Vols suffer first SEC loss as Dogs pull away
By Bud L. Ellis
The Tennessee Volunteers leave Georgia no longer undefeated in Southeastern Conference play.
And it wasn’t as close as the 78-63 final score inside Stegeman Coliseum would indicate.
The Vols were run over Saturday by a Georgia team that was hungrier, scrappier, played better defense and shot better. Mix it together, and Tennessee’s seven-game winning streak came crashing down.
The Dogs raced to a 14-4 lead and the Vols spent the rest of the game trying to catch up. But Georgia shot 56 percent from the floor, and held Tennessee to 42 percent shooting. In particular, the Vols’ missing on 13 of 16 3-point attempts helped to turn this one into a rout.
The Vols closed to within 12 points early in the second half, but the Dogs blew the game open from there, leading by as many as 24 points.
Scotty Hopson led the Vols with 19 points and five steals, hitting all three of the 3-pointers Tennessee made. Bobby Maze finished with 11 points, and Kenny Hall scored 10.
Tennessee looks to rebound Wednesday at home against SEC co-leader Vanderbilt.
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Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 6:54 pm by bud
Tags: Bobby Maze, Georgia, Kenny Hall, Scotty Hopson, Stegeman Coliseum, Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt
