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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Georgia wins own final four


Georgia coach Dennis Felton celebrates the SEC title. Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

After enduring a tornado, a change of venue and a doubleheader, the gritty Bulldogs provided one last surprise in the finale of an improbable Southeastern Conference tournament, building a big lead in the first half and holding on for a 66-57 victory over Arkansas to claim their first NCAA bid since 2002.

“We showed everybody what we were made of,” Bulldogs guard Billy Humphrey said. “Right now, I feel like we can beat anybody.”

The Bulldogs (17-16) became just the third team in the tournament’s modern era to win four games in four days— well, actually it was four wins in three days since they had to play two on the same day, an impromptu bit of scheduling forced by a tornado that slammed into the Georgia Dome.

“It’s really gratifying,” said coach Dennis Felton, who had only eight scholarship players remaining after injuries, defections and disciplinary problems. “Regardless of how much adversity we went through and how much we had to go through as a team, the guys we had left had enough character to keep fighting for another day.”

The Bulldogs beat as many SEC teams at the tournament as they did during the entire regular season.

Terrance Woodbury led the Bulldogs with 16 points.

(1) North Carolina 86, Clemson 81: At Charlotte, N.C., Wayne Ellington had 24 points and the Tar Heels (32-2) beat the Tigers (24-9) for North Carolina’s record 17th Atlantic Coast Conference title.

K.C. Rivers finished with 28 points and six 3-pointers for Clemson.

(5) Kansas 84, (6) Texas 74: At Kansas City, Mo., Mario Chalmers had a career-high 30 points and eight 3-pointers, helping the Jayhawks (31-3) beat the Longhorns (28-6) for their third straight Big 12 title.

D.J. Augustin had 20 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Longhorns, though he missed all nine of his shots in the second half.

(8) Wisconsin 61, Illinois 48: At Indianapolis, Brian Butch scored 12 points and the Badgers (29-4) beat the Illini (16-19) to sweep the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles for the first time.

Wisconsin won all three games against the Illini this season by double digits and is on a 10-game winning streak.

Shaun Pruitt scored 13 points for Illinois.