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From GeorgiaDogs.com: ATHENS, Ga. --- Behind a season-high 30 points from Levi Stukes, No. 4-seed Georgia (19-13) moves on to the round of 16 in the MasterCard National Invitation Tournament with an 88-78 win over No. 5-seed Fresno State (22-10). Stukes finished the contest 11-of-14 from the floor, including 8-of-9 from outside the perimeter.

Stukes eight three-pointers marked a new career-high for the senior along with a new season-high for Georgia. He was just one shy of tying G.G. Smith’s top single-game performance in threes made with nine.

“I liked the way we started tonight, and that was important to us knocking off Fresno State,” said head coach Dennis Felton. “Things always come easier when you make big shots, and that’s exactly what we were doing in the beginning.”

Stukes opened the contest perfect from the floor sending Georgia on an early 8-0 run that included consecutive buckets from three-point range. Fresno State soon got hot from beyond the arc also as it hit six treys in a row to take the 18-17 edge at 12:52. Minutes later the red and blue Bulldogs took their largest lead when Dominic McGuire buried their seventh three putting Fresno State up by five.

Georgia gradually chipped away at the margin and found itself back on top following a 9-2 run in just over three minutes of play. The red and black Bulldogs took their largest lead of the half with 2:39 remaining as Sundiata Gaines connected on the feed from Steve Newman to put Georgia up by nine at 38-29. Each squad would score one more time before halftime to set the score at 40-32.

Both teams were quick to shoot right from the start of the second stanza. In the opening six minutes the two combined to go 13-for-20 from the floor good for 34 total points. At 11:32 Fresno State nailed yet another three to cut the Georgia lead down to eight which was the closest it would come for the duration of the contest.

Key reserve Corey Butler knocked down a three-pointer of his own to give the red and black Bulldogs a 20-point lead, their largest of the game, at 5:09. In addition Butler’s trey marked the 13th of the night for Georgia setting a new team season high.

Records continued to be broken in the three-point annals as Fresno State’s 18 makes and 40 attempts set new highs in both categories for a Georgia opponent.

Georgia will play the winner of the match up between No. 1-seed Air Force (23-8) and No. 8-seed Austin Peay (21-11) on Monday, March 19. The higher seed will serve as the game’s host, and the time is yet to be determined.