After Brining it within 3, UGA is Toppled by No.14 Auburn

The Georgia Bulldogs suffer another loss at home, this time to the No.14 Auburn Tigers in a game where Auburn never trailed.

Athens, GA – The Georgia Bulldogs fell on the losing side of a 97-97 duel with the Auburn Tigers last Saturday (February 24th). The Bulldogs drop to 15-12 and 5-9 in the SEC, while the Tigers advance to 21-6 and 10-4 in the conference.

Auburn won the opening tipoff and scored immediately with a layup by junior guard Chad Baker-Mazara. Georgia answered back with a fading jumper from freshman guard Silas Demary Jr. After alternating scores, Auburn went on an 11-1 run over three minutes to go up 18-8. Georgia put up 5 unanswered points, but Auburn responded with a 9-2 run to take their biggest lead of the half, thus far up 27-15 with 9:07 left. During this run, Georgia freshman guard Blue Cain exited the game after coming down hard on an attempted block on a fast break against Baker-Mazara. He returned to the court and then played with 3:31 left after getting stitches in the locker room. The Tigers and the Bulldogs traded baskets, with Georgia cutting the Auburn lead to 8 until Auburn went on a 6-0 run in less than a minute, ending with 1:46 remaining on the clock to take their biggest lead of the half, 14 points; the score was 43-49. With less than two minutes remaining, each team added to the scoreboard, entering the locker room with Auburn up 45-34.

Auburn had successful first-half shooting, going 60.7% from field goal range, 42.9% from three-point range, and 71.4% from the line. Baker-Mazara was a huge part of this scoring effort with 18 points, going 6-7 on field goals and 4-4 on free throws. The Dawgs went 40.7% from field goal range, 12.5% from behind the arc, and 84.6% on free throws. Demary Jr. had 13 and went for 4-7 on field goals.

Georgia collected the second-half tip, but Auburn struck first with a three-point play from junior guard Chaney Johnson. UGA once again cut the Tiger lead to 8 down, 42-50, with an 8-2 run ending with 17:12 left on the clock. Auburn did not let this last long, as the Tigers put up a layup and sank a three-pointer to make it a 13-point game with 15:53 remaining. Fifty seconds later, the Dawgs started on a 12-2 run over four minutes to make it a 3-point game, Georgia down 57-60. Auburn answered in a fury, knocking down four 3-pointers and a layup to outscore Georgia 14-2 and take a 15-point lead (78-63) with 6:12 left on the clock. Auburn used this momentum and continued their offensive and defensive success, taking their biggest lead of the game, 23 points, after senior center Dylan Cardwell hit a three-point jumper with 1:17 remaining. By the end of the half, the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 52-42 to come out on top in the 97-67 decision.

The Tigers picked up where they left off in the second half, ending the game shooting 43.6% from the field, 53.8% from field goal range, and 68.8% from the line. Baker-Mazara led the Tigers with 25 points, making 8 of 12 field goal attempts. Broome and Chaney Johnson followed behind with 16, and Holloway with 15; 13 of Broome’s points came in the second half. Baker-Mazara also had 4 of Auburn’s 16 assists, and Broome collected 13 of Auburn’s 33 total rebounds.

UGA shot 43.6% from field goal range but only 21.4% from behind the arc and 80.6% from the line. Noah Thomasson led the Dawgs in points, putting up 18 total; he is followed by both graduate student center Russel Tchewa and Demary Jr., who had 16 points. Techwa also led Georgia defensively, grabbing 7 of Georgia’s 24 rebounds. Georgia only recorded 5 total assists, two of which came from Demary Jr.

Saturday was a major opportunity for the Bulldogs; getting a raked win at home would have gone yards for the rest of their momentum this season. With the loss, Georgia has yet to win a game at home since they beat LSU on January 24th. Georgia faces LSU again this Tuesday, this time in Baton Rouge at 7 PM EST.

Other Georgia News:

• Bulldogs Add Sixth Game to Losing Streak After Being Up over Florida
• UGA Suffers Fourth Consecutive Loss after Falling to Mississippi State
• In a Game of Physicality, Georgia Loses their Third Straight to South Carolina

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