Vanderbilt will aim to sweep the season series against visiting Georgia in a Southeastern Conference game on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
Jordan Wright had a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds as Vanderbilt rallied in the second half for a 73-66 victory over Georgia on Jan. 15. It was the Commodores first win in Athens, Ga., since 2014.
Trailing 36-28 at halftime, Vanderbilt opened the second half on a 10-0 run to take a 38-36 lead following Quentin Millora-Brown’s dunk with just under 17 minutes remaining before stretching their lead to 46-40 on Wright’s dunk with 14:38 remaining. Georgia cut the deficit to a single point with a run of its own, but the Commodores pulled away late.
Since then, Vanderbilt (10-9, 2-5 SEC) has lost three straight, while Georgia (6-14, 1-6) has registered two losses and a win, the latter coming on Tuesday at home over Alabama — an 82-76 result. That win ended an eight-game losing streak for the Bulldogs.
Kario Oquendo, who averages 12.5 points per game, had 11 points and seven rebounds against the Crimson Tide, while Aaron Cook posted 15 points and four assists. Braelen Bridges, who also averages 12.5 points per game, added 13 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs.
“The guys were happy. They were happy — but they weren’t overly giddy — but they were excited,” Georgia coach Tom Crean said. “They earned it. They know it. That’s what we’ve said. We’ve just got to get this thing started.”
Vanderbilt’s last outing was a 70-61 loss at South Carolina on Wednesday.
Scotty Pippen Jr. — who is the SEC’s second-leading scorer at 18.4 points per game — led the Commodores with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Wright, who averages 12.1 points per game, added 10 points for the Commodores, who were outscored 44-31 in the second half.
“I thought there were plays that could be made but we just chose to make the wrong ones,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “Even in our half-court sets, we got rattled and that’s not a good thing in the basketball game, especially on the road. You’ve got to have the poise.”
Vanderbilt owns the all-time series against Georgia with a 92-54 record.
–Field Level Media
