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CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Jarvis Hayes scored a career-high 31 points as No. 3 Georgia erased a big early deficit and defeated 14th-seeded Murray State in a first-round East Region matchup, 85-68. Murray State (19-13), which won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, raced out to a 25-11 lead after Justine Burdine hit his fourth 3-pointer just 6:58 into the contest. But Georgia (22-9) countered with a 27-8 burst that was capped by a pair of free throws by Jonas Hayes, Jarvis' twin, with 3:29 remaining in the half. "We kept our poise, that's what I liked about it," Georgia coach Jim Harrick said. "We didn't panic and start firing up shots. It was so very early in the game, and all our scouting reports reported that they came out of the locker room on fire at the start of the game and the start of the second half." The Bulldogs took a 42-39 advantage into halftime and were still ahead after Cuthbert Victor gave the Racers a 48-46 edge on a jumper early in the second half. Ezra Williams made a free throw and Rashad Wright hit a 3-pointer to give Georgia the lead for good, 50-48, with 14:31 remaining. Georgia stretched out its advantage late in the contest, closing the game on a 12-0 run over the last four minutes. "I think overall they were stronger than we were," Murray State coach Tevester Anderson said. "They wore us down. With four minutes to go, I thought it was anybody's game. We had a chance and they got past us. They were stronger than we were and down the stretch I think that they had more left than we did." Wright had 16 points and 10 assists and Jonas Hayes added 14 and 14 rebounds for Georgia. Victor paced Murray State with 23 points. Burdine added 21 but had just seven in the final 27 minutes. James Singleton chipped in 11 and 12 rebounds. "I did all right," Burdine said. "It could have been a little better. I played hard and tried to give it all I hard, knowing it could have been my last game. I could have hit some more shots, especially at the end. I put up some bad ones." The Bulldogs shot 51 percent (32-of-63) and limited the Racers to 38 percent (27-of-71). The No. 3 seed also had a big advantage at the line. Georgia made 16-of-21 free throws to Murray State's 4-of-9 performance. The Racers were 0-of-1 at the line in the second half. Georgia advances to play No. 11 Southern Illinois, which upset No. 6 Texas Tech, in the second round on Sunday. "I wouldn't have respected Murray State if they hadn't come after us like that and played that way," Harrick said. "They gave us everything they had, they played their guts out. If I were them and their coach, I would be pleased with their performance. They really played well and they should be commended." . |
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