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Georgia Tops Auburn, 57-49
ATHENS, Ga.---Kentavious
Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, leading
Georgia to a 57-49 win over Auburn Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
The performance is Caldwell-Pope's third double-double of the season. Freshman guard Charles Mann also contributed ten points.
The win is Georgia's (9-11, 3-4) third conference win of the season, and second in a row.
"That
was an SEC dog fight," said head coach Mark Fox. "Both teams played
really hard and it was an extremely physical game. We were really
gritty defensively. I thought offensively we got a little careless and
turned the ball over too much. We just kept fighting, and Auburn kept
fighting too. It was a physical, physical game. We feel that's a good
win, and we feel fortunate to get it."
After both teams traded
the lead in the first half, the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run to end the
half, taking a 26-22 lead into the locker room.
With just under
four minutes remaining in the game and the score tied 43-43, the
Bulldogs scored five straight, capped off by senior forward Donte'
Williams converting an three-point play.
After Auburn (8-12,
2-5) fought back to trail UGA 48-46, Caldwell-Pope pulled down a
rebound on a missed three-pointer and found senior guard Sherrard
Brantley on a long outlet pass. Brantley missed the contested lay-up,
but Caldwell-Pope followed with a put back to put Georgia up 50-46.
After
Auburn was forced to foul with under two minutes to play, Georgia shot
five-of-six from the free throw stripe to secure the win.
Auburn never led during the second half, and the last tie came with just under five minutes remaining at 43-43.
"In
our last eight halves of basketball, we've played winning [basketball]
in seven of them," Fox continued. "We are becoming more consistent,
still making some mistakes, but there is a lot of room to grow here.
They just keep battling and trying to get better, and I am really proud
of our team. These kids have worked really hard and have been fully
committed to the process."
Georgia held Auburn to just 28 percent shooting from the field, including 20 percent from three-point range.
Auburn was led by Allen Payne and Frankie Sullivan who each had 13 points.
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