costfes
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Returning from an ankle injury, Levi Stukes scored 15 points in a backup role and Georgia snapped a seven-game losing streak in beating cold-shooting Auburn 57-45 Saturday.
Auburn scored only 14 points in the first half as it was held below 50 points for the second straight game. The Tigers made only 1 of 17 3-point attempts and overall made only 31.5 percent of their shots from the field.
Georgia (8-15 overall, 2-10 Southeastern Conference) won for the first time since beating Vanderbilt on Jan. 22.
Auburn (12-13 overall, 3-9 SEC) had 16 points from Frank Tolbert and 13 from Ian Young but could not overcome its poor outside shooting.
Sundiata Gaines had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia. Steve Newman added 13 points.
Auburn and Georgia are the SEC's poorest-shooting teams in conference games, and they played to form. Even while winning, Georgia shot only 37.2 percent from the field.
After scoring only 17 points in the second half of its 67-43 loss to Vanderbilt Wednesday night, Auburn scored even fewer points in the first half against Georgia.
Auburn missed 12 of its first 13 shots from the field and was 0-for-10 on 3-pointers in the first half to trail 24-14 at halftime. The 14 points set a season low for a half.
Georgia's edge in the half was its 3-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers, including two by Stukes, the Bulldogs' leading scorer for the season who returned after missing three games with an ankle injury.
While Auburn, which started four guards, struggled with its perimeter shooting, Georgia had difficulty passing over the Tigers' zone defense to take advantage of its size advantage with 6-foot-10 Dave Bliss and 6-foot-9 Newman. Auburn lists no player taller than 6-foot-6 among its starters and top three backups.
Georgia led by 14 points at 37-23 with 13 minutes to play, but Auburn picked up its scoring when Tolbert and Young began driving to the basket instead of relying on 3-point tries.
A 10-1 run for Auburn, capped by a three-point play by Quinnel Brown with 9:18 left, cut Georgia's lead to five points, 38-33. Auburn could come no closer than three points as Newman scored six points in the final six minutes.
