Florida Men’s Basketball’s Streaks End At Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs saw their 26-point lead disappear, but regained it late Tuesday to end No. 3 Florida’s six-game winning streak, 88-83, in Athens.

Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) also ended its 12-game losing streak to the Gators (24-4, 11-4) and spoiled the return of Florida starter Alex Condon. The Bulldogs’ last win against Florida was a 61-55 victory on March 2, 2019.

The Bulldogs came firing on all cylinders to start the game with a 12-3 run before taking a 41-16 lead late in the first half. Everything seemed to be working for the Bulldogs. Silas Demary Jr. contributed with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. Guard Asa Newell came just short of a double-double scoring 15 points and snagging nine rebounds.

Florida rallied from a 78-67 deficit with the 13-0 run to lead 80-78. Thomas Haugh’s layup with 1:28 remaining gave the Gators their first lead at 79-78.

But Georgia guard Blue Cain sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to spark the win, Georgia coach Mike White’s first against his former Florida team. White had been 0-6 against the Gators.

The loss hurt Florida’s bid for a No. 1 seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament.

Will Richard had a career-high 30 points, five rebounds and three assists for Florida. Richard shot 11-of-17 from the floor. Walter Clayton Jr. contributed with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists. Condon, who missed four games with a low ankle sprain, scored nine points.

The Gators’ 15 steals led to a 29-12 advantage in points off turnovers that helped their comeback bid. But were held to 40.9 shooting for the game,  36.4 in the first half. Georgia shot 68 percent in the first half.

Hurting the Gators were the woes from the free-throw line. Florida made just 18 of 29 (62.1 percent), while Georgia was 22 of 27 (81.5 percent).

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Georgia fans obliged repeated requests from the public address announcer to give Florida’s team and officials 90 seconds to leave before charging the court. Fans then flooded the court.

Up Next

The Gators are set to host the No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies (20-7, 9-5) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. on the SEC Network and 103.7-FM.