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De’Shayne Montgomery scored 16 of his team-leading 22 points in the first half as Georgia went on to an 81-65 win over visiting Charleston Southern on Sunday in Athens, Ga.

Dakota Leffew added 19 points for the Bulldogs (11-1), who won their sixth straight and matched their best start to a season since 2001-02. Asa Newell chipped in 14 points for Georgia, which shot 50.8 percent from the field and 50 percent (9-for-18) on 3-pointers.

Taje’ Kelly led Charleston Southern (3-11) with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Lamar Oden Jr. added 14 points for the Buccaneers, who dropped their fourth in a row.

Trailing by 11 at halftime, Charleston Southern cut its deficit to 37-34 following an 8-0 run that was stamped with Oden’s 3-pointer. Newell then made a triple, followed by five straight points from Tyrin Lawrence to push Georgia’s lead back to 11 at the 16:33 mark.

After Newell’s layup gave the Bulldogs a 51-42 edge, Kelly’s basket and Daylen Berry’s free throws pulled the Buccaneers within five with 12:53 left.

Keenan Wilkins drained a 3-pointer to cut Charleston Southern’s deficit to six at the 10:13 mark, before Leffew scored seven points in Georgia’s 9-2 run as the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 68-55 with 7:52 remaining.

Kelly scored the game’s next five points, but Georgia iced the game with an ensuing 13-2 run.

After Newell scored the game’s first five points, Blue Cain’s layup put Georgia ahead 7-0 at the 17:32 mark of the first half. Lase Olalere’s basket and Oden’s triple trimmed Charleston Southern’s deficit to two, before Montgomery’s layup capped another 7-0 Bulldog run.

Montgomery’s fastbreak dunk followed by Leffew’s layup pushed Georgia’s lead to 21-10 with 10:16 left in the first half, but the Buccaneers answered with an 11-0 spurt, tying the game on Berry’s free throws with 6:23 left.

After Montgomery made a layup, Kelly scored three straight points, giving Charleston Southern its first lead at 24-23.

The score was tied 26-26 before Georgia outscored the Buccaneers 11-0 the final 4:33. Silas Demary Jr.’s layup as the first-half buzzer sounded put the Bulldogs ahead 37-26 at the break. Montgomery led all scorers with 16 points in the first half, while Oden led Charleston Southern with eight.

–Field Level Media