Bulldogs push the pace, score 110-76 win in Tom Crean debut

In the 34 weeks since he was introduced as the Georgia men’s basketball coach, Tom Crean did just about everything possible to try to beat the drum for his new program.

On Friday night, finally a real, actual game could do the selling for him.

On display was the style of play these Bulldogs hope to thrive in under Crean.

Fans in Stegeman Coliseum saw a hold-onto-their seats uptempo pace that Georgia unveiled in a 110-76 rout of Savannah State to give Crean a win in his Bulldogs’ debut.

“We definitely look to get out and run,” said sophomore forward Nicolas Claxton who had his first double-double as a Bulldog with 15 points and 13 rebounds. “I would say the tempo we played with today is close to what we want to play. As long as we play fast, we just need to cut down on our turnovers…We’ve got to play fast and smart.”

Georgia scored its most points in a game since a 113-74 win over Grambling State on Nov. 27, 1999 under Jim Harrick. The Bulldogs had not scored 100 points since a 107-65 win against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9, 2007, the year the Bulldogs had their miraculous SEC tournament victory.

They scored 59 points in the first half, more than it had in seven entire games last season.

Five Georgia players scored in double figures led by a career-high 18 from sophomore guard Teshuan Hightower who made three 3-pointers. The Bulldogs had 23 turnovers, but shot 57.1 percent from the floor.

“I loved our approach to start the game, I love how we came out,” said Crean.

The former Indiana and Marquette coach, who spent last season as an ESPN analyst, was on the bench for the first time in a game since March of 2017.

The Bulldogs ran out to a 14-0 lead by the first media timeout with a pair of Claxton dunks and another from Derek Ogbeide in the first 65 seconds.

“We just wanted to come out there and set the tone and bring intensity early,” said Claxton, who set a career high with five blocks.

At least a couple of times, Crean motioned with his arm to signal to his players to push the ball upcourt.

“I’m OK with playing really fast, we just want to play with more efficiency,” he said. “We want to get the ball reversed even quicker.”

Savannah State, led by Jahlin Smith’s 20 points and 5 3-pointers, launched more 3-pointers than any team in the nation last season and finished 17 of 57 in this one. That contributed to the blistering pace.

Claxton rebounded and pushed it down court for a Jojo Toppin reverse layup.

Tyree Crump (14 points) heated up and hit three 3-pointers in less than two minutes  to make it 32-13.

Jordan Harris skied after a Georgia miss to follow with a one-handed dunk.

A Savannah State player went over the courtside seats and Hightower hit a 3-pointer for a 55-31 lead.

Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity had seen enough of the team in the preceding weeks to know what was coming.

“It will just be exciting for everybody to watch because it’s such a change in the style of basketball,” McGarity said this week. “I told Tom the other day (after a home exhibition win), you have no idea what a different brand of basketball it is. …If our fans react to the way Tom coaches, it will be a very energetic arena for sure.”

Georgia announced the attendance at 9,018, the most for a home opener since capacity went to 10,523 before 94-95 season.

“It was fun, it was fun to see the enthusiasm that people have had turn into bodies and live energy and loud fans tonight,” Crean said.

Savannah State opened second half on 20-4 run to cut Georgia's lead to 63-54 with 14:22 to go.

“We’ve got to learn how to play with the lead,” Crean said. “We did not have the same level of urgency in the second half to start. We got our hands up late on some shooters. We’ve got to grow through that.”

The Bulldogs didn’t make their first field goal of the half until an Ogbeide dunk with 17:04 to go. Savannah State didn’t go deep into the shot clock. It ended up with 93 shots in the game.

Turtle Jackson hit a 3 and Tye Fagan drove for a score and added a free throw to push the lead back to 69-54.

Georgia used 10 players in under seven minutes and nine different players scored its first 36 points.

“We got a chance to see where we're at for conditioning, we got to get in better shape,” Crump said.

For the first time since Nov. 14, 2009, Georgia played a game under a new head coach. Mark Fox was dismissed after nine seasons in which the Bulldogs won at least 20 games four times but made the NCAA tournament just twice.

Savannah State, which went 15-17 last season and tied for first in the MEAC, was playing its second game in three days. It lost at Texas A&M 98-83 Wednesday night.

Georgia plays its first road game Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Temple (2-0).

Crean won his 17th straight season opener with his only loss in his second season at Marquette in 2000.

“I remember the Marquette first game against Chicago State on a Saturday afternoon,” Crean said. “I remember Northwestern (State) at Indiana, I believe it was a Friday night and I’ll always remember this one.”