Kario Oquendo fuels Georgia past Kentucky
Kario Oquendo had 21 points and Braelen Bridges scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half to lead host Georgia to a 75-68 victory over Kentucky in Southeastern Conference play on Saturday in Athens.
Oquendo went 5 of 15 from the field, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range, in addition to going 10 of 12 from the freethrow line.
Bridges hit 5 of 6 shots from the floor and grabbed five rebounds for the Bulldogs (15-10, 5-7), who beat the Wildcats for just the second time in 18 meetings.
Justin Hill added 15 points and six assists for Georgia, which ended a three-game losing streak. Terry Roberts and Jabri Abdur-Rahim came off the bench to score nine points apiece.
The Bulldogs shot 22 of 54 (40.7 percent) from the field, including 6 of 19 (31.6 percent) from 3-point range.
Oscar Tshiebwe collected 20 points and 14 rebounds to pace Kentucky (16-9, 7-5), which has dropped two straight games. Antonio Reeves added 20 points and six rebounds, and Jacob Toppin chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Wildcats shot 25 of 65 (38.5 percent) from the field, including 7 of 20 (35 percent) from beyond the arc.
Kentucky rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 52-48 lead on Toppin’s 3-pointer with just under 12 minutes to play. But the Bulldogs responded with a 16-6 run following Abdur-Rahim’s 3-pointer with 2:55 to go.
Kentucky didn’t get within five points the rest of the way, as the Bulldogs made nine of their final 10 free-throw attempts to secure the win. Georgia made 25 of 29 freethrow attempts for the game.
Georgia, which controlled most of the first half, closed on a 20-9 run capped by Abdur-Rahim’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds to take a 4232 halftime advantage.
Oquendo scored 17 points and Hill added six in the first 20 minutes for Georgia, which shot 13 of 31 (41.9 percent) from the field, including 4 of 13 (30.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
Kentucky was led by Reeves’ 15 first-half points, with Tshiebwe adding six.
The Wildcats shot 11 of 31 (35.5 percent) from the field, including 4 of 10 (40 percent) from distance.