Marcus Millender swished a 3-pointer from the right wing with 10 seconds left, lifting Georgia to a 78-77 lead over Xavier in the semifinals of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.
Down by as many as 14 points early in the second half, Xavier rallied to take a 77-75 lead when All Wright nailed a three-pointer from the right corner with 1:38 go to.
Wright had a good look at a short fadeaway jumper on the baseline with a second to go, but his shot fell short. Tre Carroll grabbed the offensive rebound for the Musketeers and appeared to be bumped by a Bulldogs player as he tried an unsuccessful put-back. No foul was called, and Georgia held on to advance to the championship game of the Palmetto Bracket against Clemson on Sunday.
Xavier’s Sunday opponent in the consolation game will be West Virginia, which lost 70-67 to the Tigers earlier on Friday.
Cain finished with a team-high 16 points for Georgia. Millender contributed 12 points while Dylan James logged 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Jovan Milicevic and Carroll led the Musketeers with 19 points each, with Carroll pulling down 10 rebounds. Wright wound up with 17 points, and Filip Borovicanin amassed 12 points and 12 boards.
The Musketeers’ defense held its own against Georgia’s prolific offense, holding the Bulldogs to well below their 99.4 points per game average.
The Bulldogs managed just a 43-42 rebounding edge.
It was a helter-skelter first half, with both teams pushing the pace.
Xavier went on a 14-3 run to take a 16-10 lead.
Georgia quickly responded behind Cain, who scored 14 points before halftime. The Musketeers were within one point with 3:37 to play before the break, but the Bulldogs closed on a 13-2 run that included the final eight points.
Despite the Bulldogs’ leading scorer of the season, Jeremiah Wilkinson, being held to just one point in the first half, the Bulldogs were still able to take a 53-41 lead into the break.
Wilkinson ended up with eight points on the night.
