UK Postgame Notes: Georgia Stuns Wildcats With Last-Second Layup
- KySportsStyle.com
- Jan 21, 2021
- 4 min read
Compiled by UK Athletics
KENTUCKY at GEORGIA
STEGEMAN COLISEUM
JAN. 20, 2021 ATTENDANCE: 1,638
Final Score: Georgia 63, Kentucky 62
Team Records and Series Notes
Kentucky falls to 4-9 overall, 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference, and has now lost three straight games.
It’s the second streak of three or more consecutive losses this season.
Georgia moves to 9-4 on the season, 2-4 in league play.
Kentucky still leads the series 129-27. UK leads 44-18 in games played in Athens.
The loss snapped a 14-game winning streak vs. Georgia, which was Kentucky’s second-longest active SEC winning streak entering Wednesday.
Next up for the Wildcats: Kentucky hosts LSU at Rupp Arena on Saturday. The game is set for a 6 p.m. tip on ESPN.
Player Notes
Brandon Boston Jr., coming off the bench for the first time in his college career, played arguably his best all-around game as a Wildcat with 18 points and seven rebounds.
He was 9 of 17 from the floor, the first time since the season opener that he made at least 50% of his shots.
Olivier Sarr grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds.
Keion Brooks Jr. tied his season high with 12 points, all of them coming in the second half because of first-half foul trouble.
He’s scored in double figures in three of four games since missing the first nine games of the season with a leg injury.
Isaiah Jackson scored 12 points on a perfect 4-of-4 night from the floor and blocked four shots.
The SEC leader in blocked shots has totaled four or more swats in five games this season.
Coach John Calipari
Calipari is now 334-86 at UK.
Calipari has a 779-226 all-time on-court record.
UK is 271-51 under Calipari against teams unranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Calipari is 19-3 in his career vs. Georgia.
Team Notes
Kentucky outshot Georgia, 42.1% to 38.8%, but lost for the third time this season (in six total opportunities) and second in a row when shooting better than the opposition.
UK entered this season 202-19 under Calipari when holding the opposition to 40% or less from the field but is just 3-3 this season when that happens.
Turnovers, as they often have been for the Wildcats this season, were largely the story in this one. UK committed 17 turnovers that led to 25 points for Georgia.
Kentucky has turned the ball over 17 or more times in six games this season, including three straight. UK has lost five of those six games.
UK blocked six shots and has six or more in eight outings this season.
The Wildcats have swatted six or more in six consecutive games.
Kentucky only made 1 of 13 from 3-point range.
UK has made four or less 3-pointers in six games this season. The Wildcats have lost all six.
UK was held to 62 points, the seventh time this season Kentucky has been held to 63 points or fewer. The Wildcats are 0-7 in those games.
In the First Half
The starting lineup consisted of Devin Askew, Davion Mintz, Dontaie Allen, Lance Ware and Olivier Sarr for the first time this season.
It’s the seventh different starting lineup UK has used in 2020-21.
Keion Brooks Jr. was the first sub of the game for UK, checking in at the 17:14 mark for Ware, but quickly went back out with two fouls and played just one minute in the first half.
Kentucky started 0 for 5 from the floor before Mintz raced ahead and threw down a one-handed slam at the 16:52 mark.
Georgia struck with the first run of the game, a 10-0 stretch, to take a 26-17 lead with 5:37 left in the first half. Brandon Boston Jr. ended the run with a jumper.
Kentucky responded with an 8-0 run of its own with six points from Boston.
Boston, in his first game out of the starting lineup, provided a lift off the bench with 12 first-half points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with three rebounds.
His 12 points tied his most in a half this season. He also netted 12 vs. Richmond and North Carolina in each of those opening halves.
UK only made 37.9% in the first half and was 0 for 9 from 3, but the Wildcats also held Georgia to 37.1% on the defensive end.
The Wildcats trailed 30-27 at halftime. UK is now 2-5 this season when down at intermission.
In the Second Half
Kentucky opened the second half with Askew, Allen, Boston, Isaiah Jackson and Sarr.
The Wildcats open strong with four quick points but Georgia came right back with six straight to take a 36-31 lead.
UK turned it over four times by the first media timeout of the second half (15:53).
After playing just a minute in the first half due to foul trouble and with his team down 41-35, Brooks scored five straight, including UK’s only 3-pointer after the Wildcats had missed their first nine long-range attempts.
Brooks scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
Down 49-46, Kentucky went on what then appeared to be the game-defining run, a 10-0 spurt, to take a 56-49 lead with 7:13 left.
UK held Georgia scoreless for nearly four minutes and without a field goal for more than five minutes.
Kentucky was clinging to a 62-56 lead with 2:02 left but Georgia would not go away. The Bulldogs would not allow UK to score another point.
After Kentucky missed the front end of a one-and-one with 23 seconds left, Georgia had several cracks at it to win the game in the closing seconds. The Bulldogs converted with the game-winning basketball when Sahvir Wheeler found P.J. Horne underneath the basket for the game-deciding layup with just a second left.
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