Georgia suffers disappointing 69-68 loss to Auburn

The Georgia Bulldogs suffered a disappointing and resume damaging loss on Saturday as they fall 69-68 to Auburn. Offensive struggles plagued the Bulldogs for much of the day and an offensive surge by the Tigers' KT Harrell down the stretch proved to be too much for Mark Fox's club.

After a lackluster first half, it appeared that Georgia was going to put together enough of a good stretch to put Auburn away. A three-point play from Marcus Thornton put the Bulldogs up 57-48 with 5:08 remaining.

That lead evaporated quickly as Harrell went to work. The senior guard scored 11 of his 21 points in the final five minutes of the game. His three-pointer with 59 seconds remaining gave Auburn a 65-63 lead.

The Bulldogs would have opportunities down the stretch. Georgia fouled Harrell with just eight seconds remaining. He converted the first free throw to put Auburn up 69-65 but missed the second. Kenny Gaines grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the floor before rising up and knocking down a three-pointer to cut the lead to one point with 1.8 remaining.

On the ensuing possession Auburn tried to throw the ball deep on the inbounds but it sailed out of bounds untouched and set Georgia up under their own basket with a final possession. However, Georgia failed to generate a good look and Nemanja Djurisic's potential game-winner fell short giving Auburn the upset.

Georgia shot just 38 percent from the field on the afternoon and were 4-19 from three-point range. Gaines led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 6-16 shooting. Charles Mann picked his play up in the second half and finished with 14 points.

Harrell knocked down 7-13 for his 21 points. K.C. Ross-Miller added 17 points for the Tigers. Auburn shot 45 percent from the field and knocked down 7-17 three-point attempts.

Georgia falls to 16-8 and 7-5 in conference play. Auburn moves to 12-13 on the season and 4-8 in the conference. The Bulldogs are back at it on Tuesday when they host South Carolina at Stegeman.