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By MURRAY EVANS
Associated Press Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Rashad Wright scored 20 points to lift Georgia past No. 5 Kentucky 65-57 on Saturday, ending the Wildcats’ 19-game Southeastern Conference regular-season winning streak.
Georgia (9-5, 1-2 SEC) beat a top-five opponent for the second time this month. The Bulldogs downed then-No. 3 Georgia Tech 83-80 in double overtime on Jan. 3.
In between that win and the win over Kentucky, Georgia lost its first two SEC games by more than 20 points each.
Damien Wilkins added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who trailed Kentucky only once, for 70 seconds midway through the second half. Kentucky (11-2, 2-1) came no closer than six points during the final six minutes, and Wright scored on a dunk with 0.2 seconds left to cap the upset.
Kentucky’s winning streak was the seventh-longest in league history. The Wildcats’ last regular-season SEC loss was to Vanderbilt on Feb. 27, 2002. The loss denied Kentucky coach Tubby Smith what would have been his 300th career win.
Erik Daniels scored 15 points to lead Kentucky, but the 6-foot-8 center had one rebound, six below his average. Chuck Hayes scored 13 points and Gerald Fitch added 10 points for Kentucky. Fitch entered the game averaging 18.1 points, but went just 2-of-9 from the field.
During a game that included 50 fouls — 25 on each team — Georgia made 27 of 35 free throws (77.1 percent), helping offset a 16-for-41 (39 percent) shooting effort. The Bulldogs outrebounded Kentucky 36-23.
Kentucky finished 19-of-52 from the field (36.5 percent) and went just 4-of-19 from 3-point range. Kentucky went 15-of-22 from the free-throw line.
Kentucky took its only lead at 34-33 with 12:43 left on Daniels’ free throw. Levi Stukes, who scored 11 points, hit two free throws with 11:33 left to give Georgia the lead for good, 35-34.
Georgia led 39-38 when Wright hit one of his four 3-pointers. Marcus Sikes followed with a tip-in to give the Bulldogs a 44-38 lead.
In the first half, Georgia led by as many as 11 points — Kentucky’s largest deficit of the season.
Kentucky closed the gap to 28-25 at halftime. During the first seven minutes of the second half, Kentucky missed eight shots that would have either tied the game or given the Wildcats the lead.
