Mercer: post mortem

Georgia won.  Beyond that, it's tough to put much of a positive spin on that game.

Let's start by congratulating Mercer.  Their team was better, their fans were better, and they coulda, shoulda, woulda won that game.  Well fought.

For Georgia, this was a tale as old as time:  if you let an inferior team hang around, quite often, they'll find a way to beat you.  If the Dawgs could have put an 8 or 10 point run on Mercer at any point in the second half, the game would have been over and there wouldn't have been any drama.  Instead, Mercer hung close enough that when they got hot (and they did), the game was still in doubt.  Georgia is very, very lucky to have won that game.

Other thoughts:

• First triple overtime game in Stegeman Coliseum history.  Who knew?
• I have said previously that free throws will cost Georgia a game at some point this season, and with about 30 seconds left in the first overtime, I thought this was the one.  The Bulldogs - and Charles Mann in particular - were pathetic from the stripe, and if it doesn't get fixed, it will result in losses.  Period.
• With that said, Mann deserves as much credit as anyone for the win.  His two 3-pointers and his layup near the end of regulation were critical.  He also got the assist on the Kenny Gaines layup in the second overtime.
• Georgia hauled in 24 offensive rebounds (which just reinforces that this game should not have been close), but that's not something they can count on in SEC play.  Mercer just had no answer for Georgia's size inside...
• ...which made it all the more frustrating that Georgia didn't just feed Thornton and Djurisic in the post.  Some of that had to do with the zone employed late in the game, but much of it was just a stubborn reliance on the 3-point shot that rears its ugly head now and again with this team.
• Thornton, by the way, sure seemed to get jobbed on at least 4 of his 5 fouls.  I was in the arena, so I didn't have the benefit of replays, but the charge and the ensuing defensive foul both looked comically bad.  The officials seemed to struggle with the charge/block call all game.
• How Gaines ended up with 13 points is beyond me.  That's the worst offensive game we've seen him play in a while, but the mood would be very different without that layup, so credit where credit is due.
• His on-ball defense continues to be fantastic, though.
• J.J. Frazier, despite an ice cold shooting night, continues to assert himself.  He is just so darned quick, and his ability to penetrate created a couple easy shots.  With Turtle Jackson coming next season, that position is turning into an embarrassment of riches for Mark Fox.
• Some nice minutes for Yante Maten after Thornton fouled out.  There was almost no drop-off at the defensive end.
• About halfway through the first half, my dad and I decided simultaneously that Georgia's best lineup is Frazier, Mann, Gaines, Djurisic, and Thornton.  Apparently Fox agrees, as he rode them from the end of regulation all the way through the third overtime (with the exception of a fouled-out Thornton).
• Fox continues to get absolutely nothing from the 3 spot (paging Jaylen Brown).  Kenny Paul Geno has plenty of want-to, but there's no productivity right now.  Cameron Forte didn't even see the court.  That's a glaring weakness that probably won't get fixed anytime soon.

In so many ways, a win is a win, and sometimes good teams have bad nights.  Let's hope that's all this was.  It certainly served to bring Georgia fans back to earth a bit, but it will all be forgotten if the Dawgs bring their A-game to Manhattan, Kansas on Wednesday in what is now a huge, huge game.