To say there's not a ton going right now for the Georgia basketball team is probably an understatement. A very big one, most likely.
Saturday's 105-102 overtime loss to Alabama was just the latest example, as the Bulldogs led a double-digit lead in the second half evaporate for the third time in four games.
"It wasn't about scoring. It wasn't about those type of things," head coach Tom Crean said. "We felt we could do that, we just did not do - at the end of the day, we did not do a good enough job in our on-ball defense, whether it be our one-on-one, whether it be our switching, our on-ball defense, our switch game, our communication game. We just didn't get it done."
It didn't help matters for Georgia that start freshman Anthony Edwards played Saturday night's game with the flu.
Crean said Edwards didn't practice Friday and spent much of the day at the student health center. It showed as the Atlanta native finished with just 14 points in 36 minutes.
“Yesterday I didn’t practice. I didn’t touch the ball at all. Today when I came out, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to live by my jump shot or play that many minutes," Edwards said. "When we went into overtime, I knew he didn’t want to take me out so I had to dig deep and find energy. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to score like that so I tried to rebound a lot and find my teammates.”
Georgia wouldn't have an answer for sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. of Alabama, used the quickness Crean warned about Friday to score a career-high 37 points.
"He has good ball speed," point guard Sahvir Wheeler said. "Credit to their coaching staff for doing a good job of using him. He is a good player."
With the game tied at 92 at the end of regulation, the two teams traded baskets to start the overtime. Then a pair of free throws by Lewis gave Alabama a 98-96 lead with 2:14 left.
Up 101-98 with 56.4 seconds left, Lewis Jr. would miss a three-point attempt with 20 seconds left, only to have Wheeler miss a quick three with Alabama (13-10, 5-5) grabbing the rebound. This exchange of misses led to a foul on Lewis, who hit one of two free throws with 14.7 seconds left for a 102-98 lead.
A pair of free throws by Edwards with 9.5 seconds left trimmed the lead to two, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get. Georgia was then forced to foul John Petty, who hit both of his free throws with 8.5 seconds left to push the lead back to four.
The Bulldogs would get a pair of free throws by Wheeler with 5.6 seconds left to draw within two. But after Petty made just one of two free throws with just over four seconds left to take the lead back to four, the Bulldogs would have one more chance to tie the game.
However, Edwards would miss a three at the buzzer, ending the evening in disappointment for the rowdy Athens crowd. Georgia finished the overtime period by making only one if its final seven shots.
“Just coming off the flu, I still kind of have it, I told Sahvir at the beginning of the game that I wasn’t feeling it because I am sick,"Edwards said. "I knew I wasn’t going to be able to live by my jump shot, but Sahvir trusted me to give me the ball and my teammates. I still shot it, it just wouldn’t fall.”
It was a good night to be a shooter. Petty chipped in with 20 points for Alabama, followed by James Bolden with 11 and Jaden Shackleford with 11.
Wheeler led Georgia with a career-best 23, followed by Rayshaun Hammonds with 20, Edwards with 14, and Toumani Camara with 11.
From an entertainment standpoint, both teams gave the crowd at Stegeman Coliseum plenty to get excited about, although Georgia fans were no doubt peeved after the Bulldogs blew a double-digit lead in the second half for the third time in four games.
This time it was a 12-point advantage with just over 13 minutes left. After a productive run for the Tide, the Bulldogs (12-11, 2-8) rallied to tie the game at 83 on a jumper by Edwards, sending the teams to overtime.
The game would continue to go down to the wire.
A short jumper by Hammonds tied the game at 92 with 21.6 seconds left. Alabama would have a chance to win, but Lewis Jr. was called for an offensive foul with 2.6 seconds left.
Georgia returns to action Wednesday against South Carolina while Alabama travels to Auburn.
