Andrew Harrison – photo by Walter Cornett
Andrew Harrison and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 38 points and scored key baskets down the stretch to help top-ranked Kentucky survive pesky Georgia 69-58 on Tuesday night.
Twice on the verge of running away from a Georgia squad playing its second straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Marcus Thornton (concussion), the Wildcats needed both starters to fend off the determined Bulldogs.
Harrison’s layup with 3:58 remaining provided a 62-54 lead that proved critical as Yante Maten and Nemanja Djurisic scored baskets to get Georgia within 63-58 with 2:06 left. Towns’ short jumper with 1:33 left got the lead to seven, and Tyler Ulis and Andrew Harrison each added two free throws in the final minute to keep the Wildcats (22-0, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) unbeaten.
Harrison scored a season-high 23 points and Towns 15 with 13 rebounds.
Djurisic’s 17 points led Georgia (14-7, 5-4), which outrebounded Kentucky 36-24.
