Georgia basketball puts scare in No. 1 Auburn. Where Bulldogs stand after early SEC gauntlet

Auburn freshman Tahaad Pettiford hit a 3-pointer with 1:19 to go in the first half and turned to the Georgia basketball student section and put his finger in front of his mouth to shoosh them.

The Bulldogs and their fans didn’t go quietly when it looked like No. 1 Auburn had buried the Bulldogs Saturday.

Georgia made a furious rally down nine with 41 seconds to go to have a chance to force overtime Saturday.

It nearly did.

Silas Demary’s inbounds pass from behind the basket on the right with 0.3 seconds to go gave freshman forward Asa Newell a chance to tie the game in the lane, but his quick tip hit the front of the rim.

The Tigers survived the No. 23 Bulldogs for a 70-68 win in sold-out Stegeman Coliseum.

“Just discouraging, you only get a chance to compete against No. 1 every so often,” coach Mike White said. “I feel for our guys because the guys played really, really hard. But so did Auburn. …The way we executed down the stretch, I wouldn’t take any of that back. I thought our guys were phenomenal. We gave ourselves a chance.”

Newell said he had a “great look,” to tie it.

“Just came up short,” said Newell, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. “Had a great opportunity. A lot of great fight at the end.”

Georgia (14-4, 2-3 SEC) lost back-to-back games for first time since losing three in a row in late February and early March last season. That came in a stretch that saw the Bulldogs lose nine of 10 games on the way to a 6-12 SEC record.

This Georgia team seems unlikely to hit such a rut. It is under .500 in the SEC, but so are at least five other SEC teams.

The Bulldogs’ losses came to to the No. 1 Tigers, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 21 Ole Miss.

“It’s a group that stays together and continues to fight,” White said. “A lot of things didn’t go our way. A lot of things we didn’t do well….


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/georgia-basketball-puts-scare-no-221252128.html

Author : Athens Banner-Herald

Publish date : 2025-01-18 22:12:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Check Also

5-star Ohio State WR Chris Henry Jr. schedules visit to Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks are continuing to try and chip away at one of the best …