Kario Oquendo had 15 points and Jabri Abdur-Rahim scored all 12 of his points in the first half to lead Georgia to a 66-53 victory over Saint Joseph’s on Monday in the semifinals of the Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Oquendo shot 4-for-10 from the field, including 1-for-3 from beyond the arc, but he went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line in addition to grabbing five rebounds. Abdur-Rahim went 3 of 7 from 3-point range and a perfect 3 of 3 from the free-throw line.
Justin Hill chipped in 12 points, going a perfect 3-for-3 from deep, while Terry Roberts finished with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Georgia (4-1) advanced to face Alabama-Birmingham in the title game on Tuesday afternoon, while Saint Joseph’s (2-2) will play in the third-place game later in the evening against South Florida, which lost to Alabama-Birmingham 80-65 on Monday.
The Bulldogs shot 19-for-56 (33.9 percent) from the field, including 8-for-25 (32 percent) from 3-point range. Georgia outrebounded the Hawks 45-32 and scored 14 points off Saint Joseph’s 14 turnovers.
Saint Joseph’s was led by Ejike Obinna, who had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Cameron Brown added 10 points and five rebounds and Erik Reynolds II finished with 10 points and three assists.
The Hawks shot 21 of 57 (36.8 percent) from the field, including a dreadful 2 of 16 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
Saint Joseph’s trimmed Georgia’s 38-15 halftime lead to 54-46 following Lynn Greer III’s two free throws with 2:58 remaining, but Hill swished a 3-pointer from the left wing to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 57-46 with 2:28 left.
Georgia took control of the game midway through the first half by going on an 11-2 run to take a 15-6 lead following Oquendo’s free throw with 12:42 left. Roberts’ jumper with 25 seconds left in the half gave the Bulldogs a 23-point lead, which they took into intermission.
–Field Level Media
