ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia defeated Augusta State 85-48 in an exhibition matchup Thursday night in Stegeman Coliseum.
The contest marked the only exhibition game of the preseason for both teams.
Sophomore forward Travis Keels led the Jaguars with 12 points and senior guard George Johnson managed 11 points and two steals. Freshman forward Ben Purser pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Dustin Ware and Jeremy Price scored 14 each for the Bulldogs. Gerald Robinson added 12 points and Travis Leslie chipped in 10. Chris Barnes grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and Robinson dished out 10 assists and collected three steals.
The Jags shot 30.9 percent for the game and just 25 percent (3-of-12) from 3-poing range. UGA shot 51.7 percent and drained six 3-pointers. The Bulldogs owned the rebounding edge 41-32.
Georgia, a preseason pick by multiple media outlets to contend for the Southeastern Conference title, jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first 2:32 of the game and led 22-2 after a Chris Barnes' layup 6:01 into the game. ASU cut its deficit to 13 on a Howard Brown layup before the Bulldogs scored six in a row.
Johnson paced ASU in the first half with five points and senior forward Franck Ndongo posted five rebounds. The Jags, who shot just 33.3 percent in the first half, hit 3-of-6 3-point attempts, getting treys from Johnson, sophomore reserve guard Kyle Armour and freshman forward Devon Wright-Nelson.
ASU makes its 2010-11 official debut on Friday, Nov. 12 vs. Anderson (S.C.) in the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Classic in Greeneville, Tenn., on the campus of Tusculum College.
