ATHENS, Ga.— Mekhi Lairy scored a career-high of 34 points to lead all scorers, but Georgia hung on to edge Miami 77-70 Monday night in non-conference action.
Billy Smith contributed 12 points for the RedHawks (1-2), while
Anderson Mirambeaux added 10. Terry Roberts led the Bulldogs (2-1) with 22 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A pair of three-point field goals gave Georgia an early 10-0 lead over Miami. Julian Lewis converted a layup to score the first points for the RedHawks with 16:40 to play in the half.
- The Bulldogs took a 17-point lead at 27-10 with 9:52 left in the half. The Red and White then stormed back, putting together a 16-6 run to come within 33-26 off of a flurry of scoring from Lairy.
- Miami trailed 38-28 at intermission. Lairy propelled the RedHawk offense as he recorded 15 points in the period, including a trio of three-pointers.
- Georgia stretched the lead back to 15 in the second half at 45-30, but a layup from Mirambeaux and a three-point jumper from Smith brought the RedHawks back within 10 points.
- The RedHawks closed within two at 49-47 after three-point field goals from Lairy and Smith with 11:58 left to play. Georgia answered back, regaining a double-digit advantage at 63-53.
- The RedHawks stayed resilient, with Smith hitting a clutch three-point field goal to bring Miami within 71-66 at the 1:46 mark. The visitors missed a triple with 15 seconds left that would have cut the margin to a single point. Despite the strong closing effort, the Red and White fell 77-70.
NOTES
- Lairy now has 1,240 career points. He is in 21st place on the program's all-time list after passing Chuck Goodyear, Geovonie McKnight, Rick Goins, Chet Mason, and Danny Horace Monday.
- Lairy surpassed his college career-high in points (34) and produced the first 30-point game for a RedHawk since Mar. 9, 2020 (Nike Sibande, 31)
- Miami went a perfect 12-12 from the free-throw line, led by Lairy's 10-10 performance.
- Lewis had a game-high six assists in 23 minutes of action.
UP NEXT:
The RedHawks host Marshall University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 in Oxford, Ohio.