One LSU player had to be carried off the court. Two Georgia players left the game bloodied and headed straight for the training room.
That only begins to tell you how hard fought Saturday’s game was between those two teams at Stegeman Coliseum. When the final buzzer sounded, it was the Bulldogs who were left standing. The 67-58 victory kept Georgia (7-10, 1-3 SEC) from becoming the last SEC team without a conference victory. That distinction now belongs to the Tigers (9-6, 0-4).
Hence, the ferocious nature of the evening’s competition.
“That was certainly a hard-fought game,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said afterward. “Really hard fought. Both teams played really hard. . . . I’m just really proud of our team for their composure tonight.”
Georgia sophomore forward Nemanja Djurisic had to leave the game with blood gushing out of his nose with 1:35 to play. One minute later, LSU’s Corban Collins had to be carted off after diving face-first into Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s knee trying to retrieve a loose ball. Collins, who lost consciousness briefly, was getting stitches after the game for cuts to his nose and lip.
Caldwell-Pope came up with a steal on the play – he had six in the game, including two in the final 1:28 – made four free throws in the waning seconds, then had to be treated for cuts on his leg after the game. He finished with 22 points and 5 assists.
“They’ll be all right,” said junior forward Donte Williams, who had 14 points and 5 rebounds for the Bulldogs. "It’s good to see that, guys laying it on the line.”
Said senior center John Florveus: “It was a hard-fought, gritty game. It was pretty ugly and some people got hurt or whatever. We just came out and played hard, and the guys that got injured got injured for their team.”
It was Williams who was the surprise star of the game. The 6-foot-9 junior forward made a three-point play at the 3:25 mark to break a 54-all tie. Then his steal on a defensive switch led to a Caldwell-Pope jump shot and a five-point advantage with 2:48 to go and the Tigers couldn’t overcome.
“I’ve been in a little struggle,” said Williams, who has been suspended twice for a total of three games. “It just feels good to be able to score and contribute and get the win. Hopefully we can build on this.”
They'll need to. Next the Bulldogs face No. 10 Florida on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The Gators (14-2, 4-0), who beat Georgia by 33 points on Jan. 9, beat 17th-ranked Missouri by 31 on Saturday.
Four teams entered Saturday winless in league play but Vanderbilt and Tennessee both recorded victories.
Djurisic had 7 points and 8 rebounds for Georgia and the Bulldogs totaled 16 assists, with Caldwell-Pope and Charles Mann recording five each.
LSU had jjust 6 assists to go with 21 turnovers. The Tigers were led by Johnny O’Bryant III with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Georgia came into halftime with a 33-29 lead and quickly built that into an eight-point advantage, 41-33, on Williams’ three-point play at the 16:49 mark. But as quickly as the Bulldogs staked themselves to the advantage, they gave it right back.
But Georgia struggled against LSU’s press the whole second half and had turnovers on four of its next five possessions. Then, after a Williams’ dunk, Caldwell-Pope missed three consecutive 3-point shots. LSU’s Anthony Hickey responded by making three 3s in a row, the third of which gave the Tigers a 47-45 lead at the 11:01 media timeout. That completed a 14-4 LSU run.
But the Bulldogs didn’t shrink away. Instead, that was the last lead the Tigers would have.
A Vincent Williams’ 3-pointer at the 10:46 put the Bulldogs back out front 48-47. They got it to 50-47 on a pair of Djurisic free throws, then Caldwell-Pope got busy.
On LSU’s ensuing possession, the 6-5 sophomore guard snatched yet another steal and drove the length of the floor for a one-handed, fast-break dunk. The Bulldogs would get the ball right back and Caldwell-Pope again went straight for the iron, this time executing a smooth baseline lay-in from the right side. The play gave Georgia a 54-48 lead with 7:33 to play.
LSU’s pressure kept the Bulldogs from scoring for a stretch of more than four minutes. But missed foul shots allowed the Tigers only a tie at 54-all. Georgia would outscore them 13-4 over the final 3:25.
“We felt like we needed it really badly,” Florveus said. “Nobody likes to lose and nobody wants to be 0-4 in the conference. We were very hungry and determined.”
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