ATHENS, Ga. – Jeremiah Wilkinson matched a season-high with 26 points on Thursday, helping newly-ranked No. 25 Georgia (10-1) earn a 112-82 victory over Western Carolina (4-7) at Stegeman Coliseum.
 
FAST FACTS

• Smurf Millender added 17 points, while Jordan Ross chipped in 15 and Somto Cyril posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Bulldogs, who entered play as the nation’s highest-scoring team (98.3 points per game).
• The win marked Georgia’s 34th straight nonconference victory at home under head coach Mike White and the program’s first win as a ranked team since the No. 24 Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 98-76 in Jan. 2011.
• Georgia’s 14-point halftime lead grew to 76-54 as Millender’s mid-range jumper began a 7-0 Bulldogs spurt.
• Freshman Kareem Stagg’s dunk was followed by Jake Wilkins’ block and Wilkinson’s back-to-back 3-pointers, extending Georgia’s lead to 30 with 7:10 left.
• Georgia hit the century-mark for the fifth time – which ties a program record for most 100-point games in a season – on Millender’s lob assist to Cyril at the 4:43 mark, sealing the Dogs’ dominant effort.
• The Bulldogs connected on three of their first four 3-pointers, including Ross’ second trey to give Georgia an early 15-8 lead.
• Wilkins’ runner off the glass was followed 30 seconds later with the high-flying freshman’s slam, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 33-17.
• After the Catamounts cut their deficit to nine, Cyril’s dunk and Wilkins’ triple helped Georgia take its largest first-half lead at 54-34.

 
Georgia Head Coach Mike White
Opening Statement
“It’s nice to get a ‘W,’ of course. Tim Craft and his staff do a great job. They played really well. I thought they played harder than we played. I thought they played more physical than we played. They were very prepared. He had a great run at Gardner-Webb and did the same thing there at Western Carolina. We scored. We made shots. Did a lot of good things offensively. We didn’t guard very well. We really wanted to take a step defensively in the right direction tonight, and I’m a little disappointed in our effort overall. Defensively, lack of communication, some miscues. It’s just not important enough to us right now. It’s got to be more important defensively, collectively, and we’ve got to be more committed collectively if we’re going to guard some high-level offenses in the SEC. We’ll get back to work tomorrow and hopefully defend at a higher level on Monday.”
 
On the talent of the offense…
“I think we’re hard to guard, and I don’t know if we did a great job executing tonight. Collectively, we pass it well. We can space you with lineups where four or five guys can make shots. It was nice to see [Kareem] Stagg hit one. I thought he did some good things, too. I thought Jake [Wilkins] played hard. Those freshmen were pretty good. Overall, our guard play, it’s pretty good. I think it’s a little bit underrated. We can get downhill. We’ve got pretty good speed. Our push and transition has been pretty good. When we’re making shots, we’re difficult to defend. Again, we’ve got to complement that with stepping up 
defensively.”
 
On Somto Cyril’s improvements…
“I think for Somto, it’s more about understanding how to avoid fouls and just staying out of foul trouble. Complemented by improved cardio wind, he’s able to play a little bit harder for a little bit longer. That’ll continue to improve as he develops throughout his career, but it’s probably a combination of those two things.”
 
On the rotation…
“We’re going to keep giving guys opportunities, and we’re going to continue to evaluate lineups and also evaluate lineups in different situations defensively and offensively against different teams. Until we get to the point where I feel like we need to shorten it to nine or ten guys or eight or nine guys, we’re going to continue to play the way we’re playing. I like the 11 we’re playing a lot. They all have bright futures. They’re all really good people. Again, I don’t know who not to play. If we get to a point where a guy’s really struggling consistently, sometimes organically, the rotation shortens itself. I hope that that doesn’t happen because I’d like to see all of these guys have success.”
 
#2 | Somto Cyril | Center | So.
On his career-high…
“I didn’t know my points. I didn’t care about it. I was just out there trying to win a basketball game.”
 
On this season’s offensive scheme…
“Coach White did a good job finding out what he wanted to do and the guys he wanted to bring in. He brought in guys that are really athletic and fast.”
 
UP NEXT
Georgia plays its second of three straight home nonconference games before SEC play when it hosts West Georgia on Monday, December 22 at 2:00 PM. The game can be streamed on SEC Network +. Tickets can be purchased here, and the game can be heard live on GeorgiaDogs.com.