Georgia will try to continue its quest for offensive improvement on Wednesday when it hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore in Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs (1-0), who reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago, opened the new season with a convincing 104-59 win over Bellarmine. It was the 300th win of coach Mike White’s career.
This will be the second stop in Georgia for Maryland-Eastern Shore (0-1); the Hawks began the season with a 56-52 overtime loss to Georgia Tech on Monday.
Georgia ranked fifth in the Southeastern Conference last year in defense, allowing 69.9 points, but were 12th in the league in offense, putting up 75.3 points. White spent the offseason looking for ways to get better.
“How to do you become a better shooting team? You sign a bunch of good shooters, right?” White said. “We have a number of guys that can make shots. We’ve got to take good shots, we’ve got to share it, defend, rebound.”
Against Bellarmine, the Bulldogs shot 54.3% from the field and made nine 3-pointers in 29 attempts (31%).
Georgia, winners of 28 straight nonconference games at home, are led by Jeremiah Wilkinson and Blue Cain, who both scored 15 points in the opener. True freshman Jake Wilkins, son of former NBA great Dominique Wilkins, scored 12, including a steal and rim-rattling dunk.
“I didn’t think about (the 300th win) until after the game,” White said. “I’ve just been fortunate to coach some really good players and great people.”
In the near-upset against Georgia Tech, Joseph Locandro, a native of Australia who transferred from Division II Concordia, made his UMES debut with 17 points and five rebounds. Justin Monden added 10 points.
The Hawks were picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Seniors Christopher Flippin and Michael Teal were named to the MEAC preseason all-conference teams, but both struggled in the opener; Flippin scored three points and Teal was scoreless.
“A game like this should serve as a motivator for us and give the guys some confidence moving forward,” UMES coach Cleo Hilll Jr. said. “We have to get better at execution throughout the game, and I think we will use this game as a learning experience.”
