ATHENS – Georgia basketball’s shot at program history bounced off the front iron on Saturday as the Bulldogs fell inches short of taking No. 1 Auburn to overtime.

Freshman superstar Asa Newell had 0.3 seconds to tie the game on a midair tip-in from an inbound pass. Silas Demary Jr. connected with a jumping Newell from under the basket, Newell having to quickly volley the ball back towards the hoop.

The shot was just short of forcing overtime before a sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum and UGA fell to the top-ranked Tigers (17-1, 5-0 SEC) by a 70-68 count.

“I feel like every shot’s going down, just came up short,” Newell said. “Great look, I had a great opportunity.”

Auburn appeared to have the No. 23-ranked Bulldogs (14-4, 2-3) beaten with over a minute left, but Georgia battled back like it did many times on Saturday.

Demary sparked the surge with a 3-pointer, cutting Auburn’s lead to 69-65 with 18 seconds left. The Tigers hit a free throw to move to 70-65, giving Georgia the ball with 13 seconds left.

Demary sped down the court and scored a physical layup to cut the lead to 70-67, and the resuscitated home crowd began to roar with hope.

Demary then stole Auburn’s inbound pass and the ball eventually found Tyrin Lawrence, who earned a 1-and-1 at the foul line. Lawrence made his first free throw before intentionally missing the second, and the ball squirted out of bounds, setting up Georgia’s last chance.

A Georgia win would have been the first over an AP No. 1 team in program history. The Bulldogs moved to 0-19 against AP No. 1 teams.

The Auburn game ended a daunting start to Georgia’s SEC schedule, as the Bulldogs faced five straight ranked opponents for the first time in program history. Georgia suffered its third loss of the season at No. 6 Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday.

The Tigers were the first team to win in Stegeman Coliseum this season, snapping UGA’s 13-game home winning streak.

“It’s just discouraging because you only get a chance to compete against the No. 1 every so often, and we were right there,” Georgia coach Mike White said. “I feel for our guys because our guys played really, really hard.”

The SEC’s most accurate shooting team made enough clutch 3-pointers and late free throws to stay undefeated in conference play. Auburn shot 10 of 23 from beyond the arc and 12 of 20 from the foul line.

White emphasized the importance of responding well to Auburn’s explosive runs, knowing the country’s top team would find ways score in bunches.

The Bulldogs fought back from an early 26-9 deficit and several 10-point disadvantages in the second half, but never took the lead.

UGA also had to overcome a 39-38 rebounding disadvantage and an abysmal 9-of-20 day from the free throw line, two areas where White’s team has excelled in recent wins.

“It’s frustrating,” guard Blue Cain said. “The free throws, we’re supposed to make them.”

Georgia simply could not finish, missing several key shots in the paint to stay several possessions behind the Tigers. Auburn was also without national player of the year candidate Johni Broome, who injured his ankle last Saturday at South Carolina.

Freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford took over in Broome’s stead, leading Auburn with 24 points, shooting 7 of 13 from 3-point range. Pettiford added 2 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

Newell led the Bulldogs with 16 points, snagging 10 rebounds with an assist and a block.

Georgia’s largest ‘response’ of the day actually came after a terrible start to the first half. Auburn jumped out to a 26-9 lead, sinking 3-pointers and dominating the rebound battle.

Then the Bulldogs bit back, starting with two scoring combinations from Lawrence and Newell. Lawrence scored first on a nifty inside bounce pass from Newell to give Georgia its first double digit score – trailing 26-11 – at the 8:11 mark.

Newell revived Stegeman Coliseum on Georgia’s next possession. Lawrence drove inside again, attracting multiple Tiger defenders to the paint before finding a wide-open Newell in the corner with a wraparound pass.

Newell sank UGA’s second 3-pointer of the day, cutting the lead to 26-14.

Georgia cut the lead to 26-16 before Newell was replaced by fellow 6-11 freshman Somto Cyril, who immediately made his own impact. Cyril notched an assist before swatting two Auburn shots in a row to keep the scoring momentum with Georgia.

Dakota Leffew hit on a mid-range jumper before a coast-to-coast layup from Cain, and suddenly, UGA trailed just 26-22.

“We were dead in the water there mid-first half,” White said. “Our guys do what they continue to do, and just continue to play hard.”

Georgia will finally face an unranked SEC opponent next week when it visits Arkansas’ electric Bud Walton Arena at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will go right back to top 25 competition on Saturday at No. 5 Florida.