November 16, 2001
GEORGIA TOPS FURMAN 75-62
IN
2001-02 SEASON OPENER
ATHENS, GA. -- Ezra Williams poured in a game high 26 points to lead Georgia to a 75-62 win over visiting Furman in front of 5,574 fans at Stegeman Coliseum Friday night in the 2001-02 season opener for both teams.
Williams, a junior from Marietta, Ga., converted 8-of-18 field goals, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, and 5-of-5 free throws to pace the Bulldogs to their fourth straight win over Furman. Senior guard Anthony Thomas led the Paladins' attack with 16 points, and freshman center Paco Gonzalez added 11 points and a team high eight rebounds. Junior point guard Guilherme DaLuz added nine points and a game high 10 assists, but the Paladins got only 10 points from All-Southern Conference forward Karim Souchu, who struggled to a 4-of-13 shooting performance from the floor.
"I thought we played pretty good defensively tonight, but offensively there were two key stretches where we just couldn't score and that got us in trouble," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "I thought we stood around too much and watched during those stretches, and you just can't do that in most games and expect to win."
Furman outshot Georgia 39.3 percent to 38.5 percent, but the Bulldogs outrebounded the Paladins 45-29 and collected 10 blocks to Furman's two. Georgia also converted 18-of-26 free throws (69.2 percent) while Furman only went 9-of-15 from the line.
Leading 30-23 at intermission, Georgia used a 7-0 run over the first minute and a half of the second period to take a 37-23 lead following a three-pointer and layup by Williams and a layup by Jarvis Hayes.
The Bulldogs stretched their second half advantage to as many as 20 points at 61-41 on a free throw by Steve Thomas with 7:44 left and maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way.
Furman returns to action on Tuesday night when the host Asbury at 7:00 p.m. in Timmons Arena in the Paladins' 2001-02 home season opener.