Georgia hoops suffers fifth straight loss

Athens — A magic act known as Quick Change Illusionists wowed basketball fans during halftime of the Georgia-Kentucky game on Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs. the magicians were unable to accompany them to their locker room.

At that point, Georgia trailed 38-19 and was in need of a Houdini act to change its fortunes. And after losing their fifth game in row — 68-45 to match the longest losing streak of last season — magic may be the only way to turn things around the rest of the way.

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Joey Ivansco/jivansco@ajc.com

Georgia’s Trey Thompkins is fouled by Kentucky’s Perry Stevenson as he runs up for a layup. Thompkins had seven points for the Bulldogs.

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“We just did not compete with the kind of toughness that’s required,” Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. “We were just very, very soft. It was a very soft effort. That’s the storyline of this game.”

That and anemic offense.

For the second game in a row, Georgia made fewer than 34 percent of its shots — its 31.1 percent was the lowest this season — and failed to score more than 45 points. Four days after losing at Vanderbilt 50-40, the Bulldogs had as many turnovers (19) as field goals (19).

The loss drops Georgia to 9-9 overall and 0-3 in the SEC, all of the losses coming to SEC Eastern Division rivals. Barely into league play, the Bulldogs are having to fight lack of confidence as much as anything.

“That’s a concern,” Felton said. “That’s part of toughness, too.”

“This is going to show whether our team has heart or we’re going to lay down,” said freshman forward Trey Thompkins, who scored only seven points and none after the 8:52 mark of the first half. “But in my eyes, I see a team of guys that wants to win, guys that have confidence in each other, guys who are willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

Kentucky (14-4, 3-0) won its third straight and ninth in the last 10 games. Norcross’ Jodie Meeks — coming off a 54-point performance against Tennessee — led the Wildcats with 22 points. Patrick Patterson added 15, and Perry Stevenson had 13.

No Bulldog managed double figures. Terrance Woodbury was Georgia’s leading scorer with eight points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Kentucky’s 11 blocked shots was the most telling stat. Georgia continually got the ball inside to its forwards only to see the ball batted back out by the Wildcats.

Thompkins was the chief focus. His 3-for-9 shooting effort dropped him to 6-for-24 in the last two games.

“Personally, I was seeing a lot of double teams,” Thompkins said. “It was hard for me to do much on the offensive end. Their posts are great players, and they came with their A game tonight.”

Felton left Athens after the game to fly to Washington, D.C., to attend the presidential inauguration. Perhaps he can borrow some concepts from President-elect Barrack Obama’s economic stimulus package to bolster the Bulldogs’ offense.

Georgia is last in the SEC in scoring offense (66.0) and shooting percentage (.423). It was the lowest shooting percentage for an SEC team against Kentucky in two years. South Carolina shot 26.8 percent against the ‘Cats in January of 2007.

Next up is SEC West-leading Mississippi State and its shot-blocking wizard Jarvis Varnado.

“We have to stay together,” senior captain Corey Butler said. “It’s a long season. I have complete faith in the guys. We’re going to keep fighting because that’s what we do.”