Georgia and visiting Vanderbilt each will be looking for a bounce-back win when they meet in Southeastern Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs (13-5, 3-2) squandered an eight-point halftime lead in an 85-71 loss at Kentucky on Tuesday.
Vanderbilt (9-9, 2-3) trailed by 10 at halftime and by as many as 23 in the second half in a 78-66 setback at home to No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday.
After Georgia tied the game at 57 with 12:18 to go, Kentucky responded with a 10-3 run to take a 67-60 advantage that it wouldn’t relinquish following Oscar Tshiebwe’s layup with 7:56 remaining.
Kentucky outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-31.
Georgia, which had its two-game winning streak snapped, 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.
“We’ve got to find a way to be as good (in the second half),” Georgia first-year coach Mike White said. “It’s not about holding on. it’s not about watching the scoreboard. It’s about trying to be a little better.
Roberts averages a team-high 15.9 points, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Oquendo averages 13.5 points and Braelen Bridges chips in 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Against Alabama, Vanderbilt struggled without Liam Robbins, the team’s leading scorer (13.2 points per game) and rebounder (5.9), who will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a bone bruise and foot sprain.
The Commodores took a 22-21 lead with just over eight minutes left in the first half. But the Crimson Tide countered with a 12-0 run to take a 33-22 lead, and Vanderbilt never recovered.
Tyrin Lawrence, who averages 10.9 points per game, scored a team-high 20 points, while Jordan Wright, who averages 11.0 points, added 15. Ezra Manjon, who averages 8.6 points, finished with 11.
Vanderbilt was outrebounded 47-43.
“I thought we competed,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “We maybe gave up a few more offensive rebounds than we wanted to, and they were kind of costly for us. But we had an opportunity to win this game. This game was right there in the balance.”
–Field Level Media
