Justin Hill led Georgia with 17 points but the Bulldogs fell to Alabama-Birmingham 87-73 Tuesday in the championship game of the Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Georgia is 4-2.
Jordan “Jelly” Walker scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half for UAB.
The 5-foot-11 Walker, who was the Conference USA player of the year last season, was 11-of-22 shooting with an array of drives. He had five 3-pointers and five assists. Eric Gaines added 14 points and eight assists, KJ Buffen had 11 points and Ledarrius Brewer 10. Trey Jemison grabbed nine boards to go with nine points.
Kario Oquendo scored 12 points for Georgia and Braelen Bridges added 10.
The Blazers (4-1) trailed by a point at halftime but the Bulldogs missed their first eight shots of the second half and Alabama-Birmingham built a seven-point lead with a 10-0 run that Walker finished with a 3-pointer. A Walker jumper and 3-pointer made it a double-digit lead which Buffen extended to 16 with seven straight points.
UAB enjoyed a 23-3 advantage on points off turnovers and scored 52 points in the paint.
Both teams shot over 50% in the first half with Georgia holding a slender lead through much of it before the teams exchanged the lead four times in the last two minutes. The Bulldogs led 42-41 at the halftime break on Hill’s drive in the final seconds.
Alabama-Birmingham was a little under its average of 92 points per game but its total was 23 points more than the Bulldogs had been giving up.
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