SIMPLY A RARITY: Even with the season sweep, Georgia is still just 21-101 against Kentucky in a series that began in 1921.
By Associated Press
Published February 15, 2004
ATHENS, Ga. - After 83 years of futility, Georgia is getting used to beating Kentucky.
Levi Stukes bounced back from a miserable first half to finish with 12 points - all 3-pointers - and the Bulldogs completed a season sweep of No. 8 Kentucky with a 74-68 victory Saturday.
Jonas Hayes scored 19 and Rashad Wright and Damien Wilkins each added 14 for the Bulldogs (12-10, 4-7 SEC), who beat the Wildcats 65-57 earlier this season.
"This is just a little part of what we're trying to do," Hayes said. "This is just a step in our ultimate goal of getting back to the NCAA Tournament."
First-year Georgia coach Dennis Felton improved to 3-0 career against Kentucky, including one win when he was at Western Kentucky.
The Bulldogs completed their second sweep of Kentucky in three years. Like most SEC programs, they don't have much success against the Wildcats - they're 21-101 all-time - and they won consecutive games for only the sixth time since the series started in 1921.
But Hayes and Wright have been a part of two of those teams, and they also have won two of the past three in Rupp Arena. Georgia has only one other victory on that court.
"Their intentions and effort and willingness have been very much appreciated by me," Felton said of his seniors. "They have never shown any unwillingness to this team with all they could muster."
The Wildcats (17-4, 7-3) clearly missed leading scorer Gerald Fitch, who sat out his third consecutive game with a sprained right index finger. They committed 22 turnovers, including five by reserve guards Josh Carrier and Brandon Stockton, and shot 41 percent in the second.
Kelenna Azubuike scored a career-high 23 and Cliff Hawkins had 16 for Kentucky. But Erik Daniels and Chuck Hayes, the team's second- and third-leading scorers, combined for only 13.
"We can't win when Chuck is missing layups like that," Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith said. "It was just ridiculous. And Erik was just running around scared to death. He wonders why we didn't get him the ball."
Stukes struggled like most of his teammates in the first, shooting 1-for-7. In the half, Georgia shot 31 percent, including 5-for-5 from Hayes.
But the Bulldogs trailed by only eight, thanks mostly to the miscues by Kentucky. They had a 13-2 run early in the second which forced Smith to call timeout.
