SEC Basketball: Vanderbilt outlasts Georgia 85-82 in Shootout

The Vanderbilt Commodores defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in a thrilling SEC basketball shootout in Athens, Georgia on Saturday afternoon. Contrary to prior expectation, the two teams played in an intense battle that saw over 160 total points scored.

Vanderbilt defeats Georgia in SEC basketball shootout, 85-82

It was a nail biter that went back and forth despite Vanderbilt refusing to give up the lead. Consistent shooting and shaky defense characterized a high scoring first half. In the second half, Vanderbilt saw their largest lead get to 12, in large part to contributions from bench guards Ezra Manjon and Trey Thomas. The two guards contributed 31 points to push Vanderbilt further ahead.

However, Georgia was able to respond to the runs from the Commodores. Similar to Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs got much needed bench help from Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who sunk five three pointers and notched 21 total points, a personal career high. Abdur-Rahim’s ability to stretch the floor allowed the Georgia backcourt to have some success driving the ball in the second half to tighten Vanderbilt’s lead. Although the Bulldogs never took the lead, they made sure the Commodores were never comfortable.

Down the stretch, the difference was free throw shooting from before-mentioned bench guards Ezra Manjon and Trey Thomas to keep Vanderbilt ahead. In the final 64 seconds of the game, the clutch Commodores went 6/6 from the stripe to ultimately put Georgia away. With less than four seconds remaining, Abdur-Rahim had a decent chance to send it to overtime, but missed.

What’s Next?

Both teams respectively now currently sit at 3-3 in SEC play, with Vanderbilt moving to 10-9 overall and Georgia to 13-6. They will both look to get over the .500 mark next week as the Commodores host a surging Kentucky team and the Bulldogs travel to Knoxville to take on Tennessee.