Terry Roberts scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead Georgia to a 65-61 victory over visiting Bucknell on Friday in the opening round of the Sunshine Slam in Athens, Ga.
Roberts finished shooting 7 for 20 from the field, including 2 for 7 from distance, to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim added 10 points and four rebounds, while Frank Anselem and Jaxon Etter chipped in eight points apiece for Georgia.
The Bulldogs (3-1), who led by as many as 14 points in the second half, saw their lead cut to 61-57 on Xander Rice’s 3-pointer with 1:02 left. But Roberts countered with two free throws to make it a six-point game with 18 seconds to go.
The Bison trimmed the lead to 63-61 on Andre Screen’s dunk with eight seconds left, but Justin Hill made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to secure the win.
Georgia shot 18 for 54 (33.3 percent) from the field, including 6 for 21 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range, but were an outstanding 23 for 26 from the free-throw line.
Bucknell (2-2) was led by Rice, who had 19 points, while Alex Timmerman and Screen each posted 10 points and four rebounds. Elvin Edmonds IV finished with nine points.
The Bison shot 24 for 54 (44.4 percent) from the field, including 5 for 20 (25 percent) from beyond the arc, in addition to getting outrebounded 37-29.
After Jake van der Heijden’s layup gave Bucknell a 39-38 lead with 13:03 left in the game, the Bulldogs went on a 17-2 run to take a 55-41 lead on Abdur-Rahim’s layup with 8:09 to go.
The teams will continue the tournament next week in Daytona Beach, Fla., beginning on Monday, when Georgia faces Saint Joseph’s (2-1) while Bucknell faces Presbyterian (1-3).
–Field Level Media