Georgia basketball couldn’t get the right bounce — or the right call — in the final moments of a 94-92 overtime loss to LSU in Baton Rouge on Wednesday night.
Justin Kier scored a season-high 25 points, but his drive to the basket in the final seconds was off the mark as the Bulldogs fell in their first road game of the year to the Tigers in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Moments earlier, it appeared Kier had made what would have been a key steal with 26.7 seconds left and Georgia (7-2, 0-2 SEC) down 92-90 to LSU (7-2, 2-1).
Kier raced into the passing lane to intercept a Tigers’ inbounds pass, soaring high as he threw the ball off an LSU player before landing out of bounds. Replays showed it was a clean steal, but the official did not review the play.
“I don’t understand why they couldn’t go to the monitor on that, but they were adamant about it,” Coach Tom Crean said. “I did not understand why that could not be reviewable.”
Sahvir Wheeler tied his season-high with 21 points and dished out nine assists, and Toumani Camara recorded his fourth double-double fo the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
It was a winnable game for Georgia, which held a 68-58 lead with 9:07 left, but the Tigers charged back in just two minutes, reclaiming the lead 71-70 with 7:03
“We fought hard, we played hard, we did a lot fo good things,” Crean said. “But we made some mistakes that cost us.”
The teams were tied 80-80 at the end of regulation after 16 lead changes and seven ties.
The Bulldogs led 80-74 on a Wheeler 3-pointer with 1:54 left, but LSU’s Javonte Smart answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game.
LSU’s Darius Days drove with four seconds left and the score tied, but Georgia post P.J. Horne came up with a defensive stop.
Kier secured the loose ball rebound and fired up a 70-footer at the buzzer that hit the rim, sending the game into the extra period.
The Tigers and Bulldogs were tied at halftime 42-42 after eight lead changes in the first 20 minutes.
Georgia got off to a hot-shooting start, making 7-of-15 shots from 3-point range through the first 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs cooled off in the second half and overtime, however, finishing 12-of-35 from beyond the 3-point line.
Georgia returns to action at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Arkansas.
