Georgia got off to a hot start at Alabama Wednesday night, but the Crimson Tide proved too much over the course of 40 minutes in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Alabama beat the Bulldogs 89-74 at Coleman Coliseum, handing the Bulldogs their seventh straight SEC loss dating back to an 82-63 win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 9.
Georgia dropped to 10-12 overall and 1-8 in league play with the loss to the Crimson Tide (14-8, 5-4).
Derek Ogbeide led the Bulldogs with 17 points and five rebounds, scoring 11 in the first half, and Rayshaun Hammonds had 13 points.
Nicolas Claxton had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Alabama, led by Tevin Mack’s 25 points, opened the second half hitting its first five shots. A 6-0 run put the Tide up by double digits at 53-42 at the 16:45 mark.
The Bulldogs failed to draw closer than six points for the remainder of the game. UGA struggled shooting in the second half, hitting 34 percent (13 of 38) from the floor and 23.5 percent from three (4-of-17).
Georgia trailed 41-38 at the half despite jumping out to a 15-7 lead behind the inspired play of Ogbeide.
The senior center scored 8 of the Bulldogs’ first 15 points and dished out two assists, a one-man wrecking crew as UGA shot out to the early lead.
Alabama answered with a 10-0 run coming out of the media timeout, however, reclaiming the lead at 17-15 on Galin Smith’s dunk follow, triggering a Tom Crean timeout at the 12:39 mark.
The teams changed the lead five more times before the Tide took a 3-point lead into intermission, courtesy of 14 layups in the first 20 minutes.
Georgia returns to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum against Ole Miss. The game is a sellout.
The Rebels (15-7, 5-4) snapped a four-game losing streak earlier Wednesday, beating Texas A&M 75-71 in Oxford.
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