Ad Disclosure
Auburn holds off furious comeback from Georgia to move to 5-0 in SEC play
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Auburn rolled into this weekend’s action with the No. 1 team in the country for a top-25 road trip vs. Georgia. That matchup lived up to the hype, though most of the drama came in the final minute of the game.
With 41 seconds left in the game, Auburn was holding a 69-60 lead after Tahaad Pettiford netted a pair of free throws. However, the Tigers would miss a couple of other free throws down the stretch that allowed Georgia to make things very interesting.
Dakota Leffew delivered a layup and a stepback 3-pointer from Silas Demary Jr. made it 69-65 with 18 seconds left. Denver Jones would make 1-of-2 from the free throw line for Auburn, but the Tigers would be stuck at 70 for the rest of the game.
Demary would make a bucket with 9 seconds to go, and that’s when all chaos would ensue. Georgia would get the steal off the inbounds pass that the Bulldogs needed, but a 3-point try to tie things up would be no good.
On the rebound attempt, Georgia’s Tyrin Lawrence was coming down with the ball with Auburn’s Jones whistled for a foul at the buzzer. A review put 0.6 seconds back on the clock with Lawrence making the first free throw to set the score at 70-68.
The second free throw was intentionally missed, and the battle for the rebound went out of bounds with Georgia getting possession. Another review put 0.3 seconds on the clock for one last shot at a game-tying bucket for the Bulldogs.
Georgia was able to get a clean look with a high pass to Asa Newell in the lane. Unfortunately, his try at the buzzer was just short with Auburn preserving the 70-68 win.
Georgia is now 0-19 all-time against the AP No. 1 team, but the Bulldogs showed that they can hold their own. They were ultimately doomed by shooting 9-for-20 from the free-throw line with Newell leading the Bulldogs with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
For Auburn, the Tigers weathered the storm without Johni Broome available with Pettiford leading all scorers with 24 points, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range. The Tigers are now 5-0 in the SEC and will not have a midweek game before facing No. 6 Tennessee at home next Saturday night.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
