NCAA News Wire
Georgia 74, Florida Atlantic 61
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Georgia forward Marcus Thornton scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and the Bulldogs beat Florida Atlantic 74-61 Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs (3-1) grabbed a 35-27 halftime lead and extended the margin quickly after intermission. The lead grew as high as 18 points with less than three minutes to play, ending any hopes of an Owls comeback.
Guard Kenny Gaines finished with 15 points, but he and Thornton were the only Georgia players to reach double figures. Bulldogs forward Nemanja Djurisic contributed eight points and 10 rebounds.
Florida Atlantic, which was coming off a tough loss to Ivy League power Harvard on Thursday night, fell to 1-3 with Sunday’s defeat.
Owls guard Marquan Botley led all scorers with 20 points, and he chipped in six assists and five rebounds. Guard Jackson Trapp followed with 15 points, and guard Justin Massey and forward Kelvin Penn each added 11 points. Penn shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and led the Owls with seven rebounds.
Georgia improved to 3-0 in the teams’ all-time series.
Florida Atlantic has a week off until its next game, Nov. 30 against South Florida Catholic school Ave Maria.
Georgia returns to action Wednesday against Gonzaga in New York as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off before playing either St. John’s or Minnesota on Friday.
