By: TJ French
Athens, Ga. — The No. 21-ranked Georgia Bulldogs lost to the Ole Miss Rebels 97-95 in overtime after a stunning buzzer-beater. One of the most exciting Georgia basketball games all season, as the Rebels would just not go away, and were also aided by favorable calls down the stretch of regulation and into OT.
The loss drops Georgia 14-3, and moves the Bulldogs to 2-2 in SEC play.
Ole Miss had the benefit of having the very last possession and capitalized on it by making a pirouette shot that was tipped in with 0.0s on the clock.
Georgia’s Jeremiah Wilkinson led the Bulldogs in scoring with 32 points, which was a game-high by a wide margin, and the majority of his scoring came from behind the three-point line, with six made threes. Kanon Catchings also had one of his best games as a Bulldog, adding 17 points on four made threes.
Knotted at 91 a piece with two minutes left in the overtime period, Dylan James knocked down a huge three to put the Bulldogs on top, and then a travel by the Rebels gave Georgia an opportunity to pull away, but constant fouls kept Ole Miss at the free-throw line, and ultimately in the game. With 43 seconds to play, Georgia had just a one-point lead, and Ole Miss hit the biggest basket of the night to give them a one-point advantage.
Both teams appeared tired as the overtime period progressed, as Georgia went 1-for-6 from three-point territory in OT. However, the Bulldogs picked up the slack at the free-throw line by scoring most of their OT points at the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs carried an 82-77 lead with three minutes remaining in regulation , and the game featured many free throws from that point on, as both teams were over the foul limit. Ole Miss brought it to within one with exactly one minute left in the game, and eventually tied the game at 87. With 17 seconds left, the Rebels tied the game at 87. Georgia could not get a shot off before the buzzer to send the contest to overtime.
The Bulldogs shot extremely well from behind the three-point line, with a 43% mark (15-35), but made just 37.5% of their total shots, which resulted in the loss. Blue Cain didn’t have his best night, as he did not make a field goal (0-7) in the game. Somto Cyril fouled out, which also didn’t help in the losing efforts.
This contest remained very close for the entirety of the second half, as Georgia had a really tough time pulling away from Ole Miss, who matched the Bulldogs shot-for-shot the whole night.
It’s not even as if the game was a tale of two halves, either, because Ole Miss held the league for much of the first half, but Georgia edged out a 40-35 lead at the break, just unable to pull away against a team they should have.
The Bulldogs will welcome in John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks for a Saturday afternoon showdown at Stegeman Coliseum.
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