Losses haunt Bulldogs' McAuley

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Jay McAuley's two career starts have ended in Georgia's worst offensive performances of the past two seasons.

The latest was Clemson's 59-42 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday at the Bi-Lo Center that left the Bulldogs (7-14) with a seven-game losing streak.

"Maybe it's destiny, I don't know," said McAuley, a junior walk-on guard who played a career high 40 minutes.

McAuley and fellow walk-on guard Kevin Brophy started in place of injured leading scorers Levi Stukes and Channing Toney against the Atlanic Coast Conference's last-place Tigers (12-12), who led the entire game.

McAuley and Brophy scored six and three points, respectively, compared to Stukes 15.4 points and Toney's 10.6 points per game average.

Georgia scored the sixth fewest points in program history.

McAuley's first career start ended in a 61-39 loss at Vanderbilt on Feb. 11, 2004. That performance is the fourth worst in school history.

Sundiata Gaines scored 11 points against Clemson but Georgia shot 31.1 percent from the floor, including 27.3 percent in the second half. Sharrod Ford's 16 points led three Tigers in double figures.

Clemson had missed its past eight shots, spanning the first and second halves, and had scored just one field goal in 12:45 before Chayenne Moore hit a long-range jumper from the left corner with 14:44 to play. Clemson went on an 11-0 run inside the final nine minutes and led by as much as 57-36 with 2:39 to play.

"It was kind of difficult for us playing three guards that are 6-foot-1 against Clemson, which had guys that are 6-5, and 6-6 out there," Brophy said, also referring to Gaines.

Defensively, it was Georgia's fourth consecutive game holding an opponent around 60 points. But those games have all been losses.