NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tyree Crump's 30-foot shot from straightaway as the final buzzer sounded rallied Georgia to an 80-78 victory over host Vanderbilt on Saturday in a matchup of the bottom two teams in the Southeastern Conference.
Crump came up with a loose ball on the second of two missed free throws by Vanderbilt's Scottie Pippen Jr. with 5.1 seconds to play, headed down court and launched the shot that gave the Bulldogs (14-13, 4-10) the improbable win.
Crump's basket spoiled a career-high 34-point game from Vanderbilt's Saben Lee, who had been 10 of 10 at the free throw line before missing the front end of a one-and-one with 12.4 seconds left and Vanderbilt (9-18, 1-13) leading 78-75. Sahvir Wheeler made two foul shots with six seconds to play to pull the Bulldogs within one before Pippen's two misses gave them their final opportunity.
"We always want to stretch the game as much as you possibly can," Georgia coach Tom Crean said. "That's why the lay-up with Sahvir was such a big lay-up. That stretches the game. What happens is you come down and you start looking at that scoreboard and start thinking 'three, three, three,' no. We've got to stretch the game…"
Vanderbilt led for much of the game, as Lee had a stellar first-half, scoring 22 points for the Commodores, who led 40-32 at halftime.
The Commodores maintained the lead and control of the game for much of the second half, trailing just once in the second half at 52-51 before regaining command with a 7-0 run.
Vanderbilt led by as many as five points with 22.5 seconds left.
Anthony Edwards, who fouled out with five seconds to play, led the Bulldogs 19 points. Jordan Harris added 17, while Wheeler finished with 11 points.
Pippen finished with 20 points for the Commodores and Maxwell Evans added 10.
BIG PICTURE
Georgia: The Bulldogs had not won a Southeastern Conference game on the road this season before pulling off Saturday's comeback victory against Vanderbilt. Georgia has just one road win this season, at Memphis.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores keep getting closer, but still suffered another heartbreaking loss. Vanderbilt was coming off a 65-61 loss at Tennessee last Tuesday. Vanderbilt has now lost four straight inside the SEC after notching its only win with an upset against LSU on Feb. 5.
UP NEXT
Georgia is at South Carolina on Wednesday.
Vanderbilt hosts Missouri on Wednesday.
