The Kentucky Wildcats broke out to an early lead in the first half, building its lead to as many as 17 points and seemed to be on cruise control, taking a 43-30 lead over Georgia into the locker at halftime. But then the bottom fell out. The Bulldogs ripped off a 27-12 run to take the lead 57-55, then fought the Cats tooth and nail for the rest of regulation.
Junior Joe Crawford would score the first points of overtime but the Bulldogs dominated the rest of the overtime period, beating Kentucky 78-69. Crawford led the Wildcats with 29 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Kentucky (15-5, 4-2 SEC) experienced its second straight loss after running up one of the nation’s longest win streaks at 11 straight.
"The first 16 minutes, we didn't play as a team," said Terrance Woodbury., who scored 16 tonight for Georgia, "The rest of the game we finished strong and knew we'd be on the right end of the stick."
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith was upset with his team’s inability to stop the Bulldog’s big man Takais Brown, who led the team with 20 points and seven rebounds on 10-15 shooting.
"He manhandled us inside," Smith said. "We tried trapping him in the first half, and we got away from it as the game went on. At times when we did try and trap him, we didn't rotate properly. He played 39 minutes - that tells me he's in pretty good shape."
Georgia center Dave Bliss said emotion played a factor in Georgia's comeback victory.
The family of Kevin Brophy, Georgia's former point guard who was killed in a car accident on July 20, 2006, was in the stands. Bliss said his team’s aggressive play was related to their presence.
"It's been an emotional week, revisiting that and taking another step in the healing process," said Bliss, Brophy's close friend. "They came halfway around the world to see us, and that's a powerful statement. We didn't want to let them down."