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Asa Newell and Silas Demary Jr. led Georgia with 15 points apiece on Saturday, helping the Bulldogs post a 79-68 win over visiting Vanderbilt in Athens, Ga., in Southeastern Conference play.

Dakota Leffew added 14 points, while fellow reserve Tyrin Lawrence chipped in 13, as Georgia (20-11, 8-10 SEC) won its fourth straight regular season game, all but securing its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015.

Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt (20-11, 8-10) with 24 points, followed by Chris Manon and Jaylen Carey, who finished with 10 points each. The Commodores dropped their second straight game to close out the regular season. Vanderbilt is also projected to make the NCAA Tournament, which would be its first appearance since 2017.

After the halftime-score was tied at 39, Georgia took its largest lead to that point on Dylan James and Demary’s back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Bulldogs a 51-44 edge.

Leffew’s driving layup then extended Georgia’s advantage to 10 with 13:12 remaining, before Devin McGlockton’s basket stamped an 8-0 Vanderbilt spree to trim the Commodores’ deficit to 59-56 with less than 10 minutes left.

Georgia then answered with another run, this time a game-clinching 15-0 stretch that included Leffew’s 10 points. Edwards’ free throws at the 3:38 mark stopped the bleeding for Vanderbilt, snapping a six-plus minute scoring drought and cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to 73-58.

Leffew’s floater in the lane pushed Georgia’s edge to 78-64 with 1:41 remaining, sealing the Bulldogs’ first home win over Vanderbilt since February 2021.

After Carey’s triple gave Vanderbilt an early 18-16 edge, James’ putback dunk and Newell’s triple swung the lead to the Bulldogs midway through the opening half.

Minutes later, Demary’s free throws gave Georgia 27-25 lead, before Edwards’ 3-pointer began a 7-0 Commodores’ run. Demary’s ensuing layup then jumpstarted an 8-0 Georgia spurt. Newell knocked in a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds left, knotting the halftime-score at 39.

–Field Level Media