NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — J.J. Frazier scored four of his 17 points down the stretch, and Georgia withstood several Tennessee chances to rally in the final 30 seconds to hold on for a 59-57 victory on Thursday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
A seesaw game with 12 lead changes and eight ties finally began tilting the Bulldogs' way on Juwan Parker's steal and dunk for a 55-53 lead with 4:18 remaining. Frazier took over from there with a big layup and two free throws for a three-point that held up despite two chances for the Volunteers to rally.
Grant Williams made 1 of 2 free throws before Georgia's Mike Edwards missed two foul shots with 23 seconds left to give Tennessee time for a final chance to at least tie. But Admiral Schofield's 3-pointer with one second left glanced off the rim, allowing the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (19-13) to advance to Friday's quarterfinal against top-seeded Kentucky.
Frazier also had 10 rebounds while junior forward Yante Maten returned from a four-game injury absence to score 12 points and grab five rebounds for Georgia, which went 3-1 without him.
Jordan Bone had 14 points and Lamonte Turner 13 for Tennessee (16-16), which has lost four of five overall and fell to Georgia for the fourth straight time.
THE BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Volunteers shot just 33 percent (19 of 58) and were beaten 39-29 on the boards. But their final possession seemed unorganized and led to Schofield's final shot that appeared to be rushed.
Georgia: Maten played with a brace on his sprained right knee but provided huge scoring and rebounding boosts for the Bulldogs, who shot 44 percent and won despite committing 15 turnovers. They won the inside scoring battle 24-14.
UP NEXT
Tennessee: Postseason to be determined.
Georgia: Faces top-seeded Kentucky on Friday.
