Oscar Tshiebwe scored a career-high 37 points and added 24 rebounds as Kentucky pulled away in the second half for an 85-71 victory over Georgia in Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday at Lexington, Ky.
Tshiebwe went 12 of 20 from the field and 13 of 18 from the free-throw line, as Kentucky defeated Georgia for 16th time in the past 17 meetings dating back to the 2013-2014 season.
Cason Wallace added 17 points and Antonio Reeves chipped in 11 points for the Wildcats, who knocked off Georgia for the 11th straight time on their home floor. The Bulldogs haven’t won in Lexington since March 4, 2009. Jacob Toppin finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats (12-6, 3-3 SEC), who trailed by eight at halftime, shot 29 of 66 (43.9 percent) from the field, including 4 of 15 (26.7 percent) from 3-point range. Kentucky, which has won four of its past six games overall, outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-31.
Georgia (13-5, 3-2), which saw a two-game winning streak end, was led by Terry Roberts, who had 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kario Oquendo added 18 points, while Jabri Abdur-Rahim scored seven of his nine points in the first half.
The Bulldogs shot 24 of 52 (46.2 percent) from the field, including 7 of 20 (35 percent) from beyond the arc.
Trailing 42-34 at halftime, the Wildcats opened the second half on a 12-3 run in which Tshiebwe accounted for nine points before CJ Fredrick’s 3-pointer gave Kentucky a 46-45 lead with 17:17 remaining.
After Georgia tied the game at 57 following Oquendo’s dunk with 12:18 to go, the Wildcats responded with a 10-3 run to take a 67-60 advantage they wouldn’t relinquish following Tshiebwe’s layup with 7:56 remaining.
The Bulldogs led by 11 late in the first half before Wallace’s 3-pointer cut the lead to 42-34 at halftime.
The Bulldogs donned a black stripe on the left shoulder of their jerseys to honor offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy, who both died in a single-car crash this past weekend.
–Field Level Media
