Silas Demary Jr. hit four 3-pointers en route to 21 points on Tuesday to help Georgia hold off a furious rally from visiting No. 3 Florida in an 88-83 Southeastern Conference win in Athens, Ga.
Asa Newell added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Tyrin Lawrence had 14 points off the bench as the Bulldogs (17-11, 5-10 SEC) saw its 26-point lead evaporate before finishing the game on a 10-3 run.
Blue Cain chipped in 12 points for Georgia, including the go-ahead triple with 47 seconds remaining. RJ Godfrey had 10 points for the Bulldogs, who snapped their four-game losing streak.
Will Richard led Florida (24-4, 11-4) with 30 points, followed by Walter Clayton Jr.’s 18. The Gators saw their six-game winning streak come to an end.
Trailing by 11 with less than four minutes left, Florida went on a 13-0 run that included a pair of Clayton triples and Thomas Haugh’s layup that gave the Gators their first lead with 1:28 remaining.
After Alijah Martin split a pair of free throws, Cain connected on his only 3-pointer, which was followed by five Georgia free throws to take an 86-80 lead with 10 seconds left. Clayton then made three free throws after being fouled on a triple before Demary iced the game with a pair of made foul shots with five seconds on the clock.
Trailing by 16 at halftime, Florida pulled within 10 after Haugh and Clayton’s layups cut the Gators’ deficit to 66-56 midway through the second half. Martin’s free throw cut Georgia’s lead to single digits, but Godfrey’s dunk and Dakota Leffew’s mid-range jumper pushed the Bulldogs’ advantage to 13 at the 9:39 mark.
Behind 74-64, Florida pulled within seven on Richard’s deep 3-pointer with 6:21 to go. But Georgia extended its lead back to double digits thanks to a jumper from Demary and a fastbreak layup by Lawrence before Florida’s last-effort rally.
The Bulldogs jumped on Florida early, taking a 12-3 lead following consecutive 3-pointers from Dylan James and Newell. The Bulldogs went on an 8-1 run from there to grab a 20-6 lead.
Micah Handlogten’s layup cut Florida’s deficit to 25-10 before Lawrence’s jumper and Godfrey’s layup extended the Bulldogs’ advantage to 19 with just over 12 minutes left in the opening half. Rueben Chinyelu’s three-point play stopped the bleeding for Florida, but Georgia answered with a 10-0 run – stamped with Demary’s third trey – to give the Bulldogs a 39-13 lead.
Trailing by 25 after Cain’s layup, Florida cut its deficit to 45-32 with a 12-0 run, including Richard’s nine straight points.
–Field Level Media
