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Vanderbilt Drops Regular Season Finale 71-61 at Georgia 3/6/2004
Vanderbilt Drops Regular Season Finale 71-61 at Georgia ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia opened up a 38-20 haltime advantage and Vanderbilt never could recover, falling 71-61, at Stegeman Coliseum Saturday night. Rashad Wright scored 21 points as Georgia closed its regular season with a 71-61 win over Vanderbilt Saturday night. Wright made five of eight 3-point shots. Overall, the Bulldogs made 10 of 16 3-point attempts. Vanderbilt, held to 20 first-half points, made only six of 16 free-throw attempts and trailed by double figures most of the game. Freshman Levi Stukes matched his season high with 18 points while making four of six 3-point attempts. With 22 seconds left, Georgia coach Dennis Felton called timeout and gave the Stegeman Coliseum crowd an opportunity to pay tribute to Wright and the Bulldogs’ three other senior starters, who were playing their final home regular season game. With the win, Georgia (15-12 overall, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) secured the No. 5 seed from the East in the SEC tournament, which begins Thursday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Vanderbilt (19-8, 8-8) had won four of five games but it could not withstand Georgia’s sharp shooting in the first half, when the Bulldogs built a big lead. Georgia made 7 of 10 3-point attempts while building a 38-20 halftime lead. In a stretch that covered 5:15, Georgia sank six straight 3-point attempts, including three by freshman Stukes. After holding a big lead of 23 points in the first half, at 33-10, Georgia kept the lead in double figures until a basket by Mario Moore pulled the Commodores to within nine points at 64-55 with 3:25 left to play. Georgia was held to its season low for points in a game in a 61-39 loss at Vanderbilt on Feb. 11. It returned the favor by holding the Commodores to 20 first-half points Saturday night — their low total of the season. Vanderbilt’s Matt Frieje, the SEC leader with his average of 19.6 points per game, was held scoreless the first 14:40 and finished with eight points. Moore led Vanderbilt with 11 points. Julian Terrell added 10, despite making only two of nine free throws. Chris Daniels scored 12 points and Jonas Hayes added 10 for Georgia. The Bulldogs’ fourth senior, Damien Wilkins, scored eight points. |
