Vanderbilt ends near 8-year drought beating Georgia on road

Jan 16, 2022, 01:53 am

ATHENS, Ga. -- — Jordan Wright scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 13 and Vanderbilt resumed its winning ways beating Georgia 73-66 on Saturday.

The Commodores (10-6, 2-2) had won four in a row, including a victory at Arkansas to begin Southeastern Conference play, but were recently toppled by South Carolina and Kentucky at home.

Georgia (5-12, 0-4) lost its sixth straight.

The Bulldogs appeared poised to end its skid as they went to halftime up 36-28 on the strength of 14-for-27 shooting while Vandy missed 19 of 30 shot attempts before the break.

But Vanderbilt regrouped, started the second half with a 13-0 run and never trailed again. Jamaine Mann's dunk with 5:37 left put the Commodores ahead 66-56, but the Bulldogs went on a late 8-2 run to draw within 68-64 on Aaron Cook's layup with 50 seconds left. Pippen made 5 of 6 foul shots to seal it. Pippen, who entered as the SEC's leading scorer at 19.2 points per game, missed nine of 12 shots including 0 for 5 from 3-point range.

Jaxon Etter scored 16 points, Braelen Bridges 14 and Cook 10 for Georgia.

Vanderbilt's last win over Georgia was an 81-66 victory on Jan. 7, 2018. Before Saturday, the Commodores hadn't won at Georgia since Jan. 29, 2014.

Up next the Commodores host No. 22-ranked Tennessee. Georgia travels to face fourth-ranked Auburn on Wednesday.

------