ATHENS – Georgia basketball coach Mike White notched yet another big win in his first season in Athens, following up a home win over a ranked Auburn team with a victory over traditional powerhouse Kentucky.
The Bulldogs (15-10, 5-7 SEC) beat the Wildcats 75-68 in front of a sold-out, electric home crowd on Saturday.
UGA caught fire in the game’s final stretch, outscoring the Wildcats 27-16 after trailing with 10 minutes left.
Guards Kario Oquendo and Justin Hill stepped up season-leading scorer Terry Roberts still limited by the concussion that forced him to miss the past two games.
Oquendo was explosive from the jump, scoring 21 points with a rebound and an assist. Hill added 15 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Braelen Bridges was commanding in the paint, scoring 12 points and snagging 5 rebounds with 3 assists. The Bulldogs outscored Kentucky by 22 points when the 6-foot-11 Union Grove High School product was on the floor.
Bridges was 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, sinking several impressive jump hook shots over Kentucky front line.
“I thought the biggest factor in the game (was that) I thought Braelen Bridges played as hard as he’s played all year,” White said. “He’s had bigger scoring and rebounding numbers in other games, but when you look down and see that he was plus-22 today, it tells you that he made a lot of winning plays.”
Georgia improved to 12-2 at home with the victory. It was the second straight home win over Kentucky for the 7.5-point underdog Bulldogs.
White’s team showed significant growth from its 14-point loss to the Wildcats in Lexington just more three weeks ago, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process.
Georgia took advantage of a 42-32 halftime lead this time, something it failed to do with its 42-34 halftime lead in Lexington.
UGA also limited the same Oscar Tshiebwe that torched it for 37 points and 24 rebounds in Lexington to 20 points with 14 rebounds in Athens on Saturday.
“It’s been a tough stretch for us,” White said. “We had a couple that we didn’t quite take advantage of down the stretch, of course, and that’s the SEC.
“To bounce back like this at home against a very good team is great for our guys.”
The Wildcats now sit just outside the proverbial NCAA Tournament “bubble” with the fifth-best record in the conference (16-9, 7-5 SEC) entering Saturday night’s games with Missouri, Auburn, and Florida nipping at their heels.
The arrow is pointing up for Georgia, meanwhile, as Roberts had an encouraging return, with 9 points with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.
“My message to him was just, ‘Don’t press,’” White said. “He’s super competitive. He’s been out. We lost the last one, right, and I was a little bit fearful that he was going to try to hit some grand slams early because that’s his personality and there’s a lot of positive in that.
“I thought he let it come to him offensively.”
It was a fitting day for an upset as the 1983 Georgia basketball team was welcomed back to commemorate the program’s first Final Four trip 40 years ago. The Bulldogs of yore, led by stars like James Banks and Vern Fleming, knocked off Michael Jordan’s North Carolina and No. 1 seed Saint John’s to get there.
Georgia is back at home facing LSU (12-12, 1-10 SEC) at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday before looking for another upset at No. 3-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa on February 18.
