Read more at our Wildcat blog, A Sea Of Blue, and our Bulldog blog, Dawg Sports.
No. 3 Kentucky Survives Visit From Georgia
Lexington, KY (Sports Network) - John Wall had 17 points, five assists and four rebounds as third-ranked Kentucky remained unbeaten with a 76-68 win over Georgia at Rupp Arena.
Patrick Patterson had 17 points and six boards and DeMarcus Cousins added 16 points and seven boards for the Wildcats (16-0, 1-0 SEC), who also got 12 points from Eric Bledsoe.
Travis Leslie had 20 points and six rebounds and Trey Thompkins added 17 points and 13 boards for the Bulldogs (8-6, 0-1), who had won four of five coming into the game.
Trailing by a point to start the second half, Kentucky got the first five points of the frame with Bledsoe’s three-point play giving the team a 39-35 lead early.
Kentucky continued to keep a four-point lead for the next several minutes, but Leslie tied the game on consecutive baskets and, after a Wall layup, Thompkins and Ricky McPhee hit back-to-back layups for a 59-57 lead with 8 1/2 minutes to play.
The Wildcats answered with the next six points as Patterson’s layup staked the team to a 63-59 lead with under seven minutes to play.
Thompkins countered with a three-ball, but DeAndre Liggins put up a layup and, after several misses on both ends, Cousins hit three of his next four free throws for a 68-62 advantage with 2 1/2 minutes to play.
After a pair of free throws at the end, Thompkins hit a jumper and Leslie followed with a steal and a layup to make it a 70-68 game with 1:13 to play, but Cousins followed with a layup and, after Dustin Ware missed a jumper, Wall sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
Kentucky ripped off nine straight points early in the first half, including consecutive layups from Patterson, to have a 13-6 lead a little over five minutes in.
Trailing by four points with just over six minutes to play in the first half, McPhee drained a three-pointer to kick-start a 9-0 run by the Bulldogs and a Chris Barnes layup gave the team a 31-26 lead with under four minutes to play.
Kentucky, though, got the last five points of the first half, all from Wall, to cut its deficit to 35-34 at the break.
Georgia host Ole Miss on Wednesday...Kentucky plays at Florida on Tuesday...Kentucky holds a 111-22 lead in the series with Georgia...Georgia hit 47.2 percent of its shots while Kentucky made 43.3 percent from the floor.
See More:
