Bulldogs get first conference win

ATHENS - Billy Humphrey couldn't help but think about last year's collapse against Alabama after the Crimson Tide staged another comeback against Georgia.

This time, Humphrey wouldn't let the Bulldogs lose.

Humphrey hit a key 3-pointer with 1:10 left and Georgia recovered to beat Alabama 61-54 on Wednesday night.

Georgia took leads of 15 points in each half, but Alabama staged a late rally to pull to within 55-51 before Humphrey launched the 3-pointer from the left wing.

``We needed something to happen,'' said Humphrey, who led the Bulldogs with 13 points.

Georgia made only 7 of 23 shots (30.4 percent) in the second half. Humphrey said he was struggling with his shot but never lost confidence.

``I felt good,'' Humphrey said. ``At times like that I'm pretty much unconscious.''

Conscious or not, Humphrey acknowledged having flashbacks to Jan. 10, 2007, when Georgia led Alabama by 15 points at halftime before losing 78-76.

``We owed them one,'' Humphrey said. ``They're a pretty aggressive team and they played pretty hard, but we stayed poised and we stayed on top.''

Freshman Jeremy Price added 11 to join Humphrey as the only other scorer in double figures for Georgia (10-5 overall, 1-1 Southeastern Conference).

Alabama pulled to within four points with 1:42 left before Georgia recovered with six straight points.

Alabama (11-7) is 0-3 in SEC games for the first time since 1998-99, when the Crimson Tide lost its first four conference games and finished 17-15 overall and 6-10 in coach Mark Gottfried's first season.

Gottfried gave a simple analysis of the loss to Georgia.

``We just didn't play well,'' he said. ``The effort was there, it was just execution.''

Gottfried said Georgia's 40.8 percent shooting from the field was evidence his team played hard on defense, but Alabama committed 19 turnovers and made only 3 of 20 3-pointers.

``A couple of times you might say it's their defensive pressure that bothered us, but we also dribbled the ball off our feet and had passes go right through our hands,'' Gottfried said.

``We've got to play better. I don't think we're going to play this poorly too many times.''

Richard Hendrix led Alabama with 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots, but he made only 3 of 9 free throws. Mykal Riley and Brandon Hollinger each added 10.

Georgia led by 15 for the last time at 48-33. A 3-pointer by Terrance Woodbury gave Georgia a 51-37 lead with 9:56 left.

Alabama finally made a run in the final 5 minutes.

Riley scored with 2:43 left to cut the deficit to 55-47. Following a turnover by Georgia's Sundiata Gaines, a basket by Hollinger pulled Alabama to within 55-49.

Alabama trailed only 55-51 after Riley made two free throws with 1:42 left, but Humphrey ended the 8-0 run with a 3-pointer at the 1:10 mark. Humphrey added two free throws with 33 seconds left.

``I thought we gave super effort on defense tonight,'' said Georgia coach Dennis Felton, who said he was happy with the low scoring pace. ``We really wanted to make our defensive aggressiveness the story of the game.''

Still, Felton wasn't happy the Bulldogs couldn't put the game away.

Georgia had 17 turnovers, including four late during Alabama's comeback.

``It's unacceptable,'' Felton said. ``A good number of the turnovers were not with young players. It's not acceptable for us to turn the ball over on those occasions.''

Georgia scored the first six points and never trailed. The Bulldogs made 6 of 9 3-pointers in the first half and led 35-25 at the break.

Even while keeping its lead in double figures, Georgia struggled to contain Hendrix, who scored Alabama's first eight points of the second half. Hendrix didn't fully take advantage of his scoring opportunities, however, as he made only 2 of 6 free throws in the span.

Georgia's superior 3-point shooting was a key. The Bulldogs made 10 of 22 3-pointers, including Humphrey's crucial shot.

``You've got to give them credit for making key shots on key possession because that was something we did not do,'' Gottfried said. ``They made some clutch shots on key drives and defensively they were getting after it and it was the difference in the game.''