Georgia 70, Vanderbilt 67: Kenny Gaines scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second half as the visiting Bulldogs held off a late rally by the Commodores to win their first SEC game of the season.

Marcus Thornton contributed 16 points and J.J. Frazier added 11 for Georgia (10-5, 1-2 SEC), which made 10-of-17 from 3-point range. Charles Mann chipped in with eight points and six assists while Nemanja Djurisic scored eight for the Bulldogs, who made 11 of their last 12 free throws.

Riley LaChance led the way with 21 points and Damian Jones had 10 points and seven rebounds for Vanderbilt (11-5, 1-2), which made 9-of-27 from behind the 3-point arc. Luke Kornet and Wade Baldwin IV each added eight points for the Commodores.

Georgia scored the first seven points and led by as many as 13 in the first half as Thornton scored nine before settling for a 31-22 edge at intermission. The Bulldogs made half of their shots in the opening 20 minutes while holding Vanderbilt to 32 percent from the field and 1-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc.

The Commodores pulled within 58-50 on a basket by Jones before Gaines answered with a 3-pointer and Georgia seemed in control. Vanderbilt ran off nine straight points, capped by a LaChance 3-pointer with 28.4 seconds left to trim the deficit to 63-61, but the Bulldogs made 7-of-8 free throws - 5-of-6 from Frazier - to seal it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bulldogs were without F Yante Maten (concussion), G Juwan Parker (Achilles tendon) and F Kenny Paul Geno (wrist) with injuries. … Vanderbilt had a 36-27 edge on the boards. … Georgia G Taylor Echols, who came in with four points on the season, scored six in the first half on a pair of 3-pointers.