ATHENS, Ga. - When he heard his teammates yelling "Blue!" Rashad Wright knew the shot clock was winding down Thursday night.
Even though at that point he had missed each of his seven shots from the field, Wright also knew he had to try again.
Wright's 15-foot jump shot with 15.3 seconds left gave Georgia the lead, and South Alabama's last-second attempt to tie was no good as the Bulldogs held on 65-63.
Wright put up the shot with about five seconds left on the shot clock.
"I knew I had to get a shot up," Wright said. "I knew I had to make a play once I got the ball. When I heard "Blue' I knew it was under seven seconds on the shot clock."
Wright, who leads Georgia with 16.9 points per game, finished with three points.
"I knew I was having an off night, but I just had to step up and make a play for the team," said Wright, Georgia's senior points guard.
Damien Wilkins led Georgia (6-2) with 16 points. Chris Daniels added 11 and Jonas Hayes scored 10 points despite making only four of 10 free-throw attempts.
"Four of 10, I'm embarrassed," Hayes said.
Chris Young scored 17 points for South Alabama (3-4).
There were two ties and two lead changes in the final five minutes.
Daniels was called for traveling with 1:19 left to play and the score 63-63. South Alabama coach John Pelphrey called a timeout, but guard James Spencer missed a long jumper and Hayes got the rebound.
The Bulldogs worked the shot clock down to about five seconds before Wright took a pass, dribbled to the left wing and took a step back to provide space for his go-ahead shot.
"I thought we held it together well tonight," Georgia first-year coach Dennis Felton said. "We were poised enough and strong enough and made enough plays down the stretch to win the game."
Malerick Bedden drove the baseline for South Alabama and plowed into Georgia freshman Buzz Wehunt. After the contact, Bedden's underhand scoop was no good, and Georgia grabbed the rebound as the buzzer sounded.
Pelphrey pleaded with the officials for a foul.
"You have to give Georgia credit, tonight came down to a couple of plays ... and Wright hopped up and made a shot and they got the big stop at the end," Pelphrey said.
Georgia was without Hayes most of the first half. Hayes picked up two quick fouls and sat out the final 13:25 of the half.
Without Hayes, freshman Steve Newman was pushed into a more prominent role, but when Newman needed a rest Georgia had to play with three guards.
Wehunt provided a spark with a sequence of three plays. Wehunt's baseline drive and basket gave Georgia a 23-22 leads with 5:17 left. Immediately after the basket, Wehunt stole a pass and sank a 3-pointer, leading the Bulldogs to a 34-26 halftime edge.
Georgia pushed the lead to 10 points in the opening minutes of the second half, but South Alabama fought back on the strength of Young's outside shooting and Bedden's inside game. Bedden scored 15 points.
Young's fourth 3-pointer brought the Jaguars to within a point at 59-58. Bedden followed with a short jump hook shot to give South Alabama its first lead of the second half at 60-59 with 4:01 left to play.
C-USA
UAB 68, VA. COMMONWEALTH 58: Donell Taylor scored eight of his 15 points during an 18-1 run for visiting Alabama-Birmingham.
The score was tied at 32 with 1:18 left in the first half after a Jesse Pellot-Rosa free throw, but Sidney Ball hit two free throws and Ronell Taylor made a layup at the buzzer to give the Blazers a 36-32 lead at the halftime.
UAB (4-2) scored 14 of the first 15 points in the second half to take a 50-33 lead with 12:36 remaining. The Rams could get not closer than 10.
Ronell Taylor had 13 points, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Ball, Gabe Kennedy and Richard Jones each scored 10 for the Blazers.
Domonic Jones scored 16 of his 22 points for the Rams (6-2) in the first half. Pellot-Rosa added 13 points, but no other Virginia Commonwealth player scored above 7.
