Georgia gets a huge road win at Kentucky
Rupp Arena may not have seemed like the ideal place for the Georgia Bulldogs to return to their winning ways. But thanks to one of their better offensive performances, the Bulldogs were able to put a couple of noteworthy losing streaks to rest.
Blue Cain scored 20 points, Jeremiah Wilkinson added 19 points off the bench and Georgia beat Kentucky 86-78 on Tuesday night for its first win at Rupp Arena since 2009.
Georgia (18-8, 6-7 SEC) had lost 12 straight at Kentucky since a 90-85 victory on March 4, 2009. The Bulldogs are now just 5-40 all-time at Rupp Arena.
The 86 points were the most for Georgia in a month, since it scored 90 points in a win at Arkansas back on Jan. 17. The Bulldogs are now 13-2 on the season when they score more than 85 points in a game.
Cain made two free throws with 4:05 remaining for a 78-69 lead following a Flagrant 1 foul. But the Bulldogs turned it over on the ensuing inbounds play and Otega Oweh raced the other way for a fast-break dunk while being fouled. His free throw cut Kentucky’s deficit to six.
Marcus Millender answered with a long 3-pointer for Georgia to make it 81-72 with 3:33 remaining. The Bulldogs did not score again until Somtochukwu Cyril grabbed an offensive rebound and banked in a shot in the paint with 44.3 seconds left for an 83-78 lead.
Then the defense took over for the Bulldogs, as they held the Wildcats without a field goal over the last 3:03, including five straight missed shots for Kentucky to close out the game.
Cyril and Millender each had 14 points for Georgia, which had lost five of its last six overall.
Oweh led Kentucky (17-9, 8-5) with 28 points. Collin Chandler added 18 points on a career-high six 3s and Aberdeen scored 14. The Wildcats entered allowing an average of 65 points per game.
Wilkinson made a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first half to give Georgia a 39-34 lead at halftime. Cain and Cyril combined for 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Up next
Georgia: Returns home to play Texas on Saturday. It is the first game in a four-game stretch in which the Bulldogs will play three times at home.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this article.
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