Georgia falls to No. 8 Kentucky, 105-96

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Despite two career performances by Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Silas Demary Jr., the Georgia men’s basketball team fell 105-96 against No. 8 Kentucky on the road at Rupp Arena on Sunday.

Three Bulldogs scored in double figures led by Abdur-Rahim, who set a new career-high 34 points powered by a career-high seven 3-pointers. Demary Jr. also set a career-high 22 points while hitting 10 free throws and collecting four assists. RJ Melendez tallied 12 points along with three rebounds and one steal while Russel Tchewa led the team on the glass with eight rebounds paired with four points.

Two early 3-pointers from Abdur-Rahim helped the Bulldogs (13-5, 3-2 SEC) jump out to a 10-8 lead at the first media timeout. Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) sparked a quick run to put the Wildcats up 19-10, but Georgia battled back to keep it close at 26-21. Despite slowing down the Wildcats’ momentum near the end of the half, the Bulldogs trailed 54-35 heading into the locker room. Trailing by 19 to start the half, Georgia got hot from the field as it shot 60.6 percent in the second half to try and cut into Kentucky’s lead. Despite trailing by as many as 28 points in the second half, Georgia cut the deficit down to nine over the last seven minutes before the clock hit triple zeros.

Georgia’s next tilt will see it return to Athens and prepare for midweek action against LSU on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs trail the all-time series 47-70 against the Tigers as both programs split the home-and-away last season. Georgia has won seven of its last eight meetings against LSU at Stegeman Coliseum.

Five Fast Facts

• Jabri Abdur-Rahim set a new career-high 34 points on the night.

• Jabri Abdur-Rahim knocked down all seven 3-pointers for the Bulldogs against the Wildcats, setting a new career-high from behind the arc.

• Silas Demary Jr. set a new career-high in points (22) and free throws made in a game (11).

• Georgia shot 50 percent or better from the field for the fifth time this season (50 %).

• The Bulldogs scored 96 points against Kentucky, marking the second most points Georgia has scored against Kentucky in its 158-game history (106 against Kentucky, 1989-90).

Key Quote

Head Coach Mike White: “This team is resilient. This team is going to continue to fight and respond. It’s a competitive team that plays with pride and we’ve seen that all year. I was very surprised we dug ourselves that big of a hole, but not surprised at the way that we continued to fight. I thought Jabri was amazing, played really well and I thought the guys did a great job of finding him and getting him shots. Silas Demary Jr. played with a ton of physical and mental toughness. I thought Russel Tchewa, despite the fact that it says he got four on the scoresheet, did a great job sealing and utilizing his physicality on the interior and getting guards shots at the rim.”

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