Kentucky Falls to Georgia on Tuesday
Otega Oweh tied his career high with 28 points, but Kentucky lost to Georgia 86-78 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) got 18 points from Collin Chandler and 14 from Denzel Aberdeen.
The Bulldogs scored 22 points off of 13 UK turnovers, while the Cats scored just nine points off of nine UGA miscues.
Georgia started the scoring with two free throws before Malachi Moreno dunked to tie the game. An Oweh three and a Aberdeen floater gave UK a 7-2 lead early. The Bulldogs would score to get within three, but Chandler hit a three-pointer to give Kentucky a 10-4 lead. Georgia answered with a three of its own to get back within three.
Brandon Garrison made two free throws to extend the lead to 12-7, but UGA hit a three to get within two. Oweh scored underneath to give the Cats a 14-10 lead, but the Bulldogs scored on a putback to cut the UK lead in half.
Oweh scored again extend the lead to four and a Jasper Johnson bucket made it 18-12. Georgia scored the next five before Andrija Jelavic scored on a dunk and Chandler hit a three to give the Cats a 23-17 lead. Two Moreno free throws stretched the lead to eight before the Bulldogs scored to cut the UK lead to 25-19.
An Oweh basket extended the UK lead to eight, but Georgia scored the next three to cut the deficit to 27-22. Oweh scored at the rim to extend the lead to seven, but the Bulldogs scored seven in a row to tie the game at 29-29.
Aberdeen scored in the lane to stop the run, but Georgia scored the next five to complete a 12-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 34-31 lead. Jelavic scored at the rim to get UK within one, but UGA answered with a bucket of their own. Oweh made one free throw, but the Bulldogs hit a three just before the halftime buzzer and Georgia took a 39-34 lead into the break.
Georgia hit a three to start the second-half scoring, but Oweh answered with a three of his own to cut the deficit back to five. A Chandler three got the Cats within two, but the Bulldogs hit a three on their end and extended their lead to 45-40.
Oweh hit another three to get UK within two, but the Bulldogs scored to lead 47-43. Oweh then converted a three-point play to get the Cats within one but Georgia hit a three to lead 50-46. Oweh scored another bucket to cut the deficit to two but the Bulldogs hit two free throws to again lead by four.
Johnson hit a three to get UK within one, but Georgia responded with a three to lead 55-51. After the Bulldogs went one-of-two at the line, Mo Dioubate made one-of-two to cut the deficit to 56-52. A Chandler three got the Cats within one but the Bulldogs scored the next 10 points, taking a 66-55 lead in the process.
Oweh scored on the baseline to end the run, but Georgia responded with a three to lead by 12. A Chandler three cut the deficit to 69-60 and an Aberdeen free throw got UK within eight. After a Georgia basket, Aberdeen hit a three and Moreno scored in the lane to get the Cats within five, 71-66. Georgia scored but Chandler his sixth three of the night to cut the deficit to 73-69.
Georgia scored the next five to lead by nine, but Oweh scored on a three-point play to get the Cats within six, 78-72. The Bulldogs hit a three to lead by nine, but Aberdeen scored six in a row to get UK within three, 81-78. Georgia responded by scoring the next five to seal the win.
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, visiting Auburn for an 8:30 p.m. tip. The game can be seen on ESPN.
