Georgia seemed to have the No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers on the ropes Saturday, their hopes of sharing the SEC regular-season title with Auburn starting to fade as they trailed 42-34 at halftime. But Rick Barnes’ Vols overcame the deficit with stifling defense in the final 20 minutes and pulled out a 66-61 victory.
In a hard-fought second half, the Bulldogs were held to just 19 total points, allowing Tennessee to climb back into the game and then take over in the final minute. Admiral Schofield’s jumper with 17 seconds left gave the Vols a 64-61 lead. On the ensuing possession, Tennessee forced a turnover and made 2 free throws to ice the game.
Yante Maten led Georgia with 18 points and 9 rebounds while Rayshaun Hammonds contributed 12 points.
The Bulldogs will enter the SEC Tournament next week in St. Louis as the 12th seed and will play the winner of the Ole Miss-Vanderbilt game.
