No. 6 Kentucky Falls at Georgia
Lamont Butler scored 20 points, but No. 6 Kentucky lost at Georgia 82-69 on Tuesday night inside Stegeman Coliseum.
Brandon Garrison had a season-high 13 points for the Cats, and Otega Oweh scored 12, meaning that Oweh has scored in double figures in every UK game this season.
The Cats made just 24 of 64 (37.5 percent) from the field in the game, including 6 of 25 (24.0 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs did a ton of damage at the line in Tuesday’s game. Georgia made 29 of 38 from the line, while Kentucky made just 15 of 19.
Kentucky (12-3, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) scored the first four points of the game, on a Lamont Butler layup, followed by a Butler dunk. After Georgia hit a three, Amari Williams scored on a putback to give the Cats a 6-3 lead. After two Georgia free throws, Andrew Carr scored on a fast break dunk to give UK an 8-5 advantage.
Georgia (13-2, 1-1) scored the next six points to lead 11-8 before Butler scored on a putback, getting the Cats within one, 11-10. After two more Georgia free throws, Brandon Garrison hit a three to tie the game at 13-13. The Bulldogs scored to take a two-point lead before Butler hit a three, giving UK a 16-15 advantage.
Carr drove to the bucket and scored, extending the UK lead to 18-15. Georgia scored the next four to take the lead back before Travis Perry drove to the basket and scored, making it 20-19 Cats. Koby Brea followed with a three that gave UK a four-point advantage. However, Georgia scored six in a row to take a 25-23 lead.
Butler tied the game at 25-25 on a driving dunk, but Georgia scored the next five points, taking a 30-25 advantage. A Butler layup got the Cats within three, but Georgia scored immediately to re-establish a five-point lead.
Ansley Almonor hit a three-point shot to get the Cats within two, but Georgia answered with a three of its own to lead 35-30. In fact, the Bulldogs would score four more straight points, completing a 7-0 run that gave UGA a 39-30 lead.
Otega Oweh stopped the run with a basket underneath, getting the Cats within seven, but Georgia answered with a three and a pair of free throws to establish a 44-32 lead. Garrison hit a pair of free throws to make it 44-34. However, the Bulldogs hit a three just before the end of the half, and Georgia took a 47-34 lead into the break.
Kentucky scored the first two points of the second half on a Butler steal and layup. Oweh followed with a fast break dunk, making it 47-38 Georgia. However, the Bulldogs scored the next four points and led 51-38.
UK then got a Garrison bucket, a Butler layup and two Carr free throws to cut the deficit to seven points, 51-44. The Bulldogs got a bucket to lead by nine before Garrison scored at the rim to make it 53-46. After a Bulldogs’ basket made it 55-46, the Cats got an Oweh dunk and a Garrison fast break layup to cut the deficit to five, 55-50, with 12:07 remaining.
After four UGA free throws, UK got a pair of charity tosses from Butler to get within seven, 59-52. Georgia added two more free throws before Oweh made two of his own, closing the gap to 61-54 with 9:27 to play. However, the Bulldogs got a three and two more free throws to lead 66-54.
A Jaxson Robinson three cut the deficit to single digits, 66-57, but the Bulldogs answered with a three of their own to make it 69-57. A Garrison dunk cut the Georgia lead to 69-59 but the Bulldogs continued to feast at the free throw line, converting three more to lead 72-59.
A Brea three cut the lead to 72-62 but Georgia scored three straight to lead 75-62. Oweh hit a pair of free throws, getting UK within 75-64. UGA extended the lead to 77-64 before Robinson hit two free throws to make it 77-66. From there, the Cats would get no closer.
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, visiting No. 14 Mississippi State in Starkville. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
