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A spirit that is not afraid

Chuma Okeke's late heroics lift Auburn to win over Georgia

“He had enough trust in me to put the ball in my hands with three seconds on the shot clock. He said, 'If they play off you, just let it fly.'"

<p>Chuma Okeke (5) celebrates Auburn's 78-75 win over Georgia on Feb. 27, 2019, in Athens, Ga. Via @AuburnTigers on Instagram.</p>

Chuma Okeke (5) celebrates Auburn's 78-75 win over Georgia on Feb. 27, 2019, in Athens, Ga. Via @AuburnTigers on Instagram.

Chuma Okeke caught the inbounds pass, stepped out beyond the arc, deep enough that he could almost feel Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl behind him on the sideline, and calmly buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with 25 seconds left before the shot clock expired.

After the Tigers blew a 14-point lead in the second half, it was the sophomore who had the ball in his hands for what would end up being the game winner in a must-win game for Auburn on the road.

On the following possession, Georgia elected to not call a timeout and failed to get a clean look off to send the game to overtime.

Okeke scored 13 points, including his clutch bucket in the final seconds, to lift Auburn over Georgia 78-75 on Wednesday night in Stegeman Coliseum. The win gives the Tigers, who had been slipping closer to the bubble of late, some breathing room as they improve to 19-8 overall and 8-7 in conference play.

“Coach drew the play up for me,” Okeke said of his last shot. “He had enough trust in me to put the ball in my hands with three seconds on the shot clock. He said, 'If they play off you, just let it fly.'"

Auburn bounced back from an 80-53 loss at Kentucky on Saturday, a game that Pearl said in his postgame press conference was flat-out "embarrassing." The Tigers, other than Okeke, were led by Jared Harper who added 22 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Georgia trailed 50-40 at halftime, but used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to get back into the game and cut the lead to one. The contest was back-and-forth from then on.

The Bulldogs’ Nicolas Claxton hit a 3-pointer with under a minute to play to tie the game at 75-75 until Okeke’s shot the next possession.

"Chuma, I told him: 'You're going to catch it,” Pearl said. “He's going to back off of you. You're just going to pull it up and make it. He did.' Chuma Okeke, from the state of Georgia, has not lost to Georgia in four tries."

As Pearl alluded to, Auburn has now beaten Georgia four straight times for the first time since 1979. The series' deadlock has now been broken in favor of Auburn, which leads the all-time series 95-94.

Horace Spencer, who had more weight on his shoulders in Wiley’s absence, was the third Tiger to score in double figures finishing with 10 points and five rebounds. Bryce Brown, on the other hand, finished with just nine points and was 1-for-9 from deep.

Georgia falls to 1-14 in conference play despite nearly beating LSU, Mississippi State and now Auburn, all at home. Jordan Harris led the Bulldogs with a career-high 18 points and finished 7-for-9 from the field with two 3-pointers.

"It's definitely a big deal,” Harper said. “We knew it was going to be tough. They've been close with a lot of good teams. I was glad to come out with the win. We all have so much confidence in Chuma."

Auburn hosts Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon in Auburn Arena before facing rival Alabama and No. 7 Tennessee to close out the regular season.

“These last three games, it’s do or die,” Harper said. “It’s all on us.”

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