Georgia basketball had another strong first half followed by a much weaker second half in its 73-66 loss to Vanderbilt Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (5-12, 0-4 SEC) held a 36-28 advantage over the Commodores (10-6, 2-2) at halftime before being outscored 45-30 in the following 20 minutes.

“I think the bottom line is we’re not coming out with the intensity and the urgency that we’ve got to have in that second half, especially on the defensive end, which means I may have to change the lineup,” UGA coach Tom Crean said. “Maybe at the beginning of the game but probably definitely at halftime because it’s becoming too much of a story.”

Georgia’s previous two games, also against SEC opponents, have followed a very similar script to Saturday night’s. The Bulldogs led No. 16-ranked Kentucky for some of the first half and trailed it by just 3 at halftime before losing 92-77 on Jan. 8. Georgia was ahead of Mississippi State at the half in an eventual 88-72 defeat Wednesday night.

Jaxon Etter’s career high 16 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds led the Bulldogs in the loss.

Jordan Wright led the Commodores offensively to the tune of 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Georgia took advantage of Vanderbilt’s 36.7% shooting percentage in the first half. A Kario Oquendo layup on the receiving end of a Jaxon Etter fast break dish put Georgia up 36-23 at the 1:15 mark.

The Commodores were a different team in the second half, though. They quickly surmounted Georgia’s eight-point halftime lead with a 13-0 run. A Braelen Bridges layup at the 15:59 mark made the first Bulldog points of the second period.

“We came out locked in as a team,” Bridges said about the first half. “I felt like we were locked in. As you can see, we went into the half with a pretty good lead. The second half, I felt like we took our foot off the gas a little bit and relaxed. It wasn’t as enthusiastic or energetic on the defensive end.”

Georgia continued to trail Vanderbilt from a distance until an 8-2 Bulldog run capped off by an Aaron Cook bucket with 48 seconds left cut Vanderbilt’s lead to 68-64. Commodore guard and SEC leading scorer Scotty Pippen Jr landed the plan from there. The son of former Chicago Bulls great Scotty Pippen Sr. sunk 5 of his last 6 free throws to seal the win.

The Bulldogs will be back on the road against No. 4-ranked Auburn Wednesday night at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.