Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin is seen in this file photo.KNOXVILLE – No team has held Georgia sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope under 11 points all season. But after Wednesday night’s 68-62 victory over Tennessee, only the Volunteers have allowed him as many as 24 in a Southeastern Conference game.
“You’ve got to take more pride in your defense,” UT coach Cuonzo Martin said after watching the Bulldogs’ leading scorer total nine of UGA’s final 14 points after the Vols pulled within 54-53 with 4:56 to play.
“You don’t want to let their best player beat you. You want to make somebody else beat you.”
Caldwell-Pope was not the only Bulldog who contributed to the Vols’ sixth loss in nine SEC games and their 10th defeat in 21 games overall. Freshman guard Kenny Gaines came off the bench to score 12 while hitting five of shots from the floor, including two 3-pointers. Point guard Vincent Williams added 10 points.
But it was KCP, as he’s known around the UGA campus, who did the most to waste another double-double by UT’s Jarnell Stokes, who had 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight made free throws in 10 attempts.