University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Kentucky
Kentucky Tops Georgia 66-60 at Rupp Arena
January 29, 2011 | Men's Basketball
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Jan. 29, 2011
Final Stats | AP Photo Gallery 
LEXINGTON, Ky. ----- Doron Lamb scored 19 points and keyed an impressive first-half showing that allowed Kentucky the capital it needed to withstand a late rally by Georgia to defeat the Bulldogs 66-60 here Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats evened the regular-season series between these two with a sizzling first half. They also succeeded in slowing down Georgia's top two scorers, Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie. The Bulldogs' duo entered the game averaging nearly 33 points between them, but against Kentucky they made just two of 17 shots combined and finished with 14 total points.
Kentucky wasted little time seizing control of this contest. The 14th-ranked Wildcats needed just five minutes to get their lead into double digits, the first time coming at 14-4 on a 3-pointer by Brandon Knight. After a short rally by Georgia, Lamb's trey at the 9:39 mark pushed the Kentucky lead back to 24-12. A late push by Darius Miller, who scored consecutive baskets, got Kentucky their largest lead of the game at 39-22 just before halftime.
"We didn't start the game very well," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "I don't want to take anything away from Kentucky, but we got ourselves in a hole by starting the game poorly. I was pleased with the way we competed in the second half, but we just couldn't make enough plays in the end. We wanted to get to the 5-minute mark with a chance to win, but we were just too far behind."
With Thompkins and Leslie struggling, the Bulldogs turned to their backcourt to get back into contention. A streaking layup by Gerald Robinson with 3:18 left finally got the deficit into single digits at 59-50. After a miss by Lamb, Georgia climbed within 59-53 on a high, arching trey by Dustin Ware, who led his team with 18 points.
Georgia then had two more possessions to get closer, but Thompkins missed jumpers both times, the final time with just over a minute left. The Wildcats secured the victory by making seven of eight foul shots thereafter.
Georgia resumes the 2010-11 season Wednesday night at Arkansas in a 9:00 p.m. (ET) tipoff.
