Georgia rally falls short as Bulldogs exit SEC tournament

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Georgia spent most of Thursday night digging a hole too deep to escape.

The Bulldogs nearly climbed all the way out anyway.

Seventh-seeded Georgia, which earned its highest SEC Tournament seed since 2016 after going 10-8 in league play, erased most of a 23-point second-half deficit before falling to Ole Miss 76-72 at Bridgestone Arena.

Georgia (22-10) trailed 34-20 at halftime after shooting just 26.9 percent from the field and 1-for-12 from 3-point range in the opening half. The Bulldogs never led and found themselves down 55-32 with 12:59 remaining before finally finding the urgency that had been missing much of the night.

Sophomore Kanon Catchings sparked the rally and finished with 19 points to lead Georgia. Marcus “Smurf” Millender added 11 points, while Kareem Stagg, Dylan James and Jeremiah Wilkinson scored eight apiece.

The comeback came in a blur.

Georgia ripped off a 20-2 surge over a 4:36 stretch in the second half, turning a game that looked finished into one that came down to the closing seconds. Catchings converted a steal into a 3-pointer that trimmed Ole Miss’ lead to 57-52 with 8:09 to play, and the Bulldogs kept coming. Dylan James later threw down a dunk with five seconds left to cut the margin to 73-71, but Ole Miss answered at the line to finish it off. Millender made one free throw with three seconds left, and the Rebels sealed the win with two more foul shots at the horn.

Georgia coach Mike White said the rally started not with a hot shooting stretch, but with a change in energy and defensive intensity.

“Creating turnovers, just getting out, extending our pressure,” White said. “I thought the way we started the second half, a couple minutes into the second half, our energy level just elevated without having to make a shot. … We forced a low-turnover team to 15 turnovers, played really, really hard down the stretch, gave ourselves a chance. It’s a resilient group, down 23, have a chance to steal it. Did a lot of good things and didn’t shoot the ball particularly well from three or from the foul line. Credit to Ole Miss, they’ve got momentum and they’re playing really well.”

The numbers told the story of Georgia’s uphill climb. The Bulldogs shot just 36.4 percent from the floor, 23.7 percent from beyond the arc and 60 percent from the free-throw line. Ole Miss, meanwhile, shot 45 percent overall and matched that number from 3-point range.

Now Georgia waits.

The Bulldogs will learn their NCAA Tournament fate Sunday, when the bracket is unveiled.