NASHVILLE, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Matt Freije scored 19 of his career-high 31 points in the first half Wednesday night as Vanderbilt held off a late run by the 17th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs for a 94-91 Southeastern Conference victory.
Vanderbilt (9-8, 2-4 SEC East) ended a three-game losing streak and defeated Georgia at home for the second straight year. The Bulldogs lost for the fourth time in five games as a ranked team at Memorial Gym and have won just seven times in 25 games here.
Freije started the game with a three-pointer and added another as Vanderbilt built an early 15-8 lead. He had a pair of baskets in a 10-0 run that gave the Commodores the lead for good at 39-30.
Freshman Mario Moore's layup capped a 13-5 burst to open the second half for a 59-43 advantage. Freije made a pair of three-pointers in that run. A three-pointer by Moore and a steal and layup by Russell Lakey opened its largest lead at 68-51 with 12:26 remaining.
Georgia (12-5, 4-2) put together a rally and closed to within 83-80 on Damien Wilkins' steal and layup with 2:35 left. The Bulldogs got back the ball with a chance to get closer, but Vanderbilt's Scott Hundley came up with a critical steal.
Hundley and Brian Thornton each split a pair of free throws to help seal the win.
