ATLANTA (AP) -- Adrian Jones threw up a prayer, and it was answered.

Jones hit an off-balance, desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday, lifting Georgia to a 68-67 victory that saddled Wake Forest (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) with its first loss.

	Georgia's Mike Patrick slips underneath Wake Forest's Niki Arinze while chasing a loose ball Saturday.

Jones' 25-footer from the right side came only 3.7 seconds after Wake Forest's Broderick Hicks had driven down the middle for a layup and 67-65 Demon Deacons lead.

"I threw it up like a Hail Mary," said Jones, who jumped up and down, threw both hands in the air as the ball dropped cleanly through the net and then raced three-quarters of the way down the court before being mobbed by his teammates and jostled to the floor.

"That was a miracle shot that just happened to go in," he said. "It felt good. I was falling down. Once I slipped, I had to take the shot. I was going to take it all the way (to the basket), but when I slipped, I kind of threw it up and it happened to go in."

Jones, who also had two key defensive plays in the final minutes, scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half as Georgia (5-3) came back from a 13-point second-half deficit to win its fifth in a row and send Wake Forest (5-1) to its first loss of the season.

The Demon Deacons were in front 57-44 with 8:47 left on a 3-point basket by Robert O'Kelley, who led Wake Forest with 17 points.

"They were all but in the grave," said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom. "When you have someone in the position to finish them off, you have to make the plays. You're supposed to be able to time-manage the clock and get to the free throw line."

But Wake didn't and Georgia took advantage.

The Bulldogs' D.A. Layne scored 11 of his game-high 19 points during the stretch run. Jones added six, and Anthony Evans, who also had 18 points, added five for 22 of Georgia's final 24 points.

Wake Forest still led at 65-60 after a pair of free throws by O'Kelley with 1:54 left, but Layne hit two free throws before Jones forced a Wake Forest turnover and Evans scored on a layup with 1:02 left to get the Bulldogs within 65-64.

Jones then blocked an O'Kelley shot with 42 seconds left and Layne made one of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to tie it at 65.

Wake Forest, which hadn't played due to final exams since beating Temple 77-72 a week ago, also got 14 points from Darius Songaila.

Wake Forest took a 32-29 halftime lead on a 3-point basket by O'Kelley at the buzzer. He led the Demon Deacons with 10 points.

Georgia's frontcourt has been depleted by injuries to two top reserves. The Bulldogs lost center Robb Dryden and forward Badi Oliver earlier this week with foot fractures. Both will be out at least four weeks.