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Gaines, Georgia clip Kentucky in OT

Jan 25, 2007 - 6:39 AM ATHENS, Georgia (Ticker) -- Sundiata Gaines and Georgia could not hold a big lead in their last game. They used a little luck to make Kentucky experience it also.

Gaines scored five of his 19 points in overtime as the Bulldogs rallied from an early first-half deficit for a 78-69 victory over the No. 25 Wildcats in a Southeastern Conference contest.

Georgia had a three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday as it could not take advantage of an 18-2 start en route to a tough 78-76 loss at then-No. 9 Alabama.

Gaines and the rest of the Bulldogs were on the other side of a slow start on Wednesday, falling behind, 43-26, with 3:51 remaining in the first half.

Similar to Alabama, Georgia (12-6, 4-2 SEC East) also rallied, taking a 61-57 lead on a dunk by Takais Brown with 4:08 remaining before Kentucky was able to force overtime.

"I don't have many words left right now," Bulldogs coach Dennis Felton said. "It all happened so fast, but it was a tremendous comeback against a very good team."

In the extra session, the Wildcats (15-5, 4-2 East), who were looking to remain one of two league teams without a road loss, went ahead, 67-65, on a layup by Joe Crawford in the opening moments - two of 12 straight points that he scored for Kentucky between the second half and overtime.

Brown, who finished with a team-high 20 points for the Bulldogs, retied the score on an inside shot on a pass from Gaines. Terrance Woodbury and Gaines then sandwiched a jumper by Crawford with two 3-pointers for a 73-69 edge with 1:46 to go.

The basket from the arc by Gaines was a lucky one, as the junior guard heaved up a desperation shot that banked in to beat the shot clock.

Woodbury also split two free throws and Gaines added a pair with 28 seconds left for a 76-69 advantage.

In all, Georgia outscored Kentucky, 38-16, over the final 17 minutes of the contest.

Woodbury scored 16 points and Mike Mercer added seven and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who finished with a 43-31 advantage on the boards.

Crawford, who knotted the score at 65-65 on a layup in transition with 2:13 remaining, finished with a career-high 29 points for Kentucky, which had a five-game winning streak in the series snapped.

Both teams then committed two turnovers before Gaines was fouled after a steal with 36 seconds remaining. Just a 61 percent free-throw shooter, he missed both attempts before grabbing the offensive rebound to retain possession for the Bulldogs.

Opting to take a timeout with 27 seconds left, Georgia then worked down the shot clock too long, getting charged with a violation with eight-tenths of a second left when Gaines' 3-point attempt with Kentucky center Randolph Morris guarding him fell short.

The Wildcats attempted a full-court pass before the end of regulation that was intercepted by the Bulldogs.

Kentucky, which finished 29 percent (6-of-21) on 3-pointers, missed all four of its attempts from the arc in the extra stanza to absorb its first overtime loss since a thrilling double-overtime setback to Michigan State in the Austin Region final of the NCAA Tournament in 2005.

Morris had 11 points before fouling out with less than a minute left in overtime and Jodie Meeks added 10 for the Wildcats, who shot 33 percent (9-of-27) from the field in between the second half and overtime.