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Men’s Hoops Notches Win in Athens 2/18/2006
By CHARLES ODUM, AP Sports Writer ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Vanderbilt opened the second half with a 14-4 run and led by double figures the rest of the way to escape last place in the SEC East with a 72-55 win over Georgia Saturday night. Vanderbilt (14-9 overall, 5-7 Southeastern Conference) was led by Shan Foster’s 23 points. Foster had 14 points in the first 5:40 of the second half as the Commodores, who led by only four points at halftime, put the game away. Georgia (14-11, 4-8) suffered its third straight loss since a 74-73 win at Vanderbilt on Feb. 4. A suddenly depleted Georgia team had no answer for Foster, effective both with his baseline shooting and backdoor cuts, and DeMarre Carroll, who scored most of his 15 points inside. Before the game, Georgia coach Dennis Felton announced that guards Mike Mercer and Billy Humphrey were suspended for one game and forward Terrance Woodbury would miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his back. Mercer and Humphrey were suspended for undisclosed rules violations. Mercer is the team’s second-leading scorer, and Humphrey and Woodbury also rank among the team’s top seven scorers. Georgia was left with eight scholarship players, including former walk-on Kevin Brophy. Levi Stukes led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Younes Idrissi added 12. Georgia made 4 of 8 3-pointers in the first half but shot only 42.9 percent from the field overall to trail 32-28 at halftime. Foster scored Vanderbilt’s first eight points of the second half, and he added another basket at the 16:36 mark to give the Commodores a 44-32 lead. Vanderbilt stretched the lead to 20 points at 66-46 with 7:56 left. A number of former Georgia players, including Vern Fleming, attended a halftime tribute to former Georgia coach Hugh Durham. |
