Gator Men’s Basketball Picks Up Win Against Georgia

The Florida Gators men’s basketball team (16-8) beat Georgia (8-16) in the O’Connell Center on Wednesday night 72-63 over the Georgia Bulldogs for their fourth straight win. With the win, the Gators move to 6-5 in the SEC, and they’ve also now won five straight against the Bulldogs.

Sweet victory. #GoGators | #GatorsHoop | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/CptoYLtJun

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 10, 2022

Florida guard Myreon Jones led the Gators with 23 points off the bench as he lit it up from beyond the arc, hitting a career high seven 3 pointers. Sophomore guard Kario Oquendo led the Bulldogs with 22 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as Georgia lost its fourth straight.

https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1491587230581854212

The Start

The Gators controlled the game for most of the first half, leading by as many as 16 points over the Bulldogs. Florida shot at a 53.6 percent clip from the field (15-of-28), while Georgia shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26)and at halftime, the Gators led 38-30.  In the second half, a three pointer from Tyree Appleby with 7:29 remaining in the game gave the Gators a 61-47 lead but that lead would not last.

Tight Finish

Although the Gators led for as many as 16 in the first half and 14 with seven minutes remaining, the Bulldogs went on a 14-3 run to cut the score to 64-61 with 2:56 remaining in the game.

After a quick timeout though, Colin Castleton nailed a mid-range jumper to give the Gators a five point cushion. Then, Phlandrous Fleming Jr. grabbed a steal on the other end, and Appleby drained a three-pointer to give Florida a 69-61 lead with just over 30 seconds remaining to effectively ice the game.

Implications

The Gators eventually won by nine but made the home crowd sweat it out the end. They ended the game shooting 45.6 percent as a team, but the points they got off the bench propelled them to victory. Florida put up 31 bench points compared to the Bulldogs’ 10.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1491600732780306433

As for Jones, he seems to have finally hit his stride in Gainesville after struggling with shooting early in the season. The Penn State transfer has averaged 16.3 points per game in his last three contests and 15.4 in his last four. Over the last three games, he’s been shooting 61 percent from three, as well.

Jones spoke on what this game meant to him.

Gator coach Mike White revealed after the game that Jones has been dealing with a broken finger on his non-shooting hand since the Gators game against USF on December 18.

Next Time Out

Florida won’t have much time to relish their victory before they start preparing for a contest in Lexington against number five Kentucky on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Georgia will host South Carolina on Saturday.