LDN - Sports

No. 8 Kentucky needs OT to rebuff upset-minded Georgia

[February 01, 2017] LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Without Malik Monk, No. 8 Kentucky might very well have lost its third straight game.

The freshman guard scored 37 points and sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe added 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Wildcats to a thrilling 90-81 overtime victory over Georgia on Tuesday night.

"I'm as proud of this team as any since I've been here, Kentucky coach John Calipari said. We had no business winning this game."

Kentucky (18-4, 8-1 SEC) outscored Georgia (13-9, 4-5) 14-5 in overtime, holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the final 3:08. Monk had eight points for the Wildcats in overtime.

It was also Monk, who scored 31 points after halftime, who hit a jump shot with eight seconds left to force the overtime.

"Monk, you have to give him credit," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "He made some guarded shots and he obviously was the big difference in the game."

Kentucky, which snapped a two-game losing streak, was without star freshman point guard De'Aaron Fox because of illness.

After falling behind 12-0 to open the game, Kentucky rallied to tied it 29-29 at halftime before finally claiming its first lead at 31-29 on Briscoe's layup.

Then Monk took over, hitting five 3-pointers in a row to push the Wildcats ahead 50-44 with 13:30 left, scoring 15 points in 4:08.

But Georgia refused to go away and took a 73-71 lead with 1:52 remaining -- its first advantage of the second half.

After Monk and Briscoe, Kentucky got 12 points from freshman forward Bam Adebayo. Kentucky shot 42.2 percent from the field but made nine 3-pointers.

"The thing I told them after, the teams that I really enjoyed coaching will shoot 35 percent and still win a game," Calipari said. "It's because they'll grind it, because they're tough mentally. They'll come up with balls. They're not going to turn it over late. They're going to make all the plays they have to make late to win.

"This team, for the first time this year, did it. We did it."

Georgia was led by senior guard J.J. Frazier's 23 points. Sophomore forward Derek Ogbeide had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Junior forward Yante Maten scored 22 points and Derek Ogbeide added 18.

The Bulldogs shot 49.2 percent from the field.

"I was real proud of our team and how they competed," Fox said. "Some nights you can play your tail off and when the other kid makes the plays they made, you gotta say, 'Give their kid credit' and move on. But our guys gave us a chance to win."

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Kentucky Wildcats guard Malik Monk (5) makes a layup against the Georgia Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Georgia 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

The ending could never be expected given how the game started.

Behind seven points from Maten, Georgia jumped to a 12-0 lead on Kentucky, which was also without reserves Mychal Mulder and Sacha Killeya-Jones because of illness. Adebayo played only five minutes before sitting the rest of the half with foul trouble.

The Bulldogs made their first six shots from the field. Kentucky missed their first five shots and had three turnovers less than five minutes into the game.

Georgia's largest lead was 19-5 with 14:07 left in the first half before Kentucky mounted a comeback with a rarely used 2-3 zone defense and a front court not seen this year -- senior Derek Willis, and freshmen Wenyen Gabriel and Tai Wynyard.

Trailing 26-16 with 5:50 left in the half, Kentucky outscored Georgia 13-3 before the break.

Gabriel had five points and Monk four free throws to lead the rally. Georgia made 2 of 8 shots from the floor during that stretch with four turnovers.

Kentucky, which opened 1 of 10, finished the half 9 of 31 for 29 percent. Georgia was 12 of 25.

"I've got to give credit to (assistant coach) Tony Barbee," Calipari said. "I'm not a zone coach. I don't like zone, and for two days we've been playing zone.

"But we had to do it because we were playing big lineups with Wenyen or Derek at the three. So we just played zone for two days. So when Tony coached it and I just cringed."

NOTES: Kentucky's Malik Monk (21.7) and Georgia's Yante Maten (19.7) ranked first and second in scoring in the SEC entering the game. ... The Wildcats never lost three in a row under coach John Calipari.

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