Many believed that in the regular season, Georgia would have the best shot of upsetting top-ranked Kentucky. For about 35 minutes it looked like they might, but a 14-0 run late helped the Wildcats hold off the Bulldogs 72-64 Tuesday night. The win moves Kentucky to 30-0 on their pursuit of perfection.
It was the first true test for Kentucky in a while, as they won their previous 5 games by an average of 14 points. They trailed by a score of 56-47 with about 9 minutes remaining in the game. Kentucky has survived two overtime tests this season against Mississippi and Texas A&M. They have trailed by as many as 11 points twice this season, both times in the first half.
Georgia used a 17-4 first half run to get the Wildcats on the ropes early. Georgia's last blow was when they led by 6 with just over 5 minutes to play.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Wildcats with 19 points, despite being called for 4 fouls. Towns and Aaron Harrison combined for 12 of the 14 points in the decisive second-half run. Harrison finished with 16 points, while his brother Andrew added 12.
Nemanja Djurisic led the Bulldogs with 18 points, but only scored 4 in the second half. Georgia really hurt their chances when they missed three straight 1-and-1's late. Marcus Thornton had 14 points, while Kenny Gaines added 11.
This game was tied at 32 at the half, a big difference from the first meeting, which saw Kentucky cruise to an 11-point win.
Kentucky now sits at 17-0 in conference play, and have one last regular-season test Saturday afternoon, hosting Florida. Georgia fell to 19-10 overall, 10-7 in the SEC, and will visit Auburn on Saturday.
It was the first true test for Kentucky in a while, as they won their previous 5 games by an average of 14 points. They trailed by a score of 56-47 with about 9 minutes remaining in the game. Kentucky has survived two overtime tests this season against Mississippi and Texas A&M. They have trailed by as many as 11 points twice this season, both times in the first half.
Georgia used a 17-4 first half run to get the Wildcats on the ropes early. Georgia's last blow was when they led by 6 with just over 5 minutes to play.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Wildcats with 19 points, despite being called for 4 fouls. Towns and Aaron Harrison combined for 12 of the 14 points in the decisive second-half run. Harrison finished with 16 points, while his brother Andrew added 12.
Nemanja Djurisic led the Bulldogs with 18 points, but only scored 4 in the second half. Georgia really hurt their chances when they missed three straight 1-and-1's late. Marcus Thornton had 14 points, while Kenny Gaines added 11.
This game was tied at 32 at the half, a big difference from the first meeting, which saw Kentucky cruise to an 11-point win.
Kentucky now sits at 17-0 in conference play, and have one last regular-season test Saturday afternoon, hosting Florida. Georgia fell to 19-10 overall, 10-7 in the SEC, and will visit Auburn on Saturday.
