AUBURN, Ala. – Jaylin Williams led Auburn with 21 points but Georgia led from start to finish Tuesday at Auburn Arena, winning 91-86 to split the season series.
"Disappointing loss," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We had an opportunity to sweep Georgia for only the fourth time in 37 years. Since I got here we've done it twice, had a chance to do it three out of the last four years. The reason why it's not been done very often is it's not easy to do. It's hard."
Sharife Cooper scored 19 points and had nine assists, and five Tigers reached double figures, but Georgia outscored Auburn 52-34 in the paint to hold off every challenge the home team mounted.
"They came out being more physical," said Chris Moore, who contributed five points and three rebounds in 14 minutes. "I feel like they wanted it more than we did."
The Tigers started hot in the second half, twice cutting a 10-point deficit to three on Williams' buckets, but a 9-0 Georgia run gave the Bulldogs a 69-54 lead before Jamal Johnson's 3-pointer pulled the Tigers within a dozen with 10 minutes to play.
Allen Flanigan's layup cut the deficit to 71-65 with six minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs got a putback dunk and a layup to take their lead back to 10. Georgia outrebounded the Tigers 40-32, including 13 offensive boards.
"We got outplayed," Pearl said, "and we got outplayed in the paint."
Johnson scored 13 points and led Auburn with six rebounds. Flanigan and Devan Cambridge each added a dozen points for the Tigers.
Gallery: (2-2-2021) Auburn vs. Georgia
Auburn pulled within six points three times in the final minutes but Georgia answered each time before Flanigan's dunk in the closing seconds accounted for the final five-point margin.
Georgia (11-6, 4-6) led 39-30 at intermission after making 5 of 11 3-point attempts and outrebounding the Tigers 20-15 in the first half.
Williams scored seven first-half points to lead the Tigers. Auburn was 1-for-7 on 3-pointers, with Williams accounting for the Tigers' only first-half make. The sophomore was 9-for-14 from the field and added five rebounds in 32 minutes.
"We were not ready to play," Pearl said. "First time that's happened this year. That's on the coach. I've got to own that, and I will.
"Georgia's got really good guards who can beat you off the bounce. We played right into their hands. It was exactly how we knew Georgia could beat us.
"When you score 86 points and shoot 48 percent you should be able to win those games but not when you give 52 points to the opponent in the paint. We didn't give them to them, they earned it. Georgia earned the victory tonight."
The Tigers (10-9, 4-6) host Ole Miss Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
