Frazier scores 28, Georgia tops Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Georgia didn’t quit defending without its leading scorer, and J.J. Frazier certainly kept making baskets.

Frazier scored 28 points in his second straight huge performance to lead the short-handed Bulldogs to a 60-55 victory over Alabama Thursday night in a game that could easily have ended as another exasperatingly close defeat.

Frazier scored 11 straight points in the final minutes to help the Bulldogs (16-12, 7-8 Southeastern Conference) hold on after losing most of a 14-point second-half lead. He scored 19 points after halftime to pick up much of the scoring load for an injured Yante Maten, who’s out with a sprained right knee.

Even without him, Georgia never trailed.

“Yan doesn’t make every play. Yan doesn’t make every rebound,” Frazier said. “That’s why we’re a team. We’re confident without him.”

Fresh from a season-best 36-point effort in a loss to No. 11 Kentucky, Frazier made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 50 seconds. Alabama (16-11, 9-6) missed a couple of 3-point attempts and Juwan Parker made 1 of 2 foul shots.

Frazier was 10-of-17 shooting after Alabama held him to four points in the first meeting, a Tide victory.

“He was able to get it and get off the ball screen and get in open space because we were playing smaller players and we just basically covered the 3-point line up with some shooters,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said.

Parker scored nine points while Derek Ogbeide had seven points and nine rebounds for Georgia.

Ar’Mond Davis scored 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting to lead Alabama. Braxton Key had 14 of his 16 points in the second half, while Donte Hall had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Alabama started a rally by hitting six straight shots and eventually cut the margin to one point a number of times. Georgia kept answering.