ATHENS, Ga. — Russel Tchewa's double-double performance helped pace Georgia past Mississippi 69-66 on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
Tchewa finished the night with 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Noah Thomasson scored 15 points to lead the Bulldogs.
“That was a quality SEC win after going four of 21 from three," Georgia coach Mike White said. "I mean, you can win games like that. We haven't won a lot of games like that. Especially against the five powerful teams, our major opponents. To win it in that fashion is a really good teaching moment for our guys and for this program moving forward. This was the last time we got a chance to play in front of our fans here at the Steg. It has been a great environment all year."
Georgia led 65-54 with 2:45 remaining before Ole Miss scored the next nine points. Tchewa was called for a Flagrant 1 with 52.3 seconds left, leading to two free throws by Allen Flanigan and a 3-pointer by Jaylen Murray to get Ole Miss within 65-63.
Tchewa answered at the other end with a basket in the paint, off a nice assist by Justin Hill, with 22.5 left to regain a two-possession lead. Ole Miss was short on two 3-pointers, and Hill sealed it with two free throws.
Hill finished with 11 points for Georgia (16-14, 6-11 SEC). Dylan James had 10 points and nine rebounds, and RJ Melendez added 10 points and seven boards. James was one of three freshmen to start for Georgia due to Jabri Abdur-Rahim being out with an ankle injury.
Jaemyn Brakefield and Murray each scored 19 points for Mississippi (20-10, 7-10). Flanigan added 11 points, going 9 of 10 at the free-throw line. Matthew Murrell, the leading scorer for Ole Miss, played the opening two minutes but did not return due to an illness.
Brakefield made a jumper from the free-throw line with 1.5 seconds left before halftime to get Mississippi within 35-32. Brakefield and Thomasson each had 12 points in the first half.
Georgia travels to play No. 13 Auburn on Saturday. Mississippi concludes the regular season on Saturday at home against Texas A&M.
MISSISSIPPI (20-10)
Brakefield 8-15 1-2 19, Cisse 3-4 0-0 6, B.Murray 3-10 0-0 7, J.Murray 8-21 0-0 19, Murrell 0-0 0-0 0, Flanigan 1-8 9-10 11, Caldwell 2-6 0-0 4, Sharp 0-0 0-0 0, Nunez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 10-12 66.
GEORGIA (16-14)
James 4-9 2-2 10, Tchewa 4-7 3-4 11, Cain 3-8 0-0 6, Demary 1-4 2-2 4, Thomasson 5-16 2-3 15, Hill 3-5 4-4 11, Melendez 4-7 2-2 10, Anselem-Ibe 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-57 15-17 69.
Halftime_Georgia 35-32. 3-Point Goals_Mississippi 6-22 (J.Murray 3-11, Brakefield 2-6, B.Murray 1-3, Caldwell 0-1, Flanigan 0-1), Georgia 4-21 (Thomasson 3-10, Hill 1-3, Melendez 0-2, Cain 0-3, James 0-3). Rebounds_Mississippi 27 (J.Murray 6), Georgia 35 (Tchewa 10). Assists_Mississippi 12 (J.Murray, Flanigan 3), Georgia 13 (Tchewa 5). Total Fouls_Mississippi 15, Georgia 9. A_6,219 (10,523).
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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