Jan. 9, 2002
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By STEVE BAILEY
AP Sports WriterLEXINGTON, Ky. – Georgia hadn’t beaten Kentucky in 16 meetings.
Jarvis Hayes and Ezra Williams were determined to make sure the eighth-ranked Wildcats weren’t going to win a 17th straight.
The two combined to shoot 19-of-32 from the field and made key baskets down the stretch as the Bulldogs beat Kentucky 88-84 Wednesday night.
Hayes scored a career-high 30 points and Williams added 20 as Georgia (13-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) snapped the losing streak and won in Lexington for only the third time in school history.
“We knew coming in it was going to be tough,” said Hayes, who was 12-of-18 from the field. “We knew with the crowd on their side, we’d have to come in and make a statement. I think we did.”
The two couldn’t hide their emotions after the buzzer.
A jubilant Williams went straight to the television broadcast team and slapped hands with both of the announcers, shaking his head and saying, “No respect, no respect.”
Jules Camara had a career-high 16 points, Tayshaun Prince and Rashaad Carruth each had 15 and Gerald Fitch added 13 for Kentucky (9-4), which lost its second straight and dropped to 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference for the first time since 1978-79.
“We’re not playing well defensively and we’re not making plays,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “We lack the toughness to make the clutch plays down the stretch.”
The game was up for grabs until the final moments.
Hayes hit an off-balance jumper in the lane to put the Bulldogs up 84-82 with 1:02 remaining.
Following a free throw by Georgia’s Rashad Wright with 33 seconds to play, Cliff Hawkins missed a running jumper in the lane instead of backing the ball out and setting up a 3-point attempt.
Up 85-82, the Bulldogs blocked shots by Hawkins and Keith Bogans in the paint and went 3-of-4 from the free throw line over the final 30 seconds to preserve the victory.
“There was no doubt in our minds in those last minutes,” Hayes said. “We knew we were going to win. We just had to finish it.”
Chris Daniels and Jonas Hayes each had 13 points for the Bulldogs, who have won eight of their last nine games.
“We haven’t won that many times up here,” Georgia coach Jim Harrick said. “You have to fight for respect at Georgia.”
Kentucky led by as many as eight points in the first half, taking a 17-9 lead on Chuck Hayes’ 3-pointer with 15:20 remaining.
The Wildcats’ lead fluctuated between two and five points for the next 10 minutes until Georgia pulled within 42-41 on Williams’ 3-pointer at the four-minute mark.
Up 47-44 with 2:21 to play, Carruth scored Kentucky’s last six points of the half to give the Wildcats the 53-48 lead. Carruth finished the half with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
The Bulldogs scored the first five points to tie the score at 53.
From that point, the teams traded baskets until Jarvis Hayes hit consecutive jumpers to give the Bulldogs their first lead, 66-63, with 11:30 to play.
Kentucky led 79-75 with 5:30 to play but Williams’ long 3-pointer and Jarvis Hayes’ runner in the lane put Georgia back on top 80-79 with 3:58 remaining to set up the dramatic finish.
“We didn’t execute at all in tough situations,” Smith said. “We’ve lost two overtime games and now this one. That’s not a good sign. We’ve got to find a way to win close games.”
Georgia shot 54 percent to Kentucky’s 50 percent and went 10-of-23 from beyond the 3-point line. The Wildcats shot 63 percent in the first half but were held to 38 percent over the final 20 minutes.
Although the Bulldogs got outrebounded 36-30 overall, Steve Thomas grabbed 11 rebounds and Daniels added 10.
“This does a lot for us, even if it was just our second SEC game,” Daniels said. “It puts us in good standing because they were picked to win the SEC East. This gives us a little respect.”
