Box Score Athens, Ga. (December 20, 2023)—Mount St. Mary's fell at Georgia, 94-82, in a high scoring matchup on Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
Dakota Leffew paced the Mount with a career-high 26 points while
De'Shayne Montgomery added 23 in the game.
Leffew, a Georgia native playing before a host of friends and family, hit 10-of-18 from the field while adding five assists, three rebounds and three steals in the game. A freshman, Montgomery reached the 20-point mark for the third time in his career with his 23-point night. He added three rebounds, three assists and three steals in a strong all-around effort.
Jedy Cordilia hit 6-of-7 from the field en route to a 13-point effort for the Mount as well.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim led Georgia (8-3) with a career-high 23 points, tallying 21 for the Bulldogs in the first half. R.J. Melendez added 18 points, six rebounds and four assists with Noah Thomasson chipping in 17 in the victory.
The Mountaineers shot 55.9 percent (33-of-59) from the field in the game against the Bulldogs, who entered the game in the top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage defense. The Mount held a 30-29 edge in rebounds. Georgia shot 51.7 percent in the game (30-of-58) with the Bulldogs going 27-of-33 (.818) at the foul line.
The Mount (4-7) started the game quickly, taking a 14-to-5 lead in the opening eight minutes. Leffew scored four early points to put the Mount up, 6-2, and after an Abdur-Rahim three-pointer, the Mount scored the next eight points to build a nine-point advantage. Montgomery started the 8-0 run with a thunderous dunk on a drive to the bucket before adding the next two baskets before Adebayo hit a pair of free throws to put the Mount up, 14-to-5.
The Bulldogs got back into the game quickly, with nine unanswered points in a span of 1:41 to even the score. A Leffew three-pointer with 8:04 left in the opening half put the Mount ahead, 20-18. Abdur -Rahim scored Georgia's next 11 points to help the Bulldogs to a 29-24 advantage. Georgia continued to add to its lead, closing the half with a Silas Demary, Jr., layup at the buzzer just after a Leffew basket for a 45-34 halftime advantage.
Leffew scored the first four points of the second half to cut the deficit to seven, but Georgia took its biggest lead of the game, 53-38, after a Thomasson basket. The Mount fought back, whittling Georgia's advantage to 75-69, with 6:26 remaining after a Montgomery dunk. A
Dallas Hobbs bucket made it 89-82 with just under two minutes remaining, but Georgia was able to hold the Mount scoreless the rest of the way in the 94-82 victory.
Terrell Ard, Jr., a two-time transfer, made his Mount St. Mary's debut in the game after the NCAA ruled two-time transfers eligible at the end of last week.
UP NEXT: The Mountaineers host former Northeast Conference rival LIU on Saturday, December 23, at Knott Arena. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
