Georgia blows past No. 17 Oklahoma 72-62, makes bid for top 25

ATHENS, Ga. — What a week for Georgia basketball. The Bulldogs grabbed a 72-62 win over No. 17 Oklahoma on Saturday inside Stegeman Coliseun, just a few days after dropping Kentucky 82-69 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs move to 14-2 on the season and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference.

The win gives Georgia a shot at being in the AP Top25 come Monday. It would be the first time since January 10, 2012 that the Bulldogs have appeared in the poll.

UGA trailed the Sooners by three at the break but a strong second half from junior guard Dakota Leffew, who poured in 12 points in the final 20 minutes and tied for the team lead with 15 points on the day. Asa Newell also had 15 points on five of 10 shooting, and five boards.

Silas Demary pitched in with 10 points, a team-high eight boards, and four assists while freshman center Somto Cyril had four blocks to go with four points. He also had four fouls and four turnovers.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as nine in the first 10 minutes of action. Turnovers, cold shooting, and a poor stretch on the boards allowed Oklahoma to claw back and take the lead in the first half. In fact, the Sooners had multiple five-point leads with chances to extend in the final four minutes of the half, but a buzzer-beating lay-in send the Bulldogs into the half trailing by just three points after turning it over nine times.

Georgia came out firing in the second half, going on a 7-0 run to grab a three-point lead in the first few minutes. The Sooners fought back, making free throws and three-point jumpers to re-take the lead, starting a back-and-fourth battle that would last awhile.

The Bulldogs got an unlikely boost from reserve forward Justin Abson, who gave them four points and two rebounds in six minutes of action. Abson also added a block and that six minutes of action saw Georgia grab a lead it would not relinquish. Abson’s two made free throws with 8:16 left in the game put the Bulldogs on a 9-2 run where they took a 63-54 lead.

The Sooners quickly went on a 4-0 run to cut Georgia’s lead to five, but that’s as close as they would get as Demary picked up a steal down the stretch and Somto Cyril made two of four free throws to put the game away.

Next up for Georgia is a trip to take on Tennessee, the current No. 1-ranked team in the country. Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET and it’ll be broadcast by the SEC Network.

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