Thomasson scores 17 in Georgia's strong start, Bulldogs topple Vanderbilt 76-64

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Noah Thomasson scored 17 points, all in the first half, Jabri Abdur-Rahim added 13 points and Georgia rolled past Vanderbilt 76-64 on Wednesday night.

Georgia’s 16-point halftime lead was trimmed to 11 before Justin Hill scored five points and Blue Cain hit a 3-pointer in a 12-0 run that put the Bulldogs up 63-40 near the 11-minute mark. Paul Lewis hit a 3-pointer to get Vanderbilt within 14 points with about 2 minutes left, but there would be no more scoring until Vandy’s Ven-Allen Lubin made a layup with 23 seconds left for the final margin.

Georgia made only 2 of 9 shots in the final seven minutes but Vanderbilt was only 3 for 10 over the same time frame.

Lewis had 18 points, Ezra Manjon and Tyrin Lawrence added 12 each and Lubin finished with 10 for the Commodores (7-19, 2-11 SEC). Lubin grabbed eight rebounds.

Russel Tchewa had 10 rebounds for Georgia (15-11, 5-8). After their red-hot first half, the Bulldogs cooled off in the second, shooting 46% to finish at 53%. They made 10 of 28 3-point tries and Vanderbilt hit on 11 of 32.

Thomasson hit five 3-pointers in the first half and his 17 points led Georgia to a 44-28 halftime lead. He shot 6 for 11 but the Bulldogs were so hot — 16 of 27 for 59% — that he had nearly half of their misses.

Up next for Georgia is a home game against No. 14 Auburn on Saturday. Vanderbilt visits Florida on Saturday.

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