Georgia survives scare against Auburn, wins in OT

Added forward Travis Leslie: "We know we could have done better. We're a better team than they are."

Auburn entered the game with a 1-7 record in the SEC and an RPI ranking of 282 out of the 345 Division I teams. And yet, after 40 minutes of play, the Tigers were tied 67-67 on the road against a Georgia team that hopes to reach the NCAA tournament.

"I feel fortunate to win it," UGA coach Mark Fox said after his team outscored the Tigers 14-5 in overtime. "Auburn played with a little more edge than we did; credit them for that. ... It is a win, even though I'm very disappointed. I don't think I did a very good job preparing our team to play, to be honest with you."

Georgia led 38-34 at halftime, could not add much to the cushion in the second half and lost the lead in the final seconds of regulation. After an Earnest Ross basket with 13 seconds to play pulled Auburn within two points, Georgia's Trey Thompkins threw the in-bounds pass high to Leslie, enabling Ross to steal the ball and take it to the hoop for a game-tying, overtime-forcing layup.

Or as Leslie put it: "Trey kind of threw it over my head, and I had to reach out. And the dude was coming toward the ball, and he had the advantage over me. And he grabbed it and went to the hole."

And Georgia went to overtime against a team with a 282 RPI.

Auburn led 72-71 with 3:13 left in overtime, but Georgia finished the game with a 10-0 run. The key sequence came when Thompkins got a defensive rebound and converted a three-point play on the other end to give the Bulldogs a 77-72 lead with 1:16 to play.

Thompkins, who had 16 points and six rebounds in 36 minutes, was one of several Georgia players who have been ill with a virus, Fox said. Thompkins received an IV before the game, Fox added. Thompkins was not available for interviews. Also ill, according to teammates: Marcus Thornton and Gerald Robinson, both of whom played.

Price set a career high with his 14 rebounds and matched a career high with his 22 points, and he was called for no fouls. Leslie broke out of a recent slump with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Guard Earnest Ross kept Auburn in the game. Averaging 12.5 points, he exploded for 30, shooting 12-for-18 from the field (5-for-7 from 3-point range).

The victory, however underwhelming, lifted Georgia to 16-6 overall and back above .500 in the SEC at 5-4. Auburn dropped to 8-15 (1-8 SEC).

Georgia next plays a non-conference game against Xavier on Tuesday in Athens.

Etc.

The Bulldogs wore silver uniforms for the first time this season. They wore them once last season, and players had been lobbying Fox to do so again. He said he decided Saturday was an appropriate time in light of the Georgia football program's success on national signing day. "Our football team wears the silver britches, and I was so proud of coach [Mark] Richt this week that I thought it was a way to honor our football program," Fox said. ... The attendance was 10,177, which was 346 short of a fifth consecutive sellout. The unsold tickets were in the student sections.