Blue Cain scored 20 points on Tuesday to help Georgia earn a rare road victory over Kentucky, helping the Bulldogs post an 86-78 victory in Lexington, Ky.
Jeremiah Wilkinson added 19 points for Georgia (18-8, 6-7 Southeastern Conference), which snapped a 12-game losing streak at Rupp Arena, winning in Lexington for the first time since March 4, 2009.
Marcus Millender had 14 points and eight assists and Somto Cyril chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs, who had dropped five of their previous six games overall.
Otega Oweh led Kentucky (17-9, 8-5) with 28 points, and Collin Chandler followed with 18. Denzel Aberdeen had 14 points for the Wildcats, who shot 12-for-20 (60%) from the free-throw line and committed 13 turnovers while losing their second game in a row.
After Georgia pushed its five-point halftime lead to eight on Kanon Catchings’ 3-pointer, Oweh scored 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half, pulling Kentucky within two.
After a deep 3-pointer from Chandler cut the margin to one, Wilkinson sank a layup and Jake Wilkins completed a three-point play, giving Georgia a 61-55 edge. The run continued as Millender’s triple and subsequent lob to Cyril extended the lead to 11 with 10:56 remaining.
Chandler’s sixth 3-pointer trimmed Kentucky’s deficit to 73-69, but Catchings answered with a triple at the 4:52 mark.
Millender and Aberdeen traded 3-pointers, the latter cutting Georgia’s lead to 81-75 with 3:03 left.
Aberdeen then made three free throws on two trips to the line, narrowing the margin to three with 2:13 to go.
After Oweh dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds, Cyril’s offensive rebound and putback layup gave Georgia a five-point cushion with 43 seconds remaining. Kentucky missed 3-point tries on its last two possessions.
Georgia took a 2-0 lead on a pair of Cain free throws before Aberdeen’s floater stamped a 7-0 Kentucky run.
Millender’s deep 3-pointer and Cain’s layup pulled the visitors within a point, but Andrija Jelavic’s dunk and Chandler’s triple began a 7-0 spurt that put Kentucky up 25-17.
The Bulldogs battled back, and Cyril’s thunderous dunk and Millender’s transition trey gave Georgia a 34-31 advantage with 3:25 remaining until the break.
The Bulldogs closed the first half on Wilkinson’s triple in the final seconds to take a 39-34 halftime lead.
