Georgia's comeback attempt falls short in 70-68 loss to No. 1 Auburn
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia was unable to win it’s third straight home game against a ranked opponent on Saturday as it fell to No. 1 Auburn by a score of 70-68. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 17 in the first half and by nine with just 41 seconds left and missed a close-up look at the buzzer that would have tied the game.
Asa Newell missed the buzzer beater but led Georgia in scoring with 16. He also had 10 rebounds for the double-double and was responsible for none of the Bulldogs’ 12 turnovers. Blue Cain pitched in with 12 points and eight rebounds while turning it over four times. Tyrin Lawrence was also in double digits, scoring 12 points on four of nine from the floor.
The Bulldogs can thank horrible days at the free-throw line and on the defensive glass for the loss. They hit just eight of 18 shots from the charity stripe while the Tigers pulled down 15 offensive rebounds. Georgia also turned it over seven times in the second half. Tiger guard Tahaad Pettiford also played a big role, scoring a game-high 24 points on five of seven from beyond the arc.
It was a tight, back-and-forth game in the early going with both teams struggling to knock downs shots. Auburn went on the first run of the day as Georgia went over five minutes without making putting up points. The Tigers jumped out to a 17-point lead with just over eight minutes in the first half but Mike White’s team fought back.
Georgia went on a 13-0 run with five different Bulldogs scoring buckets and cutting the Tiger lead to just four. It grew back to six before UGA put together another run. Senior forward Justin Abson scored five straight points to cut the Tiger lead to just one point. They were able to grow it back to six by half time, but the Bulldogs entered the second period well within striking distance.
Auburn quickly grew the lead to start the second half but it couldn’t run away from the Bulldogs. On the other side of that coin, Georgia wouldn’t go away but it also couldn’t get over the hump. The Bulldogs trailed by 10 at three different points in the second half but it also trailed by one score five times and couldn’t draw even.
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It looked like the Tigers would coast to victory entering the game’s final minute but Georgia was able to turn things chaotic. The Bulldogs got a layup from Dakota Leffew followed by a pair of missed free throws. Silas Demary got his only three ball of the game to fall on the Bulldogs next possession, cutting the Tiger lead to four.
Auburn made one of two free throw attempts to put the lead back to five but Georgia came right back with a Demary layup to cut it to three. A well-executed trap on the Auburn in-bounds play resulted in a Leffew steal and a corner three-point attempt that missed with 0.6 seconds left.
Lawrence came down with the rebound and was fouled. He went to the line and made the first but missed the second on purpose. The ball was out of bounds on Auburn with 0.3 seconds left but Newell’s inbounds tip attempt came up short.
Next up for Georgia is a trip to Arkansas. The Bulldogs will play the Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday, January 22. Tip is schedule for 9 p.m. ET on The SEC Network.
