Georgia Bulldogs Can’t Hold on Against Wildcats
By Keith Holt
Our Georgia Bulldogs put out a valiant effort, but just couldn’t hold on against the visiting Kentucky Wildcats.
On Senior Night at Stegeman Coliseum there was a big game atmosphere as the #1 team in the country was in Athens to take on the Bulldogs.
Georgia Bulldogs
In a game that brought out former NBA player and analyst Charles Barkley, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and actress Ashley Judd on a Tuesday night, the Kentucky Wildcats stretch their undefeated record to 30-0.
Our Georgia Bulldogs fell at home to Kentucky by the score of 72-64, and with this loss Georgia falls to 10-7 in SEC conference play and 19-10 for the season.
If Mark Fox and the Georgia Bulldogs could have pulled off the upset they would have been the first UGA team to beat a number 1 ranked opponent, but alas that history my colleague spoke of in his preview wasn’t to be.
The first half went back and forth between the Bulldogs and the Wildcats and finished with game tied 32-32. Both teams had runs but were effectively answered by their opponent as there were 13 lead changes in the period.
Neither team led the game by more than 5 points in the opening session, and Georgia was able to get the bulk of their points inside led by senior forward Nemanja Djurisic and his 14 points before intermission.
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The Dawgs were able to hold Kentucky to 11-33 shooting from the field in the opening session and held a 24-19 advantage on the glass against the longer and taller Wildcats.
What held Georgia back was 5 turnovers in the 1st half, and the fact that Kentucky played flawlessly, committing zero turnovers. Georgia also managed to hit only 1 of 8 from 3 point range to start the game.
Couple that with the fact that the Bulldogs also struggled to get scoring from guards position JJ Frazier, Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann (who combined for a total of 4 points in the 1st half), and the Bulldogs were fortunate to end the first half tied.
The 2nd half started off with the Bulldogs surging and leading the game for a good portion of the session. Part of the reason the Dawgs were able to get out big in the period was Kenny Gaines coming alive in the 2nd half scoring 9 of his 11 points.
Georgia had Kentucky down by as many as 9 points with just 9:10 left in the game, and in a contest that saw 10 ties and 17 lead changes, the Wildcats were able to claw back into the ball game.
Down the stretch in the final 4 minutes Kentucky had a 12-0 run that sealed the game for them, and in the final analysis. the length and tight defense of Kentucky was just too much for the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Georgia Bulldogs had 3 players to score in double figures and were led by Nemanja Djurisic’s 18 points and 6 rebounds. Senior forward Marcus Thornton also had a strong game with 14 points and 7 rebounds for UGA.
The Bulldogs left 9 missed free throws on the table and also committed a 11 turnovers compared to Kentucky’s 2.
The Wildcats were led by forward Karl Anthony-Towns 19 points and 7 rebounds. Kentucky also received 16 and 12 points from Aaron and Andrew Harrison respectively.
Next up for Georgia is their final regular season game as they take on the Auburn Tigers on the road on March 7th.