17-4, 7-1) steadied themselves each time and pulled away late to remain atop the SEC standings.

“We got off to an awful start — the worst start we’ve gotten off to in a long, long time,” Georgia coach Mike White said. “I don’t remember being down that much that early in a game, and our fans helped us. We had our chance to cut into it further both late first half and mid second half. Texas A&M was better. That’s why they’re winning the league.”

The Bulldogs’ start was uneven on both ends. Texas A&M spread the floor with shooters, attacked the glass and built a commanding early lead before Georgia found its footing. Even then, the Bulldogs’ effort never waned.

Georgia cut the deficit to three with 2:48 left in the first half behind a pair of 3-pointers from Marcus “Smurf” Millender. Early in the second half, Dylan James completed a fast-break layup and free throw to make it a one-point game.

But the Aggies responded with toughness and composure, stretching the margin back out and closing strong.

“They’re really, really connected,” White said. “They’re tough. They spread you out with a bunch of shooters. I thought we did a good job against a high-level pressure team, but our attention to detail — defensive rebounding, shot selection — it wasn’t that good.”

Georgia shot just 7-of-28 from 3-point range.

“When you’re playing from a large deficit, sometimes emotions can get the best of you with shot selection,” White said. “We’d like about half of those back.”

Despite the loss, Georgia showed balance offensively. Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Jeremiah Wilkinson with 17 points. Blue Cain and Kanon Catchings added 14 apiece, while James scored 13 points and Millender finished with 12.

James also posted a career-high 13 rebounds, while Wilkinson grabbed a career-best seven boards and recorded two blocks. Georgia’s bench outscored Texas A&M’s 44-34.

James said his approach was simple.

“I feel like we needed an energy boost,” James said. “So I just tried to give that. It felt like do or die this game. I tried to give it all I had and empty the tank.”

Cain pointed to urgency — or the lack of it — as the biggest difference early.

“I just think they came out with more urgency than we had,” Cain said. “I really attribute it to that.”

Still, Georgia never stopped competing, buoyed by a crowd that stayed engaged throughout.

“We appreciate the crowd tonight; they brought the energy no matter how much we were down,” James said. “But it’s our responsibility to come out there and bring our own energy.”

Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan credited his team’s conditioning and composure for pulling away late.

“We thought if we could get this game to the last five, six minutes, we would play really well,” McMillan said. “It took a total team effort to do that, and you saw us run away with it at the end. The conditioning showed because neither team’s probably played at that pace this year.”

White said his team’s response will matter more than the result.

“Our guys are resilient,” he said. “We’ve got to clean up details, but this team works. We’ll learn from the film and have a good practice.”

Georgia will look to do just that next Saturday when it travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network. The Bulldogs return home Feb. 11 to host Florida.