Belmont upends Georgia in first round

Sophomore guard Dylan Windler paced a balanced attack, and Belmont defeated short-handed Georgia 78-69 Wednesday in the first round of the NIT at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday.

Windler scored 21 points, and sophomore guard Evan Bradds added 15 points and seven rebounds for Belmont (23-6), which never trailed and advanced to face Georgia Tech in the second round.

Senior guard J.J. Frazier scored 29 points for Georgia (19-15), which was without starters Yante Maten and Juwan Parker. Maten suffered a knee injury on Feb. 18 against Kentucky and missed four games before returning for the SEC tournament. He sat out Wednesday with a reported setback. Parker missed Wednesday’s game with a partial tear of his right Achilles tendon.

Taylor Barnette opened the game with a 3-pointer, sparking a fast start for Belmont, which jumped out to a 25-17 lead. Georgia closed the gap late in the first half, with Frazier recording a steal that led to a layup and Tyree Crump knocking down a 3-pointer that tied the game 28-28.

Belmont went into halftime with a 37-34 lead.

Belmont also started fast in the second half. Bradds’ layup extended the lead to 63-50 at the 10-minute mark of the second half. Georgia never seriously challenged down the stretch.

Barnette and junior forward Amanze Egekeze each made four 3-pointers and finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively, for Belmont, which knocked down 14 3-pointers as a team.

Frazier, in his final game of a prolific career at Georgia, hit 9 of 22 shots and made 11 of 12 free throws. Sophomore guard William Jackson and freshman guard Tyree Crump each finished with 10 points for Georgia.