Trey Thompkins scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds while helping lead Georgia to a 27-26 lead over Xavier at the half. The game has been tightly contested throughout featuring seven lead changes in the game. Georgia took an 11-7 lead at the 15 minute mark of the first half on a Thompkins dunk before Xavier came roaring back to tie the game at 15-15. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way with neither team trailing by more than four points.
Kenny Frease led Xavier with eight points while Jamel McLean scored seven. Georgia did an outstanding job defensively on Tu Holloway holding him scoreless in the first half going 0-5 from the field. Xavier shot just 32% in the first half but connected on two threes and took advantage of seven first half Bulldog turnovers to keep the score close.
In addition to Thompkins ten points, Travis Leslie scored six while Chris Barnes added five off the bench. The Bulldogs connected on 46% of their field goal attempts but went 0-4 from three point range.
This is a big non conference game for both teams with big time NCAA implications. Georgia needs to continue to move the ball on offense and play through Trey Thompkins.