Georgia takes down Kentucky at home for much-needed win
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball got a much needed win on Saturday, taking down Kentucky 75-68 at Stegeman Coliseum. Entering the day, the Bulldogs had lost six of their last seven including three straight. It’s Georgia’s second straight win over Kentucky at Stegeman Coliseum.
Kario Oquendo finished as the team’s leading scorer with 21 points. Justin Hill and Braelen Bridges with 15 and 12 each. Terry Roberts returned to action after missing the last two games with nine points.
Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves and Oscar Tshiebwe each had 20, joined by Jacob Toppin (12) in double-figures. Other key stats in the win included nine rebounds from Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Georgia only dropping the rebound battle by one, outscoring Kentucky 32-26 in the paint and an advantage off the bench of 21-2 in favor of the Bulldogs.
How it happened…
Georgia gave itself a chance in the first half with strong play on the defensive end. Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves scored 15 and made 6-of-11, but at one point the rest of the team was a combined 3-for-18 from the field.
The Bulldogs also out-rebounded the Wildcats 21-19 in the first frame while Kario Oquendo led all scorers with 17 including one of two Georgia 3-pointers in the final minute to send it to the break up 42-32.
A Kentucky run led by none other than Oscar Tshiebwe got the Wildcats back into the game early in the second half. The big man passed his first-half point total just over five minutes in, and after a 3-pointer for Reeves, the game was tied. Kentucky took its first lead of the second half on back to back made shots from Jacob Toppin headed into the under-12 media timeout.
Braelen Bridges came alive offensively with buckets on back-to-back trips down the floor. Then, Justin Hill‘s 3-pointer gave Georgia the lead. That was part of a 11-2 run with eight points from Bridges, giving the Bulldogs a five-point lead with 5:22 to go.
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After Chris Livington and Tshiebwe got Kentucky back to within one, Bridges came up big again. He put them up three and then assisted on a big 3-pointer with 2:52 to go as Jabri Abdur-Rahim nailed one from the corner. That put Georgia up six and prompted a Kentucky timeout.
Georgia led by as many as 10 in the final minute and put the Wildcats away with the help of strong free throw shooting. The Bulldogs finished the game 25-of-29 from the line and won 75-68, outscoring Kentucky 25-16 in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Saturday’s win moves Georgia to 15-10 on the season and 5-7 in SEC play. Meanwhile, Kentucky is 16-9 with a 7-5 mark in the league.
Georgia finishes out a three-game home stretch at Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday against LSU. Tip time between the Bulldogs and Tigers is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
