Asa Newell, Georgia take down No. 6 Kentucky

Field Level Media|published: Tue 7th January, 22:02 2025

Jan 7, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Tyrin Lawrence (7) shoots over Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) during the first half at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Asa Newell scored a team-high 17 points, helping Georgia upset No. 6 Kentucky 82-69 in Southeastern Conference play in Athens, Ga., on Tuesday.

Blue Cain added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Silas Demary Jr. chipped in 14 points as Georgia (13-2, 1-1 SEC) won its eighth game in its last nine and its first victory over a Top 10 team since beating No. 9 Memphis in January 2020. Dakota Lefew added 11 points off the bench.

Lamont Butler led Kentucky (12-3, 1-1) with 20 points, followed by Brandon Garrison's 13 and Otega Oweh's 12 and seven rebounds. The Wildcats had their two-game winning streak snapped and have lost three in a row at Georgia.

Trailing by 13 at halftime, Kentucky opened the second half on a 10-4 run, stamped by Butler's layup and two free throws by Andrew Carr with 14:39 left.

Newell's layup pushed Georgia's lead to 55-46, but Oweh and Garrison hit layups to pull Kentucky within five at the 12:07 mark.

Leading 61-54 with 9:27 remaining, Georgia's advantage ballooned to 13 as Newell's free throws capped an 11-5 run with 4:21 left. After Koby Brea's 3-pointer trimmed Kentucky's deficit to 72-62, Newell's free throw and Leffew's layup helped ice the win for Georgia.

Butler's back-to-back buckets began the scoring for Kentucky, before Somto Cyril's dunk stamped an 11-4 Georgia run, pushing the Bulldogs' lead to three at the 14-minute mark.

Trailing 15-13, Butler's triple followed by Carr's layup gave Kentucky an 18-15 lead.

Butler's dunk later in the half tied the game at 25, before Demary's two free throws and Cain's 3-pointer pushed Georgia's advantage to 30-25 with 5:53 remaining.

Ansley Almonor's triple trimmed the Wildcats' deficit to two, but Demary's 3-pointer sparked a 12-2 Georgia run, extending the Bulldogs' lead to 44-32 with 1:39 left.

Brandon Garrison's two free throws stopped the bleeding for Kentucky, but Newell's buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Georgia a 47-34 lead entering the second half.

Demary led the Bulldogs with 11 points in the half, while Butler paced the Wildcats with 13.

--Field Level Media