Dribble Dawgs Win In Knoxville

BASKETBALL

Georgia used 11 three-pointers to beat Tennessee 68-62 Wednesday night at Thompson-Bowling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Georgia (11-11, 5-4) win marks the first time since the 2003 that the Dawgs have won four straight SEC games.

“It was a really hard fought game,” said coach Mark Fox. “Our kids were so tired that they didn’t even celebrate and that shows you how hard fought of a game it was. When you can win here, it’s a good win because this is a hard place to play.”

Sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Georgia with 24 points, 15 of which came from behind the three-point arc. Freshman guard Kenny Gaines and senior guard Vincent Williams score 12 and 10 points, respectively.

After leading by as many as 10 in the first half, the Volunteers cut the Georgia lead to just four with three minutes remaining, but three-pointers from Caldwell-Pope, V. Williams and Nemi Djurisic gave Georgia a 35-26 halftime advantage over Tennessee (11-10, 3-6). The Dawgs shot 45 percent from the field in the half, including nearly 55 percent from distance.

In the second half, Tennessee tied the game 43-43 when Jordan McRae converted a three-point play with 13 minutes remaining, but Georgia responded with a 9-0 run. A short time later, the Volunteers went on a run over their own to pull to within one point, 54-53, with just five minutes left. However, Caldwell-Pope scored nine of Georgia’s final 14 points in the remaining minutes, including a deep three-pointer with 51 ticks left, to secure Georgia’s 11th win of the season.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games and lost some of them,” Fox said. “We lost a close game to UCLA and lost a couple of overtime games. Those experiences have helped us have a little more poise now.”

In the game, Georgia’s defense held Tennessee to shooting just 28 percent from three-point range.

The Dawgs return to Athens for a two-game home stand starting Saturday afternoon against Texas A&M. The game tips-off at 5:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.

Worth Noting...

• Georgia has won its last four conference games for the first time since 2003.

• Georgia’s 11 three-pointers are a season-high (10 – Missouri)

• Caldwell-Pope led Georgia in scoring for 20th time this season. The sophomore has scored in double figures in every game this season.

Career Highs…

Kenny Gaines scored a career-high 12 points. He has now scored a career high in the last two games.

The Series: Tennessee still leads the series 92-55, including 55-15 in Knoxville. Georgia’s win in Knoxville is only its sixth in its previous 21 meetings. With tonight’s win, head coach Mark Fox is now 4-3 against the Volunteers. These two teams will meet again when Tennessee visits Stegeman Coliseum on March 2nd.

Next Up: Georgia returns home to face Texas A&M on Saturday. It will be only the second meeting between the two schools with Georgia winning the first match-up on January 26th 59-52 in College Station.