Thanks to 'Kevin': Marcus Williams' heroic shot beats Georgia, 81-79

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Marcus Williams emerged as Texas A&M’s “go-to” guy with a last-second 3-pointer that lifted the Aggies to a stunning 81-79 victory over Georgia on Tuesday night in Athens.

Williams can thank “Kevin” for that victorious shot.

Don’t bother checking the roster for Kevin. It’s the name of the seldom-used play that coach Buzz Williams called for Marcus.

“The name of the play is Kevin because the person who taught it to me was named Kevin,” Buzz Williams explained. “It’s been in our playbook for nine years, and we’ve never run it in a game.

“In postgame, I asked our guys how many minutes they think we’ve practiced Kevin. They said four. The execution of Kevin is what led to the shot.”

Coach Williams turned to “Kevin” because Georgia rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to take its first lead of the game, 79-78, on a three-point play by Kario Oquendo with 5.5 seconds remaining.

Marcus Williams took an in-bounds pass from Andre Gordon, cut behind a screen from Henry Coleman III, raced to the down court and drilled his triumphant shot from the right-wing with 1.2 seconds left.

“I knew I was going to get the ball to an extent,” Marcus Williams said. “When I caught it, I knew I was going to shoot it. When it came out of my hands, I felt it, and I knew it was going in.”

Georgia had a last gasp chance to pull out a win, but a final desperation shot fell woefully short.

The Aggies (12-2, 1-0) were led by Coleman with 23 points and Marcus Williams with 18.

Georgia (5-9, 0-1) was paced by Oquendo with 21 and guard Noah Baumann with 19.

Marcus Williams’ game-winning 3-pointer capped an excellent night from behind the arc for the Aggies, who hit 11-of-23 attempts from long range.

A&M led by as much as 18 points in the first half and maintained a 17-point margin, 53-36, when Marcus Williams nailed a trey from the top-of-the-key early in the second half.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Williams reacts to hitting the game-winning 3-pointer to defeat Georgia.

But Georgia converted 10 of its first 13 shots in the second half, launched a 13-0 run and steadily whittled down the Aggies lead. The Bulldogs shot 64.3 percent (18-of-28) in the second half.

“Going into SEC play, you play quicker guys, so I think it was an adjustment for our whole team, bigs included,” Coleman said. “I think we’re going to go back, watch film and realize we have to guard the ball better. When we do that, we can be better defensively.”

The Bulldogs finally forged a tie, 76-76, on Baumann’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds to go.

Coleman reclaimed the lead for A&M with a pair of clutch free throws with 14.2 seconds left. A&M, which has frequently struggled with free throws, shot 71.4 percent at the foul line.

However, Georgia went back to Oquendo, who scored a layup and drew a foul on Aaron Cash. He completed the 3-point play with just 5.5 seconds to play.

Then A&M turned to Kevin, and Marcus Williams turned back the Bulldogs.