AUBURN | Turns out Auburn’s bench talisman is just as lethal in the starting lineup.

Wendell Green, starting for the first time since Nov. 19 at USF, scored 19 points including a layup with 3.6 seconds left to give the top-ranked Tigers a 74-72 win over Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum.

Auburn improves to 22-1 overall and 10-0 in the SEC with its 19th consecutive win. The Bulldogs fall to 6-16 and 1-8.

"Wendell's a gamer. Wendell's a tough kid. He's as tough as they come," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. "And I'll take my chances with him and the ball in a last-shot situation all day any day. Him or K.D."

With starting point guard Zep Jasper sidelined with a non-COVID illness, Green played a season-high 36 minutes. He shot 5 of 17 from the floor, made 3 of 9 3-pointers and 6 of 7 free throws.

Green added five rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Auburn led 42-30 at halftime but an 11-0 Georgia run cut the lead to 48-47 with 15:16 left and UGA took its first lead, 58-56, with 8:20 left.

Georgia went up 72-70 with 55 second left on a jumper by Aaron Cook, but K.D. Johnson drove in for a layup to tie it with 38 second left.

After a missed UGA 3-pointer, Walker Kessler pulled down his ninth rebound of the game, got it to Green, who drove the length of the floor, spun in the lane and momentarily lost the ball before picking it back up and scoring.

"Once Walker got the rebound, I looked at the clock and was calling his name to get the ball. I knew I had 10 seconds," said Green. "I just wanted to go down there and get the ball up under the rim and score. I knew they were going to be trailing me if I missed, but thankfully I went up there and got the basket.”

Johnson, a Georgia transfer, led Auburn with 20 points in his return to Athens. Kessler added 10 points and four blocked shots. Leading scorer Jabari Smith was held to seven points on 2 of 7 shooting and six rebounds.

AU out-rebounded UGA 46-35 including 20 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds. AU shot 39.7 percent from the floor but only 32.4 in the second half.

"We missed Zep Jasper, our best perimeter defender, in a big way," said Pearl. "It didn't show as much until the second half. To come in here and get a road win when we had at least three or four guys have what you would consider an off night is pretty good. Because I'm not sure anyone of our guys would feel like this is one of our better nights."

Auburn returns to action Tuesday night at Arkansas. Tip-off at Bud Walton Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.