Georgia aims to get on track, battles Winthrop

Georgia looks to get things headed back in the right direction when the Bulldogs return to the mainland and host Winthrop on Friday in Athens, Ga.

Georgia (2-3) dropped two games in the Baha Mar Hoops event in the Bahamas when it lost to then-No. 12 Miami 79-68 and Providence 71-64 in Nassau.

After posting home wins over Wake Forest and North Carolina Central, the Bulldogs were within a point of Providence in the final minute Sunday before the Friars closed the game on a 6-0 run.

"We did a lot of good things today," coach Mike White said of his Bulldogs. "We've got to do a better job obviously with our offensive connection and role definition, and that starts with me. We've got to figure some things out, but we're good at times and at times we look disconnected offensively."

A pair of transfers, Noah Thomasson from Niagara and RJ Melendez from Illinois, led the Bulldogs against the Friars with 19 and 15 points, respectively, as leading scorer Jabri Abdur-Rahim (14.0 ppg) failed to reach double figures for the first time this season with nine points.

Winthrop (4-2) is riding a three-game winning streak after posting wins over Holy Cross, IUPUI, and Elon to win the Rock Hill (S.C.) Classic. The Eagles' streak started after losses to Clemson and Drexel and a win over Division III Brevard in their first three games.

The Eagles were picked to finish third in the Big South Conference and had three players — Kelton Talford, Kasen Harrison, and Sin'Cere McMahon — receive all-conference recognition in preseason polling.

Talford is a returning first-team all-Big South performer and leads the team in scoring with his 14.0 average. Coach Mark Prosser says the 6-foot-7 senior is Winthrop's "go-to guy" inside.

"We're excited to have him back," Prosser said, "and excited to have a guy that's competing for the conversation for Player of the Year in our league."

Georgia holds a 6-1 lead in the series and has won the past three meetings.

—Field Level Media