National Basketball Association
Kentucky 69, Georgia 58
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Joe DeRosa, # Keith Kimble, # Kipp Kissinger
Attendance:
24256
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 1 Kentucky 69, Georgia 58: Andrew Harrison scored a season-high 23 points and the host Wildcats hung on through a sluggish second half to remain the nation’s lone unbeaten team.
Kentucky (22-0, 9-0 SEC) saw an 18-point lead dwindle to five in the second half as the Wildcats shot 38.1 percent from the field after intermission. Leading scorer Aaron Harrison finished with one point, but Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 points with a career-best 13 rebounds.
Nemanja Djurisic scored 17 points with seven rebounds and freshman Yante Maten added a career-high 13 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (14-7, 5-4), whose upset hopes were short-circuited by 16 turnovers. Georgia outrebounded the Wildcats 36-24, but its starting backcourt of Charles Mann, Kenny Gaines and J.J. Frazier combined to shoot 5-of-24 from the field.
Georgia – playing without leading scorer and rebounder Marcus Thornton – trailed by 18 early in the second half before drawing within 63-58 with 2:05 to play on back-to-back baskets from Maten and Djurisic. Towns scored from in close on the ensuing possession to push the lead to seven, Djurisic missed a 3-pointer on the other end and Tyler Ulis and Andrew Harrison each hit a pair of free throws.
Dominique Hawkins’ 3-pointer put the Wildcats ahead 11-1 four minutes into the contest, and after Georgia pulled within 24-19 on Djurisic’s basket with 6 1/2 minutes left before halftime, the Wildcats scored the next 10 points – five by Towns – in building a 42-27 lead at intermission. Kentucky led 47-29 early in the second half before Frazier’s 3-pointer sparked a 13-4 burst that brought the Bulldogs within 51-42 on Maten’s basket with 14 1/2 minutes left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Thornton, who averages 13.5 points and 7.3 rebounds, missed his second consecutive game with a concussion. … The Wildcats are one victory away from matching the second-best start in school history (23-0, 1965-66). … Aaron Harrison finished 0-of-4 from the field, hitting a free throw with 3:16 to play for his lone point.
Top Game Performances
Georgia |
|
Kentucky |
Nemanja Djurisic 17 |
Scoring |
Andrew Harrison 23 |
Charles Mann 6 |
Assists |
Andrew Harrison 7 |
Yante Maten 9 |
Rebounds |
Karl-Anthony Towns 13 |
Charles Mann 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Andrew Harrison 4 |
Kenny Gaines 1 |
Steals |
Tyler Ulis 2 |
Kenny Gaines 1 |
Blocks |
Karl-Anthony Towns 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Georgia
|
58 |
41.3 |
5-14 |
15-23 |
10 |
34 |
2 |
3 |
16 |
Kentucky
|
69 |
45.5 |
7-22 |
12-17 |
16 |
22 |
3 |
5 |
7 |