Sahvir Wheeler has enjoyed his share of big moments over the course of his basketball career.
However, nothing compared to Friday night against SMU, after splitting two defenders before hitting the game-winning shot to lift Georgia a double-overtime victory, 87-85.
"This one takes the top," the freshman from Houston said. "Obviously, it's the college level. As a competitor, these situations, you love that."
No doubt.
Wheeler's heroics came after SMU's Tyson Jolley missed a three-point attempt, with Georgia securing the rebound before calling timeout at mid-court at the 14 second mark.
After receiving the inbounds pass, Wheeler took the ball just to the left of the key, sped left and threw in a left-handed one-hander that found the bottom of the net with 1.9 seconds left to play. A last-ditch shot by SMU was way off the mark, setting off a wild celebration by the Bulldogs, who improved to 7-3 with the win. SMU falls to 8-2.
"At the end of the day, we had a play call we were saving, a double-high pick and roll and we wanted him (Wheeler) to operate," head coach Tom Crean said. "They were doing a great job of switching so we wanted to get a potential slip so we put Tyree Crump in the action which we don't normally do. We wanted Sahvir to create and we had two guys in the corner, but all we needed was one and Sahvir is one of the best layup makers I've ever been around."
Wheeler, obviously, had a lot of help.
In the first overtime, the Georgia trailed by five with just 31 seconds to go before tying the game on a three-pointer by Tyree Crump followed by a layup by Wheeler with 3.7 seconds left,
The second overtime saw Anthony Edwards and SMU's Feron Hunt trade threes, before Hammonds answered with another trey to put Georgia back up by three with 2.29 on the clock. SMU would tie the game at 85 and had a chance to win only to have Jolly's three-point attempt miss its mark to set Wheeler up for his last-second heroics.
"That's an everybody thing," Wheeler said of his winning shot. "We all have confidence in each other, we all love each other; we all see the extra work and time that we put in and what's what happens at the end of games. We believe in each other."
Hammonds led the Bulldogs with his third double-double of the season, scoring 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds, followed by Edwards with 16 and Crump with 12. Wheeler finished the night with nine.
"This builds confidence, that's all I can say," Hammonds said. "It builds confidence, grows out the younger players, makes it easier for them to play in big games; they know what they're doing. It's fun for them and its fun for me to see them do that so it's cool."
Isiaha Mike led SMU with 25 points, followed by Jolly with 19 and Hunt with 17.
"They're a talented team, a very talented offensive team," SMU coach Tim Jankovich said. "They're not that easy to guard; they've got quickness."
After trailing 28-25 at the half, a three-pointer by Hammonds gave Georgia its biggest lead at 65-50, with just over three minutes left, before SMU answered, using a layup by Kendric Davis to go up 68-67.
After a free throw by Hammonds tied the game at 68 before SMU had a chance to win in regulation Tyson’s drive and subsequent shot was off-line with Georgia securing the rebound with just 1.8 seconds left to play.
Amazingly, the Mustangs would get one more opportunity.
Hammonds was called for traveling on the inbound, giving SMU the ball under its own basket with a chance to win. However, the Mustangs would make a mistake of their own, with Georgia forcing a five-second call to send the game to the first overtime, which ended with the game tied at 77.
NOTES: Wheeler chipped in with eight assists, tying his career high. ... Jordan Harris returned to action for the first time since serving a nine-game suspension to start the year and finished with nine points. ... Freshman Toumani Camara grabbed a career-high six rebounds in his first start of his career. ... Georgia returns to action Monday night against Georgia Southern. As of Friday night, 800 tickets remain for the game.
