ATHENS — It’s still a young season, but Georgia’s 85-38 win over High Point Tuesday represents just that — a high point.
Transfer guard Gerald Robinson equaled his Georgia career high with 21 points in leading the Bulldogs (8-2) to their fifth straight win.
That is the most consecutive wins since a seven-game streak in the early part of the 2006-07 season. The season opener that year, a 97-37 beating of Southern, was also the last time that Georgia won by a wider margin.
“We got a good, convincing win, and it was definitely a confidence booster,” said Robinson, who played two years at Tennessee State. “We’ve had a lot of close games in the beginning of the season. To get a big win and to build a large margin is definitely a confidence booster.”
On Saturday, coach Mark Fox was extolling his team to learn to play with the lead. They certainly did that Tuesday.
“It was good to win by a large margin,” said Fox. “We feel fortunate to get a big win and also get a lot of guys significant playing time. That should help us as we continue to grow as a team throughout the season.”
Trey Thompkins added 15 points for Georgia (8-2) and Furman transfer Connor Nolte came off the bench to score a Georgia career-high 11.
“Our defense was pretty good,” said Fox. “I thought our first-shot defense was especially good. We didn’t rebound the ball well at all in the first half, and I was very disappointed in that. We did force a lot of misses, so I was pleased with that.”
Fox was also pleased with Robinson’s attacking style, as he scored his points penetrating to the basket.
“His quickness really impacts the game, and tonight he was able to get the ball right to the rim,” Fox said. “Other times he has penetrated and drawn the help defense. He is just an all-around athlete.”
Georgia jumped out to a 13-2 lead after the first four minutes and wasn’t threatened the rest of the way. High Point managed to close within two, 29-21, on Shay Shine’s jumper with 2:49 left in the first half. But Georgia dominated after halftime and its starters did not play after the midpoint of the second half.
Shine finished with 15 points for the Panthers (5-5), who made just 4 of 28 shots (14.3 percent) in the second half. High Point’s only baskets in the last 20 minutes came with 17:49, 14:13, 10:10 and 8:55 remaining.