Three minutes into the second half of Saturday’s 86-77 loss to Tennessee, Georgia senior Terrance Woodbury brought the ball up, flashed a behind-the-back dribble and stroked a 17-foot jumper to tie the game at 40.

Woodbury backpedaled down the floor, staring confidently into the crowd and at his Volunteer defender J.P. Prince.

Georgia had the momentum. Georgia had found its swagger.

“It was just within the rhythm of the game,” Woodbury said. “I felt like my shot was good all night, and I decided to come off the dribble and knock one down.”

Woodbury’s shot was one of seven converted baskets by the Bulldogs in a five minute stretch, as Georgia used an 18-4 run to take a 54-44 lead.

At that moment, up by 10, Georgia looked like a different team. This was not the same team that played Wofford close and lost to Loyola. Georgia was experiencing a flicker of brilliance, a sign of potential fulfilled.

“My shot took our momentum up, but it didn’t sustain us throughout the game,” said Woodbury, who finished with 18 points. “That’s basically what we got to be able to do. Regardless of what happens. If somebody makes a shot or misses a shot, we still have to be able to get after it on the defensive end and sustain our lead to finish off the win.”

But in what seemed like a flash, the swagger was gone. As Tennessee closed the gap, the Bulldogs’ confidence was replaced with panic.

“When we lost our cushion, we got panicky,” said Georgia head coach Dennis Felton.

Georgia’s offense went from a glorious feast to all out famine. A Jeremy Price dunk with 8:09 left in the game would be the Bulldogs’ last converted field goal until a meaningless 3-point shot by Ricky McPhee with five seconds remaining on the scoreboard.

Georgia only scored nine points during the drought, all from the free-throw line, until McPhee’s three.

For the third consecutive game, Georgia had blown a second half lead.

Another menacing tendency this season for the Bulldogs has been turnovers, as Georgia came into Saturday’s game next-to-last in the SEC. Tennessee forced 17 turnovers that led to 22 points. Georgia did well to trip up the Volunteers, creating 16 turnovers, but only managed 13 points off those extra possessions.

“We just have to grow up,” Zac Swansey said. “At times we lack leadership, and that’s on me as a point guard. You can start with me and our seniors on down. We’ve just got to play our game and not get rattled.”

Vanderbilt is next on Georgia’s schedule, as the Bulldogs travel to Nashville Wednesday for their second SEC game and first on the road. The Commodores are 11-4 and will look to take advantage of the Bulldogs’ weaknesses.

“We can play with just about anybody in our conference and beat just about anybody in our conference,” said Georgia forward Trey Thompkins. “It’s on us to take care of what we have to do in order to do that. Tennessee is quite possibly the best team in our conference, but we played them tough and we had a chance to take the victory. We just got to step on the gas pedal more when we have the opportunity to take control.”